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May 17, 2021
Healthcare
May 17, 2021
How You Can End Up in Medicare’s Doughnut Hole, and How You Get Out
Medicare prescription drug (Part D) plans can have a coverage gap—called the “doughnut hole”–which limits how much Medicare will pay for your drugs until you pay a certain amount out of pocket. Although the gap has gotten much smaller since Medicare Part D was introduced in 2006, there still may be a difference in what you pay during your initialHealthcare
April 4, 2018
Care-Taker Roles Reverse
Generally speaking we don’t plan on spending a Saturday afternoon in the local Emergency Department. However, as parents age, we as their adult children find ourselves more and more in the care-taker role, which often means accompanying them to doctor’s appointments and sometimes to the Emergency Department. As I sat with my mother and father in the Emergency Department onHealthcare
September 14, 2016
Medical Treatment for the Elderly – Less Can Be More
Sometimes, what may be considered “best medical practices” is not in our elderly family members’ best interest. I’m not talking about the so-called “death panels” used to frighten the public about universal health care. Rather, I’m talking about the toll that hospitalizations can take on our elderly population. A recent study showed that about one-third of patients over 70 yearsHealthcare
February 10, 2016
Illness & Suffering: A Cat’s Viewpoint of the Medical System
My cat Jaspurr stopped eating sometime in the fall of 2015. I did not notice this because the other cat was finishing up the left overs in all the dishes. But I finally did notice when he became emaciated to the point that he was skin, bones and fur. I took him to the vet. The vet took blood andHealthcare
November 17, 2015
Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones From The Flu
It’s that time of year – flu season! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend getting a flu shot annually. Please see the questions and answers below regarding flu vaccines and other vaccines. Q: Why do we need a flu shot every year when we only have to get a tetanus shot every ten years or a pneumoniaHealthcare
August 4, 2015
Happy 50th Anniversary Medicaid!
July 30, 1965, President Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965 into law. This law created not only Medicare, but also Medicaid. Medicaid is the joint state and federal health insurance program for low-income people and also allows seniors and people with disabilities get the long-term care they need. Needless to say, Medicaid has become an integral part ofHealthcare
April 14, 2015
A Loved One Has Just Been Diagnosed With Dementia, What Should You Do?
Realizing that a loved one has dementia is heartbreaking and overwhelming and most families find that there are many more questions than answers. One of the best initial steps families can take is to contact their local Alzheimer’s Association chapter. The New Mexico chapter has locations in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Farmington and Roswell. You will not findHealthcare
February 15, 2011
In Health Care, Where Does All the Money Go?
I really do not know the answer to this question. But now that I have your attention, let me talk about two articles that appeared recently. The first article is titled “With health care, like anything else, we get what we pay for,” which appeared in a February 7, 2011, column by Winthrop Quigley in the Albuquerque Journal. In thatHealthcare
October 12, 2010