The Link - December 2017

WEEK OF DEC. 4, 2017

• A bill to assist state veterans homes in providing adult day health care to the most fragile and deserving of our veterans has passed the U.S. House and Senate with strong bipartisan support. The State Veterans Home Adult Day Health Care Improvement Act of 2017 directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into an agreement with each state home to pay for medical supervision model adult day health care for a veteran for whom the home is not receiving VA nursing home care payments: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/324

• ID Action, a statewide collaboration designed to increase the active participation of Iowans with disabilities in political and civic opportunities, has released its 2018 Legislative Guide, a user-friendly resource with information about the state’s legislative process and the legislators of the 87th General Assembly: http://www.infonetiowa.org/documents/cms/docs/2017_Legislative_Guide_website_version_11-10-17.pdf

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the 2018 premiums, deductibles and coinsurance amounts for Medicare Part A and Part B programs: https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2017-Fact-Sheet-items/2017-11-17.html

• A new fact sheet by the AARP Public Policy Institute provides 10 key facts about the Medicare population, including information about age, health, coverage, financial resources and more: https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/2017/11/who-relies-on-medicare-a-profile-of-the-medicare-population.pdf

• The National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) has released a new issue brief. "State Aging and Disability Agency OAA Data Systems" provides an overview of state agency data systems that are utilized to collect, aggregate and analyze data for the administration of the Older Americans Act (OAA) programs: http://nasuad.org/newsroom/nasuad-news/state-aging-and-disability-agency-oaa-data-systems

• Older Driver Safety Awareness Week is Dec. 4-8, 2017, and the American Occupational Therapy Association practitioners to help identify older individuals' unique challenges and find strategies that will help them live life to its fullest by keeping them active, healthy and safe in their communities: https://www.aota.org/Conference-Events/Older-Driver-Safety-Awareness-Week.aspx

• The ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center has developed new fact sheets for family caregivers. The "Nine Steps to Respite" series focuses on a variety of caregiving situations to help individuals identify available resources, access respite care and pay for it: https://archrespite.org/consumer-information/family-caregiver-fact-sheets

• A new infographic developed by the Administration for Community Living illustrates the support it provided to family caregivers in 2015 and the value of that support:
  https://www.acl.gov/sites/default/files/news%202017-11/CaregiverGraphicFinal.pdf

• The Northeast Business Group on Health has partnered with AARP to create a three-pronged toolkit to help employers understand the demands on employee caregivers and the tangible, bottom-line benefits to supporting them: https://nebgh.org/family-caregiving-login/

• Heading into winter, older Iowans should be aware that Medicare helps pay for four common vaccines (influenza, shingles, pneumococcal and hepatitis B): https://www.ncoa.org/blog/4-important-vaccines-seniors-covered-medicare/

• A new Spotlight from the AARP Public Policy Institute discusses the Medicare home health benefit that serves millions of Americans by allowing homebound older adults to get skilled care in their homes. The issue includes information about Medicare rules for coverage of home health care services: https://www.aarp.org/ppi/info-2017/understanding-medicares-home-health-benefit.html

• The National Council on Aging and the National Alliance for Caregiving recently published a Falls Prevention Conversation Guide for Caregivers designed to empower family caregivers to talk with their loved ones or health care professionals about creating a falls prevention action plan: https://www.ncoa.org/resources/falls-prevention-conversation-guide-caregivers/

• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) warns Medicare participants to protect their identity and help prevent health care fraud by guarding their Medicare card like they would a credit card, especially during the Open Enrollment period that ends Dec. 7: https://www.medicare.gov/forms-help-and-resources/report-fraud-and-abuse/fraud-and-abuse.html 

Webinar: "Explore Helpful Healthy Aging Resources from the NCOA"

Tuesday, Dec. 12 (1 p.m. CT)
More Information | Register

Webinar: "Legal Basics: Medicare Savings Programs"

Wednesday, Dec. 13 (1 p.m. CT)
More Information | Register

The mission of the Iowa Department on Aging is to develop a comprehensive, coordinated and

cost-effective system of long-term living and community support services that helps older Iowans maintain

health and independence in their homes and communities.