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Medicare Coverage of a CPAP

By Brenda on August 24, 2015 in Health and Medical, Medicare, Resources

Original Medicare will cover an initial three-month trial of your CPAP device if you have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. At the end of the trial, Medicare will continue to pay for the device if your doctor certifies that you have benefited from the device and used it properly.

Before the three-month trial, your physician and supplier must submit paperwork to Medicare to justify your need for a CPAP device. Although it is their job to know these requirements, familiarizing yourself with them can help to avoid errors and navigate any challenges that arise.

To qualify for coverage of a three-month CPAP trial, Original Medicare requires certain steps:

Your doctor must diagnose you with obstructive sleep apnea based on an examination and subsequent sleep test. This test can be performed in your home or at an approved facility.
Your doctor must certify that you had a face-to-face exam with him/her or another health professional within the six-month period before the CPAP was ordered.
You must use a Medicare-approved supplier who provides you and/or your caregiver with instructions about proper use and care for the CPAP device. Many areas including Chesapeake, Virginia are called competitive bidding regions, which means Medicare will usually only pay for most durable medical equipment (DME) from a select group of suppliers, known as contract suppliers.
Lastly, for continued coverage of your CPAP device following the three-month trial, your provider must re-evaluate you during those initial three months. He or she must certify that the CPAP device is helping you and that you are using it as recommended.

If these conditions are met, Medicare will cover 80 percent of the rental fees for a CPAP device for 13 months, once the Part B deductible is met. After that you will own the device. Note that these 13 months include the three-month trial. Medicare will also pay 80 percent of the cost of CPAP supplies, such as masks and tubing.

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Parkinson’s Disease Resources

By Brenda on June 23, 2015 in Health and Medical, Resources

I received a letter in the mail from the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation with some available resources. They are:

CEU Opportunities: They host six webinars a year on topics such as medication management, physical therapy and advanced PD. Their next series kicks off in September. To learn more, you can visit www.pdf.org/parkinsononline

Free Educational Materials: Booklets including PD Resource List, Parkinson’s Disease Q & A and more than 40 fact sheets. To order go to support.pdf.org/publications

National HelpLine: (800) 457-6676 or email info@pdf.org (available Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm Eastern Time).

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Detroit News article on recent local Medicare fraud indictments

By Renee on June 18, 2015 in Resources

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/16-charged-in-detroitarea-as-part-of-nationwide-health-care-fraud-sweep/33652072

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Resources lacking for older victims of sexual violence

By Renee on April 10, 2015 in Resources

Take Back the Night Event – Hannan Scoop Article

By Vanessa Rorai

On Wednesday April 8^th, 2015, I had the privilege of attending a Take Back the Night event. This event was created to raise awareness of sexual violence and empower men and women to stand up against it. This was my first time going to such event and it was very engaging, educational, and empowering. The guest speaker was Wayne County Prosecutor Kim Worthy. She spoke about the terrible situation Wayne County was in regarding discovering thousands of untested rape kits, and the progress that has been made since. Many community agencies and organizations attended the event to hand out information about available services and resources for victims and survivors of sexual violence and/or domestic violence.

After looking over the services, there are unsurprisingly little resources, if any, directed to older adults. Most services are specific to children or generally directed to adult victims of domestic violence. Services offered to adults have no age limits. However, news reports prove that sexual violence is just as pertinent of an issue with older adults as other age groups.

An incident occurred in 2012 when a man suffering from dementia was reported to have killed his wife in Winsford, England (BBC, 2013). Also, a very recently reported incident occurred in early April of a man suffering from dementia killed his wife in New Jersey (Konstantinides, 2015). Both of these couple’s relationships had a history of domestic violence. Sexual violence among older adults is occurring, but there are unique characteristics among this population, such as health concerns, longer relationship histories, and generational differences. Clearly, there is a need of focus towards the older adult population exclusively for treatment and programs for victims/survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

References

BBC (2013, October 29). Hazel Bailey death: Husband jailed for walking stick killing.
BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england
merseyside-24728165

Konstantinides, A. (2015, April 6). 100-year-old dementia sufferer ‘murdered his sleeping
wife, 88, with an ax, then committed suicide with a knife’. DailyMail.com
News. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article
3028326/100-year-old-New-Jersey-man-allegedly-killed-sleeping-wife-ax
committed-suicide.html

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Work Completed by Hannan Student Showcased by IAHSA

By Renee on March 27, 2015 in Resources

Today I am putting my student, Vanessa Rorai, in the spotlight. Vanessa is an MSW student intern at Thome Rivertown Neighborhood.

PVM CEO Roger Myers requested that she research housing options in Canada. Vanessa took on the project, and completed it last month.

Her work has recently been featured on the International Association of Homes and Services for the Aging web site!

http://iahsa.net/Options_for_Seniors_in_Ontario_Canada.aspx

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MiCAP Experience

By admin on March 25, 2015 in Resources

A couple MiCAP success stories for you…

I recently heard back from my two clients who I worked with on MiCAP applications. Both met the qualification criteria (only SSI, independent living, etc). I educated both clients about the program and what is involved with the application process. They both decided to apply, completed the applications on their own, and contacted their local DHS worker to have their cases closed. Both applications were faxed into the MiCAP office in Lansing and in a little over two weeks, both clients received letters stating that they had been approved for the program and would be receiving $171 on their Bridge card starting in April.

One client was only receiving $16/mo and was overjoyed that she has now been approved for $171 a month. This client told me that she previously was getting some juice and water each month…she was speechless when she thought about what she could now buy each month.

I am educating my clients on the potential hiccups/risks associated with applying for the program, but am finding that most people are interested in applying. I just wanted to give you an update on what my experience with the program has been thus far. Hope you are having a good week!

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Some Facts About MICAP

By admin on March 3, 2015 in Resources

Please see the below facts regarding MICAP (Michigan Combined Application Program) which provides food benefits to individuals receiving only SSI. This information comes from Timothy Charron, Family Independence Manager at the Kalamazoo County DHS office. I have attached the application to this post. MICAP Application 0513

1) They must receive SSI only. No other type of income. So, if they are combination SSI and Social Security they are not eligible for MICAP.
2) They cannot be active FAP at the time they apply for MICAP so they will have to have their FAP case closed at the local office before applying.
3) The eligibility and the ongoing maintenance of the MICAP case is done by the MICAP unit in Lansing, not the local office.
4) The MICAP application is mailed to Lansing. There is no on-line application.
5) There is a 36 month certification period compared to only 1 or 2 years from the local office.
6) There are only two Issuance amounts for MICAP. $171/month if shelter costs are below $1000 or $185/month if shelter expenses are greater than $1000.
Pretty cut and dry determination.
7) The MICAP group is always a group of one.
8) The benefits are put on same card so no need to use up the benefits.
9) My experience is that eligibility has been pretty quick
10) Application can be mailed to: MICAP, PO Box 30784, Lansing, MI 48909-4561 or faxed to 1 (517) 335-6454/

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Accounting Aid Society – Tax Assistance

By Brenda on February 17, 2015 in Financial, Resources

See flyer for information on Free Tax Assistance through Accounting Aid Society.

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Human Trafficking Forum

By Renee on February 13, 2015 in Resources

By Vanessa Rorai

This week I had the privilege of attending a forum held at Wayne State University on the topic of human trafficking. This event not only changed my entire idea and understanding of human trafficking, it gave me a great sense of empowerment to make even the slightest change to this huge social problem. The panel of speakers gave diverse perspectives from a legal, educational, research, and treatment standpoint. All speakers emphasized three ways anyone can do something about human trafficking: awareness, activism, and advancement.

I would like to share a few facts I learned at this event that raised my awareness. First, the average age of a person being trafficked is 12 years old. Trafficking generates $32 billion dollars a year, which is more than the revenue of the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL combined. I found it exceptionally interesting when one speaker discussed the ‘conditioning’ process trafficker’s use on their victims, and how it differs from the most common trafficking processes occurring in Detroit. Generally a trafficker will spend a lot of time and effort in getting to know their victim, become trusted, and eventually function as the main source of support in every facet of the victim’s life. In Detroit, it typically occurs fast and spawns out of opportunity. It is the nature of the situation that turns to opportunity for the trafficker to start using the individual to make money.

There is much room for activism against human trafficking. Anyone can volunteer to fundraise for treatment programs, or raise awareness by having a conversation with another person. Although Michigan currently has safe harbor laws, there are 32 states that do not. Thus, there is room for activism in improving the current laws of Michigan and supporting other states to adopt safe harbor laws.

Anyone can advance the idea of decreasing and ending human trafficking. The speakers targeted the students in the audience like myself as key individuals that can choose careers that advance awareness and activism against human trafficking such as law enforcement, treatment counselors, researchers, educators, and social workers.

Thus, this leads me to my conclusion of what all social workers can do in the fight to end human trafficking. First, social workers need to be aware of this social problem by knowing the signs of a trafficker and victim, where opportunity for trafficking exists, and realize that trafficking has no boundaries to gender, age, or location. Regardless of what population or area a social worker works within, there is a high likelihood of coming into contact with a current or previous victim. Thus, social workers must know how to advocate for a victim, what resources are available, and how to connect that individual to the services they may need. Anyone can raise awareness through conversation; social workers are perfect to start this necessary conversation.

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