Medicare advocates should be aware of two important opportunities with a March 31 deadline:
the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period and Medicare General Enrollment Period.
Low-income older adults who aren’t eligible for premium-free Medicare Part A may qualify for financial help through the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program.
In recent years, California has implemented several Medi-Cal policies to increase the number of people eligible
for Medi-Cal coverage, reduce barriers to maintaining coverage, and provide new services designed to prevent and
reduce homelessness. This factsheet outlines these policies and how they can help to enhance housing security for
older Californians.
Starting January 1, 2025, two new policies will be implemented to improve enrollment in California’s Medicare Savings Programs, making Medicare more affordable by providing assistance with out-of-pocket costs such as premiums, co-pays, co-insurance, and deductibles for low income individuals. This factsheet provides a summary of these two changes, including who is impacted, how these two policy changes work together, the steps individuals need to take to benefit from these changes, and advocacy tips.
Whether Medicaid cuts come in the form of work requirements, stricter eligibility rules, or caps or cuts to federal funding, the result is the same: older adults lose healthcare.
This fact sheet explains two areas from the recently revised CMS nursing facility surveyor guidelines. These particular revisions confirm that 1) a facility must obtain a resident’s informed consent before administering medication (including antipsychotics), and 2) certain common admission agreement provisions violate the federal prohibition against financial guarantees.
