From the Net by Elaine Steward #15

Hi again from Elaine Steward! Following, is my most recent list of things which may be of general interest to us retirees. If have something you’d like to share, please post it to the comments section at the end of this blog.

Take an active role in your hospital aftercare to avoid having to return! For guidelines, see www.caretransitions.org/documents/Transition_Skills.pdf

For a daily email containing information on interesting new Web sites, sign up at netted.net/

A safety tip: Put your car keys beside your bed at night. In the event that you think there is an intruder in the middle of the night, setting off your car alarm may deter the intruder.

For those of you who are 70 ½ or older, Minimum Required Distributions (MRDs) from your tax sheltered funds are once again required. For Fidelity’s suggestions of what to consider, go to guidance.fidelity.com/viewpoints/smart-ira-withdrawal-strategies

For information on how to prepare for all sorts of emergencies, go to www.ready.gov/america/index.html Links which include contact information specific to your state.

For a source of instructions for organizing one’s financial records designed specifically for seniors, go to www.todaysseniors.com/pages/Organizers.html

For a fun free website where one can print an envelope with a custom lining from Google (I chose Paris) and a personal message, go to mapenvelope.com/ I had to use Firefox as my browser for the envelope to print correctly, but it was worth it! (Print-out is scored so one can properly fold the envelope. Envelope is invitation sized.)

To test your ability to focus, go to www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/06/07/technology/20100607-distraction-filtering-demo.html?th&emc=th

Cell phone safety tips from Verizon Wireless:

Save Emergency Numbers in Your Phone: You may need to reach family members, friends, medical professionals, and emergency contacts during a weather emergency, power outage or while traveling.

Remember Your Charger: Get a car charger. In emergency situations, it also helps to have a back-up power source such as a spare battery.

Learn How to Use Your Phone’s Features: You never know when you’ll need to snap a photo, speed dial, take notes or save a phone number. And download Google Maps if you can. It can come in handy if you need directions and to help you locate emergency services.

Text Message in an Emergency: When a disaster strikes and communications networks are busy or you want to conserve your phone’s power, a text message can be your best bet.

Go Handsfree: Use a Bluetooth or corded headset whenever using your phone while driving.

For those of you who are QUICKEN users, I recommend that you use the “scheduled transaction” feature so that, should someone else have to pay your bills, they will not miss anything. You can schedule reminders for any cycle from weekly to annually. This will also help you to avoid late payments if a bill should get lost in the mail.

If you travel a lot, and would prefer to ship your luggage than to check it, check out www.luggagefree.com/


1) From AARP – bulletin.aarp.org

Ever heard of cybersquatting? It's time you did! Get the facts on how dishonest businesses are using copycat websites to deceive online shoppers. And get tips to protect yourself at www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-05-2010/watch_that_watch.html?cmp=NLC-WBLTR-CTRL-60410-F1-1

For recommendations for the single traveler, go to www.aarp.org/travel/travel-tips/info-06-2009/peter_greenberg_single_travelers.html?cmp=NLC-WBLTR-CTRL-60410-F3t-13

Last year the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that people over 80 not take aspirin at all because of bleeding risk. For more on prophylactic aspirin, see www.aarp.org/health/drugs-supplements/info-04-2010/can_an_aspirin_do_more_harm_than_good.html

2) From California Healthline – www.californiahealthline.org/

New Study Shows Impact of Program Allowing Patients to Document Wishes for End-of-Life Treatment. Medical order program available in California is linked to lower rates of unwanted hospitalization. The program is known in California as Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST).

Mark Smith on Health Reform in California CHCF President Mark Smith makes five recommendations about how to proceed with implementing health care reform legislation in California. Read the complete version of Dr. Smith's opinion piece that appeared in The Sacramento Bee.

Calif. Health Officials Declare Epidemic of Whooping Cough [On 23 June] California health authorities declared an epidemic of pertussis, or whooping cough, in the state. (McKinley, New York Times, 6/23).

Pre-Reform Health Plans Might Lose Reform Law Exemption Draft regulations by the Obama administration indicate that more than half of employer-sponsored health care plans might lose their "grandfathered status" in 2013 and be forced to change in order to comply with regulations in the new health reform law, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Single Payer Bill Back in the Mix The normally sedate audience at an Assembly health committee hearing broke into spontaneous applause [the first week of July] as Senate member Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) stepped to the microphone. Leno was introducing SB 810, which would establish a single-payer health care system in California.

3) From Carepages – www.carepages.com

There seems to be no specific connection between vasectomy and prostate cancer. For more information, go to www.carepages.com/cancer/vasectomy-and-prostate-cancer-risk.html

This site also has discussion boards on emotional eating, grieving, and the like.

4) From CurXeD – curxed.human.cornell.edu/

For an assessment of the financial viability of various Social Security Programs, go to curxed.human.cornell.edu/docs/Trust_Funding.pdf Of interest is the note at the end, which indicates how much actuaries have overestimated the public cost of the Medicare Part D side of the program.

5) I do hope you are all following the (USC) Dean’s Council on Health Reform at www.healthreform.usc.edu/ It is a very rich site

6) From iHealthBeat - www.ihealthbeat.org/

Study Sees Improved Outcomes for Patients Who E-Mail Doctors Individuals who e-mailed their physicians experienced better outcomes on management of two chronic diseases than people who did not e-mail, according to a new study of Kaiser Permanente patients, the Sacramento Bee reports (Peyton Dahlberg, Sacramento Bee, 7/7).

'Meaningful Use' Rules Sent to OMB; Final Release Approaches
The Office of Management and Budget has received the final rule defining how health care providers can demonstrate "meaningful use" of electronic health records, as well as the final rule on EHR standards and certification criteria. Requesting OMB approval typically is the first step before regulations are published in the Federal Register. Modern Healthcare, Health Data Management.

Federal Government Launches Website on Health Care Options On [7 July], the Obama administration unveiled its new www.healthcare.gov website, the Washington Post reports. The federal health reform law called for the creation of the site.

Obama Administration Unveils New Apps for Health, Other Services On [2 July], the Obama administration unveiled 18 mobile phone-based applications, including several health-related programs, the Federal Times reports (Reilly, Federal Times, 7/2). To check them out, go to apps.usa.gov/ It looks like the site is incomplete – not all apps have downloads for all smartphones.

Telehealth Tools Seen as Key to VA's Rural Health Care Strategy At a [28 June] hearing of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health , experts encouraged the use of wireless health technologies to improve care quality and expand access to care, Healthcare IT News reports.

Electronic Pill Bottle Boosts Rx Adherence, Researchers Find Patients with elevated blood pressure who used a wireless electronic pill bottle were 27% more likely to adhere to their anti-hypertension prescription drug regimen than patients without the electronic pill bottle, according to an interim analysis of an ongoing study, Healthcare IT News reports. GlowCap The Center for Connected Health is conducting the six-month study, which aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the wireless prescription product GlowCap. GlowCap, which was developed by medical product firm Vitality, fits popular pill containers and uses lights and sounds to alert patients to take their medications at appropriate times.

New Online Programs Allow Consumers To Compare Health Prices Castlight Health is one of several new programs designed to help patients search for local physicians based on the services they offer and the prices of various procedures, the New York Times reports.

New FDA Website To Post Risk Summaries of Approved Drugs On [15 June] the FDA announced that it will release risk summaries about medicines approved after September 2007 and post them quarterly to a publicly accessible website, Reuters reports. Directory is at www.fda.gov/default.htm

7) From Miscellaneous Sources

For 27 safety precautions for under $40, go to www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2010/05/25/home-safe-home-27-safety-precautions-under-40/


8) From My Medicare Matters – www.mymedicarevommunity.org/

My Medicare Matters offers Webinars (live on-line training) for those who are Medicare advocates. If you are interested in being notified of training sessions, please contact me at esslady@gmail.com

Plan Finder Redesign Recently the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a redesigned Plan Finder tool on the Medicare Website. CMS offers a tutorial video to walk you through the new layout and features. Go to www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan/staticpages/help/medicare_plan_finder.htm

On June 25, 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would implement key provisions from the Affordable Care Act that expand preventive benefits for Medicare beneficiaries and identify which preventive services will be free to people with Medicare starting next year. $250 checks for those Part D members who are in the “donut hole” are in the mail.

As of June 1, 2010, MediGap companies can no longer sell policies E, H, I, and J. Along with plans A, B, C, D, F, high-deductible F, G, K, and L, companies may now offer two new plans – plans M and N. Also, preventive benefits not covered by Medicare won't be included in newly sold Policy E and the at-home recovery benefit are eliminated from any new MediGap policy D or G sold from now on. People also will see a new hospice cost-sharing benefit added to the core benefit of all plans sold effective June 1.

9) From NCOA – www.ncoa.org

For a fact sheet on what health care reform means for seniors, go to www.ncoa.org/assets/files/pdf/Straight-Talk-for-Seniors.pdf

For a free brochure on reverse mortgages, go to www.ncoa.org/news-ncoa-publications/publications/ncoa_reverse_mortgage_booklet_073109.pdf?u


10) From The New York Times Health Update – nytdirect@nytimes.com

For 5 ways to keep on-line criminals at bay, go to www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/technology/personaltech/20basics.html?8cir&emc=cirb1

For a list of things to consider before having a hip or knee replacement, go to www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/health/03patient.html?nl=health&emc=healthupdateema4

For aftercare tips for individuals checking out of the hospital, go to www.nytimes.com/2010/06/19/health/19patient.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

For a column on Getting on with life after a partner dies, go to www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/health/15brod.html?ref=health