Fwd: Can I have both Medicare and Medicaid?

[Guest guest]

Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:40:59

-0800

Subject: Can I have both Medicare and Medicaid?

From: " Dear Marci / Medicare Rights Center "

Topic of the Month:

Medicare Options

This week, in Marci . . .

Volume 7, Issue 47: Week of November 24, 2008

Dear Marci: Can I have both Medicare and

Medicaid?

Get Resources: Resources for

understanding your Medicare options. Health Tip: Using video games to stay

healthy. Survey Says: A silver lining for female

migraine sufferers.

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Dear Marci,

I recently realized that I am eligible for Medicaid in my state, but I

already have Medicare. Can I have both at the same time?

— (Portland, OR)

Click on the blue, underlined hyperlinks for related

information available through Medicare Interactive!

Dear ,

Yes. As long as you meet Medicaid’s income and asset limits, you can

have both Medicare and Medicaid benefits, but Medicare will

always be the primary payer and Medicaid will pay second. Medicaid

can pay for many medical expenses

not covered by Medicare, such as personal care at home, long-term

nursing home care or transportation to the doctor.

If you are eligible for Medicaid, the government will also pay your

Medicare

Part B premium

(

$96.40/month), but you may need to actively enroll in the

Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Program (QMB) in addition to Medicare.

Also, when you have Medicaid, you will automatically qualify for

Extra Help, a federal program that helps pay for most of the costs of

the

Medicare drug benefit (Part D).

To find out more about how Medicaid will work with Medicare to

cover your medical costs, visit

Medicare Interactive.

— Marci

Looking for past Dear Marci Answers? Have other Medicare

questions? Find your answers with Medicare Interactive (MI), an

independent, public resource of the Medicare Rights Center. MI offers

expert information and advice on Medicare.

Visit Medicare Interactive today!

Do you need individual counseling? Call the Medicare Rights

Center's consumer hotline at , between 9 a.m. and 5

p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. A Medicare counselor will be

happy to answer your question.

You can also call your

State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for personal

counseling on Medicare benefits, rights and options. Call

Social Security () for questions about enrolling

in Medicare or applying for Extra Help!

Feel free to

send comments about Dear Marci or suggestions

about topics you would like Dear Marci to cover.

Health Tip of the Week

Every year, thousands of patients endure some form of physical therapy,

which can often be painful and repetitive. It is used in treatment for

recovery from a wide variety of ailments including strokes (suffered by

700,000 Americans annually), heart attacks

(

1.1 million a year), sports injuries and car crashes. To make rehab

more enjoyable, several hospitals and rehabilitation clinics across the

country have begun supplementing traditional therapy with use of

Nintendo’s Wii video game console. The Wii’s wireless

motion-sensitive controller requires the user to move around in order to

engage in sports like bowling and boxing.

Wiihabilitation is proving that repetitive stretching and lifting

exercises don’t have to be boring.

When you use Wii at home, be aware that the workout you get will be as

rigourous or as easy as you make it. Here are some ways you can use Wii

to help you stay in shape:

Keep moving: While playing Wii tennis, jog in place to keep up

your heart rate.

Use your imagination: If you’re taking on Wii boxing,

pretend you really are bobbing and weaving to avoid and deliver punches.

Don’t stick to your favorite: Give all the games a chance.

You burn up to 433 calories just by playing 12 minutes of each game on

the Wii Sports disc (boxing, tennis, golf, bowling and baseball).

For more tips on staying fit with the Wii, visit

Time Out New York and

Men’s Fitness. To find out which kinds of rehabilitation

therapy are covered by Medicare, visit

Medicare Interactive.

Survey Says . . .

A new

study published by

Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention found that

women who have a history of

migraine headaches are far less likely to develop breast cancer than

other women.

The study analyzed data from two reports of 3,412 post-menopausal women

in the Seattle area, 1,938 of whom had been diagnosed with breast cancer

and 1,474 of whom had no history of breast cancer. Overall, women who had

a history of migraines had a 30 percent lower risk of breast cancer

compared to women who did not have a history of such headaches.

Researchers were not certain why the migraine sufferers had a lowered

risk of breast cancer. It is possible that their risk was lowered by use

of migraine treatments like ibuprofen that are associated with a reduced

risk of breast cancer. The most common types of breast cancers, such as

estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer and progesterone-receptor

positive breast cancer, are driven by hormones

(

estrogen and

progesterone, respectively), which also play a part in migraines. The

study noted that since migraines are often caused by low levels of

estrogen, women who get migraines may have a chronically lower baseline

of estrogen which protects them against breast cancer.

For a summary of the study, visit

Scientific American.

To find out more about how Medicare covers mammogram screenings, visit

Medicare Interactive.

Spotlight on Resources

Find answers to your questions about Medicare health plan options on

Medicare Interactive. For information about services and resources

for older adults and persons with disabilities, visit the

National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. For free one-on-one

counseling and assistance on Medicare and related issues, contact your

State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). For help getting

screened for benefit programs available to older adults with limited

incomes, visit

Benefits Check Up.

* * * * * *

MRC's Hotline for Professionals

Do you help people with Medicare? Where do you turn to for help? Call the

Professional Hotline, a national service offered by the Medicare Rights

Center to support people serving the Medicare population. Dial

from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time for accurate, up-to-date

information and ongoing technical support.

* * * * * *

Need Help Choosing a Medicare Part D Plan?

Check out MRC’s latest FREE educational web seminar,

“Comparing Medicare Prescription Drug Plans: The Medicare Drug Plan

Finder†to learn how to search for the Part D plan that best meets

your needs.

Listen to a recording of this online presentation.

* * * * * *

Newly Updated Medicare Drug Coverage 101

MRC’s Medicare Drug Coverage 101 is an advocate's guide that

tells you everything you need to know about Part D.

Get a

FREE

copy of this great resource.

* * * * * *

Newly Updated Medicare Part D Appeals Help for Advocates

MRC’s

Medicare Part D Appeals: An advocate's manual to navigating the

Medicare private drug plan appeals process offers an

easy-to-understand, comprehensive overview of the entire appeals process,

including real-life case examples.

Get a

FREE

copy of this great resource.

* * * * * *

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other professionals—in the loop about health care beneffits, rights and

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Contents are 2008 by Medicare Rights Center, 520 Eighth Avenue, North

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