Some people need help in doing activities like dressing, eating, bathing or bathroom use (and this is where certain mobility accessories make lives easier). These folks do not need constant help or supervision, but they may need assistance in certain tasks. One of the most viable and suitable options for such people is that of assisted living. This way of life promotes assistance as well as a certain level of independence using assisted living. There are some agencies that provide assisted living facilities that vary greatly, but are generally regulated at the level of the state. In assisted living it is possible that you get some help with your shopping while you take care of your own cooking etc.

When it comes to making important decisions about unconstrained options, it is vital to consult and take into confidence loved ones as well as those who are responsible for the person’s estate at a later stage. It is always advisable to look at other financial alternatives in case liquidation of assets is being considered for assisted living related payments.

Assisted living could consist of people living in apartments that tend to be quite luxurious. These apartments are less like nursing homes and more like hotel suites, where you get a private apartment with separate kitchen and bathroom facilities. Some people do not need constant medical attention or care. Such people can stay in assisted living apartments where the housing complex has medical facilities, should they be needed. The same folks can also have their own independence or privacy as well as freedom to join in social and group activities (some as fun as electric wheelchair races where the winner is the person who split the least amount of beverage out of their drink holder) which are all based on their own choice and decision.

In most cases there is an appreciable difference between facilities in assisted living homes and in nursing homes. There are Assisted living and Continued Care Retirement Communities that are flexible to adapt and accommodate the special needs of senior citizens. In most cases nursing homes are availed only when medical care and attention is needed in a more permanent environment with round the clock monitoring as well.

Assisted living homes have special administrators who are responsible for facilities, food preparation and provision as well as stocking of adequate medicines for residents of the facility. Their task is very different from that of a marketing person who has to promote the facility and also liaise with family members and prospective clients. This is why a marketing professional should not be burdened with admin responsibilities as it could dilute the focus of the individual.

There is no uniformity in the assisted living services that are present in different states. The nursing home services in one state could be equivalent to assisted living in another state. This is why state legislatures are not endeavoring to bring about standardization in the services. Even the names of assisted living services vary from state to state. In some states like Colorado, they are known as senior housing, whereas they may be known as retirement living homes, adult living facilities or elderly care housing in others. Many assisted living homes have special handrails, bathroom fixtures and a hospital bed as required. These are generally less spacious as compared to general apartments, though.

Changes in the Medicare law will mean more beneficiaries can receive help with their prescription drugs under the Extra Help program.  Before this change many individuals were disqualified from the Extra Help program because their resources were too high.  Life insurance policies are no longer considered a resource, which may pave the way for many beneficiaries to now qualify.  Also any assistance you receive in paying your bill will no longer be considered as income.

Anyone with limited income and on the Medicare drug program and not on SSI should apply to see if he or she can qualify.  It could save you a lot of money on your drug bills.

Everyone To Get ‘Extra Help’ Rx Benefit | Sweetness & Light

About 32 million seniors are enrolled in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. About 30 percent of them are enrolled in the extra help program, also known as the low-income subsidy. So now everybody will get “extra help. …

Extra Help for Medicare: Social Security Announces a New “Twist …

Changes Make it Easier to Qualify for Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, and Chubby.

Changes Make it Easier to Qualify for Extra Help with Medicare …

Chubby Checker and Social Security Commissioner Astrue Announce a New “Twist” in the Law Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, and Chubby Checker, Grammy Award winner and rock and roll legend, today launched a new campaign …

1million more Seniors will have access to drugs …the program is …

Anyone who has Medicare can get Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. Some people with limited income and resources are eligible for Extra Help to pay for the costs–monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and prescription …

It Is Now Easier To Qualify For Extra Help With Medicare …

The extra help program currently provides assistance to more than nine million senior and disabled Americans — saving them an average of almost $4000 a year on their Medicare prescription drug plan costs. To apply for extra help, …

Pfizer , Inc. has been hit with the largest settlement in history.

They will be paying $2.3 billion for illegal promotion of their drugs. Pfizer is the largest drug manufacturer in the world. This is not their first run in with the law and illegally pandering their drugs.

“To promote the drugs, authorities said Pfizer invited doctors to consultant meetings at resort locations, paying their expenses and providing perks. They were entertained with golf, massages, and other activities,” said Mike Loucks, the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts.”

Apparently, all the doctors who were seduced to write prescriptions as a result of their wining and dining walk away Scot free. It appears to me that they are just as guilty as Pfizer. They allowed themselves to be bought for little more than “golf, massages, and other activities.”

These doctors should pay for their misconduct.

Pfizer, is of course feeding us the normal blather that corporate America tries to feed us when they are caught with their pants down.

Amy W. Schulman, senior vice president and general counsel of Pfizer stated, “Corporate integrity is an absolute priority for Pfizer,” she said, “and we will continue to take appropriate actions to further enhance our compliance practices and strengthen public trust in our company.”

Hopefully Pfizer will be watched must closer by the authorities than they have in the past, since this action, accompanied the previous actions, show that they have very little corporate conscience.

Everywhere you go on the internet, there is talk about health care reform.  Looking briefly at Obama’s plan for health care reform, the face of health care will be drastically changed.

But, is such an extreme overhaul necessary?  The reasons given for reform are there are so many without health insurance it and the spiraling rise in the cost of health care.

The population of the US is about 304 million, based on 2008 estimates.  It is estimated that about 46 million people do not have health insurance.  About 20% of these are illegal aliens.

So, do we need to completely disrupt our health care service delivery to accommodate 1/6 of our population?

There is no question that something needs to be done to help the 46 million who do not have health insurance.

Most of the uninsured are uninsured because they do not have enough money to pay for health insurance.  At $200-$300 for an individual and $700-$800 to insure a family, many just cannot afford health insurance.

The federal government already runs two huge health delivery systems—Medicare and Medicaid.  Both are rife with fraud and mismanagement.

I worked for the Social Security Administration for over 33 years and have first hand knowledge of the problems within the Medicare program.

Medicare is a program on the verge of insolvency, yet $500 million will be taken out of the Medicare program to finance Obama’s health care reform.  Where will that leave the seniors and disabled—with an even more inadequate health insurance coverage?

A very small percentage of fraud within the Medicare program is addressed simply because there are not enough investigators to handle all the cases.  After years of downsizing, the federal government just does not have the personnel to handle the workload.  And anyone with the resources carries a supplemental policy to their Medicare simply because of the inadequacy of their coverage.

But after the criticisms have been leveled, both programs do provide health care coverage to their targeted groups, even though it is inadequate.  It is better than no coverage at all.

Can we expect anything more from the massive health care reforms being sold to the country now?

I have had the same health care policy for over 30 years.  It is not perfect, but I reared two wonderful children on this policy.  It has covered all our illnesses and surgeries that occurred during our lifetime with reasonable co-pays.  My wife and I feel it is among the best for the money.

Now I am being told that, if this reform passes, that I will have to give up this insurance and switch over to a government administered policy.  This scares the daylights out of me and makes me very angry at a government that is supposed to be representing all of its citizens.  There are millions of people that probably feel exactly as I do.

I do not want to give up what has proved to be good insurance for a program that is run by the federal government.  I do not believe that the millions who have had adequate health insurance want that either.

With the federal government’s track record on administering health care, who would want to give up a proven product?

As an alternative, use the Medicaid program as a framework, since it is already geared to the poor.  Open it up to the working poor and others with inadequate or no health insurance, establish premiums based on income, and paid for entirely by the federal government.

Most, if not all of the uninsured and under-insured would have access to health insurance, if the cost is reasonable.  I know that this is a very simplistic approach, but something along these lines might just work without destroying the entire framework of our health care.

We still have a voice and now is the time to use it!!