Each day, you make important choices about your finances, health, privacy, and more.

During National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), March 6–12, 2016, non-profit organizations and government agencies can help you take advantage of your rights and make better-informed choices.

There are 5 things you can do to become an informed Medicare consumer:

1. Know your rights. As a person with Medicare, you have certain rights and protections designed to help protect you and make sure you get the health care services the law says you can get.
2. Protect your identity. Identity theft happens when someone uses your personal information without your consent to commit fraud or other crimes. Keep this personal information safe:

• Your name
• Your Social Security Number (SSN)
• Your Medicare number (or your membership card if you’re in a Medicare Advantage or other Medicare health plan)
• Your credit card and bank account numbers

Get more information on how to protect yourself from identity theft.

3. Help fight Medicare fraud. Medicare fraud takes money from the Medicare program each year, which means higher health care costs for you. Learn how to report fraud.
4. Get involved with other seniors with the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP). The SMP educates and empowers people with Medicare to take an active role in detecting and preventing health care fraud and abuse.
5. Make informed Medicare choices. Each year during the fall Open Enrollment Period (October 15–December 7), review your plan to make sure it will meet your needs for the next year. If you’re not satisfied with your current plan, you can switch during the Open Enrollment Period.

Visit NCPW.gov to learn more about the campaign, see which agencies and organizations are able to help you, and to find out if there are any activities happening in your area. Also, check out our videos for tips on preventing Medicare fraud and see how seniors are learning to stop, spot, and report fraud.

Filed under: Uncategorized
Source: US Govt Medicare

After months of blizzards and cold weather, spring is a welcome reminder of new beginnings – the longer hours of daylight, blooming flowers, and warmer weather are all signs of a new season, and a new reason to be proactive with your health. One simple way to manage your health is to practice preventive care. Preventive services can help prevent you from getting sick and find health problems early, when treatment works best, so taking advantage of them is a crucial step in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

If you have Medicare, then you have access to a variety of preventive tests and screenings, most at no cost to you. If you’re new to Medicare, we cover a “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit during your first 12 months of Part B coverage. This visit includes a review of your medical and social history related to your health and education and counseling about preventive services, including certain screenings, shots, and referrals for other care, if needed.

If you’ve had Part B for longer than 12 months, you can get a yearly wellness visit to develop or update a personalized prevention plan based on your current health and risk factors. In addition to these important wellness visits, Medicare covers screening tests for diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, and obesity management, just to name a few. Check out our complete list of Medicare-covered preventive services.

So as you tend to your garden this spring, make a commitment to tend to yourself too. Practice preventive care so you can you stay healthy and live longer.

Filed under: Uncategorized
Source: US Govt Medicare

Choosing a provider of home health services can be overwhelming. Home health agencies can differ in the safety and quality of care they provide. That’s why we’ve made it easier to use the information on our Home Health Compare site by adding patient experience of care star ratings. Known as Home Health Care Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) Survey star ratings, these ratings summarize, in a consumer-friendly format, patients’ experiences with different home health agencies.

Compare websites are a valuable source of information about the quality of health care furnished by providers and facilities. Previously, you could select multiple agencies at a time on Home Health Compare to compare agency performance on individual HHCAHPS items, like how often the home health team delivered care in a professional way. You could also access summary Quality of Patient Care star ratings for each agency. With today’s addition of the HHCAHPS Survey star ratings, now you can compare summarized, easy-to-understand information on patients’ experiences with these agencies by viewing the following HHCAHPS Survey star ratings:

1. Care of patients
2. Communication between providers and patients
3. Specific care issues
4. Overall rating of care provided by the Home Health Agency
5. Survey summary star rating

The HHCAHPS Survey Star Ratings report patients’ experiences of care ranging from 1 star to 5 stars using data from patients (or the family or friends of patients) that have been treated by the agency. Out of over 11, 000 agencies with data on Home Health Compare, you’ll find more than 6,000 agencies with patient survey star ratings data.

Sharing patients’ experience of care through star ratings is just one example of how we’re committed to helping you make health care decisions based upon available information. Learn more about the HHCAHPS Survey.

Filed under: Uncategorized
Source: US Govt Medicare