Medicare Webinar Zoom Video Recording

IMPORTANT:  PLEASE BE ADVISED that VCCCDRA recommends that retirees only sign up for CalPERS insurance.  Buying insurance from other parties may result in the loss of District paid insurance.

VCCCD Retirees:

I am pleased to announce that retirees can now view the video recording of the ZOOM meeting of the recent VCCCDRA Sponsored Medicare Webinar by clicking the ‘play’ icon below.

Coming up with that simple looking link, required getting to know the file structure of our blog where it is hosted, it required one hour to upload the 1 GB video file up to a folder in that file structure using a special program for that purpose, and it required my creating a pointer called a subdomain name that pinpoints where the uploaded file is.  The upshot is that we now know where to store large video files of any size for free video recordings within our own blog, and we now know how to gain access to them so that future ZOOM video recordings should present no problem in getting them and running in short order.

Banner celebrating Ventura College's 95th Anniversary
Banner celebrating Ventura College’s 95th Anniversary depicting Rene and Angela Rodriguez

As it happens to be my 81st birthday today, which Angela and I celebrated while our home was blacked out by Southern California Edison due to heavy winds, very low humidity and fear of sparking a fire, I would like to share something that Ventura College and its foundation has just honored us with, and that is a picture of us on a banner to celebrate Ventura College’s 95th Anniversary.  The picture was taken by dear friend Carol Weinstock, retired faculty member from Ventura College who now lives in Canada.  Angela and I met in Mr. Rasor’s Introduction to Psychology, and by the time the picture was taken, we were both teaching on campus.

I hope you are all taking special precautions to keep yourselves safe.

Rene G. Rodriguez
President, VCCCDRA

“Making Sense of Medicare”, 01/13/2021, Slides and Audio Files

IMPORTANT:  PLEASE BE ADVISED that VCCCDRA recommends that retirees only sign up for CalPERS insurance.  Buying insurance from other parties may result in the loss of District paid insurance.

Below are links for the slide presentation and audio recordings of the  Medicare Webinar sponsored by VCCCDRA on January 13, 2021.  We recommend that you view the slides while you listen to Scott Klee’s Presentation.

Medicare Zoom Webinar Slide Presentation 

There are TWO  Medicare Webinar recordings 

–       The first recording includes 3 minutes of chatter by retirees joining the meeting, AND  one hour and 20 minutes of the presentation by Scott Klee including the Questions and Answers that followed his presentation

–        The second recording includes time reserved for other questions

To view the video recording of the ZOOM meeting of the recent VCCCDRA Sponsored Medicare Webinar, click the ‘play’ icon below.

 

VCCCDRA retirees contacted by Anthem regarding enrolling in Medicare

Message from Rene Rodriguez, President, VCCCDRA:

Dear VCCCDRA Retirees,

Gary Johnson and I received the email below from Katy Lyon.  If you are one of the retirees that was contacted by Anthem regarding enrolling in Medicare, please contact Katy or Janice Endo as indicated in the email below.

Rene G. Rodriguez,
President, VCCCD Retirees’ Association

On 1/30/2020 12:02 PM, Katy Lyon wrote:

Hi Rene & Gary

We wanted to keep you informed regarding an issue with Medicare enforcement with Anthem.

Several retirees have been contacted by Anthem recently and told that they must enroll in Medicare.  Burnham has notified Anthem and Anthem is working to correct the change internally for the current plan year.  As it involves several departments, it won’t be resolved immediately.  However, once the Medicare Coordination of Benefits department receives internal approval they will reprocess any claims that were processed incorrectly.

Please have any affected retirees contact either me or Janice.

We will update you as we receive more information.

Thanks,
Katy

Katy Lyon
Benefits Analyst
Ventura County Community College District
761 East Daily Drive, Suite 200
Camarillo, CA  93010
(805) 652-5535 phone
(805) 652-7705  fax

klyon@vcccd.edu

Warning about Medicare Hospitalization Coverage when a patient is placed on “Observation Status”

The following newspaper article was shared by retiree, Marta Freixas.  This Medicare article cautions about being placed on “observation status” instead of being admitted when at a hospital seeking treatment.

The LA Times article is published below.  Please note that additional information is available by selecting the blue underlined words and phrases within the article.  The LA Times article is also available thru the link below.

I’m on Medicare, but I still got stuck with a $25,000
hospital bill
ANDREW TAYLOR,  LA Times DEC. 20, 2019

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-12-20/medicare-coverage-hospitalization-patient-costs

On June 30, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson inaugurated the Medicare program with the promise that “nearly every older American will receive hospital care — not as an act of charity, but as the insured right of a senior citizen.”

Medicare Part A was designed to provide that “insured right” to hospital care and is available without cost to every 65-year-old person who qualifies for Social Security. Unfortunately, Medicare Part A has a major gap in its coverage. As a senior citizen with Medicare Part A, I fell through that gap. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, entered the hospital for a radical prostatectomy and spent the following two nights on a general surgical ward. Several weeks later, I was blindsided with a $25,334 bill for my hospitalization. The surgeon’s bill was an additional $4,695 that was not covered by Part A.

Certain the bill was a mistake, I contacted the hospital billing department to remind them that I had Medicare Part A, and that Medicare Part A pays the cost of hospitalization. “That is correct,” the hospital representative replied. But I hadn’t been “admitted,” I was told; I had been hospitalized as an “outpatient” under “observation status.”

Since I hadn’t been formally admitted, those expenses weren’t covered by Medicare Part A, which doesn’t cover observation status. I was stunned and incredulous. General anesthesia, major surgery, two nights on a surgical ward and not admitted? My wife and I are both physicians, but neither of us had any clue that this could be the case.

For many elderly patients, observation status carries an even greater financial hazard. Consider the patient who breaks a hip and needs a week of post-hospital care. Medicare Part A will pay for 20 days in a rehabilitation facility, but only if the patient has been admitted for three days. If the patient is admitted for fewer than three days or hospitalized under observation status, the patient, not Medicare, pays the cost of the rehabilitation facility.

Medicare Part A is often supplemented with Medicare Part B or other insurance to help cover outpatient services, doctor’s fees and drug costs. Under Medicare Part B, the patient is typically responsible for 20% of the Medicare approved amount for each service. For a hospitalization, that can be a very significant out-of-pocket cost. (I wasn’t enrolled in Part B, but did have Blue Cross/Blue Shield supplemental insurance, which required me to pay 20% of the allowable hospital and surgical charges.)

In recent years, an increasing percentage of patients are being placed in observations status. Indeed, some hospitals place up to 70% of their patients in this category.

Why would a hospital categorize a patient under observation status? There are two advantages. First, observation status allows the hospital to avoid accusations of improper hospital admissions or billing by Medicare. Second, a hospital can charge a patient who has only Part A coverage and is on observation status more than Medicare will allow if the patient is admitted.

The unexpected financial penalty imposed by observation status is often compounded with substantial emotional distress. In a feeble attempt to ameliorate the problem, Congress passed the Notice Act in 2015, which requires hospitals to inform patients of the implications of their observation status within 36 hours after observation services have been initiated. In other words, hospitals must advise patients of their observation status only after they have already incurred the expense of surgery and hospitalization.

What can be done? If you are scheduled to be hospitalized for elective surgery, get a written statement from your surgeon and from the hospital that you will be admitted and not placed under observation status. If you are already hospitalized, and receive notice of observation status, pressure your surgeon to change your status to admitted, although the hospital is not required to agree to it. These strategies might help vigilant patients, but not countless others who will still be left with unaffordable bills.

The solution is for Congress to pass a law stating that any person with Medicare Part A coverage is considered admitted if hospitalized overnight, or at the very least, any person hospitalized for a surgical procedure followed by a night in the hospital should be deemed admitted. The law should be simple and targeted, not a component of a broad healthcare reform bill that will never make it through Congress before the next election.

Opponents will argue that such a bill will increase the cost to the federal budget. That may be true, but so what? Congressional Republicans had no hesitation in increasing our national debt to pass tax cuts primarily benefiting corporations and the very wealthy. Why not pass a simple
bill to prevent senior citizens from being blindsided by an inexplicable and unfair gap in Medicare hospital coverage? What better time than an election year to introduce such a bill? Candidates, are you listening?

Andrew Taylor is a professor of radiology and imaging sciences at Emory University School of Medicine.

MEDICARE PRESENTATIONS now available online!

On Nov. 16, 2017 the District Office sponsored presentations on Medicare by Anthem and Kaiser representatives at the Performing Arts Center at Oxnard College.  They included basics on what Medicare covers, how to enroll in Medicare, Medicare premium costs, and how Medicare coordinates with Anthem Blue Cross or Kaiser, depending on which coverage you have.  The District Office Presentation  2017_retiree_benefits_powerpoint explains the coverage that each retiree has depending on their hire and retirement date.  The main presentations regarding Medicare are covered in the Kaiser Medicare Presentation kaiser_medicare_101 and the Anthem Medicare Presentation anthem_medicare_coordination_presentation.

Be sure to read the “Welcome” post in this blog to get a primer on how Medicare may be of value to you as a retiree.

Don’t Miss the District Sponsored Medicare Seminar on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017

All retirees and their spouses need to seriously consider attending the MEDICARE SEMINAR at Oxnard College that is being sponsored by the Ventura County Community College District.

The MEDICARE SEMINAR will take place in the Oxnard College Performing Arts Center from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at 4000 So. Rose Ave., Oxnard, CA.

The “Welcome to the VCCCD Retirees’ Association Blog” post explains the importance of a seminar like this one is to retirees and spouses of all tiers.  Click on Ventura CCD Medicare Seminar 2017 Flyer for more information.  See you THURSDAY at Oxnard College!

Two New Medicare Seminars in July 2017

Jacqueline Ramirez of Anthem/Blue Cross will be conducting two seminars in July,

  • one in Thousand Oaks on July 10,
  • and one in Simi Valley on July 27.
  • Information will also be provided on the popular SilverSneakers.
  • For information on how to reserve a seat for one of these seminars, click on this link July_Events_ABCs Event 1PG 2017 CA

For more information on the seminars, particularly for future retirees, click on this link Age-In Still Working Call Me 1PG 2017 CA

I attended one of Jacqueline’s seminars on April 26, 2017 after learning about it at a Benefits Committee meeting chaired by Gary Johnson.  For my report on this seminar click on this link “Medicare Anyone?” which will take you to the web page What’s New of the retirees’ vcccdra.org website.  You’ll have to scroll down to find the article.

Be sure to read the “Welcome…” article in this blog which discusses who among retirees should consider enrolling in Medicare.

I know others have attended a similar seminar conducted by Jacqueline, and if you have any comments that you wish to share about attending one of these seminars you can send them to me for inclusion in this blog, or simply fill out a comment below.

Rene G. Rodriguez