Caregiver Tip of the Month

Time is running out for low income seniors. If they don't enroll by December 31st, they will lose their $600 prescription drug benefit for 2004. But, if they do sign up by December 31st, any unused portion will carry over into 2005. For example: if your loved one uses only $300 of the credit this year, she or he will have a total credit of $900 to spend for prescription drugs in 2005; if they don't spend anything this year, their total available credit next year will be $1,200. And, once they've enrolled, their card can be used until December 31, 2005, when Medicare's new Part D - Drug Coverage - will replace it.

What's "low income?" Less than $12,569 annually for individuals, or $16,862 for couples. If your loved one qualifies, Medicare will waive the $30 annual fee for the card, and require only a 5% to 10% copayment for each prescription, up to their total available credit.

Discounted prescription drug prices vary from card to card. If your loved one takes a lot of prescriptions, it unlikely that one card will cover them all. To stretch their $600 annual savings as far as possible, look at their prescriptions and focus on the ones that cost most. Then, pick the card that will give them the greatest savings. The cards offered by pharmaceutical companies give discounts only on the drugs they make. As a result, you may want to select a card accepted by one of the major pharmacy chains (perhaps even Wal-Mart) to get the best discounts on the greatest number of your loved one's medications.

To find out more information online about which cards are available in your area, click on Medicare.gov. In the Features section, click on "Find available Medicare-approved drug discount cards, and compare prices for your prescriptions." That will take you to their "Prescription Drug and Other Assistance Programs" page. Then, simply follow the instructions. Important Note: Pages on Medicare's website download very slowly even if you have a broadband connection. Be patient – the website and/or your computer isn't broken.

Another valuable source of information is AARP. For detailed information about Medicare's new drug discount cards, visit their online Bulletin. Simply click on the link, then go to the right-hand column to their Spotlight on Medicare Drug Discount Cards and select the topics you want more infomation about.

Our visitors ask ...

Q. My mother is nearly 90 years old. She has had no appetite for any kind of food recently. And she is getting thinner and thinner. Do you have any idea about what might be going on?

A. Many treatable health conditions can cause loss of appetite and weight loss for the elderly. The most common include:

— Prescription drugs interactions and side effects
— The combined effect of weight loss/gain and medications
— Dehydration
— Vitamin B12 deficiency
— Falls and concussions
— Depression
— Alcohol use
— Alzheimer's disease and other form of dementia

Most of these conditions can be life-threatening if not treated quickly. Or, an elderly person could needlessly face a life of despair in a nursing home. But, if treated early enough, an older person can very often regain a full and normal life. (For more information about many of these conditions, click on our page, "Symptoms of Major Health Conditions.")

Our recommendation – Take your mother to a doctor as soon as possible, even if it means that you must take time off from work. (If money is a concern, the tests to diagnose her problem and her doctor charges will usually be paid for by Medicare.)

Daily Living Solutions

— products for seniors —

As we grow older, it often becomes difficult to use many everyday products because of arthritis and other conditions. If you or a loved one needs a little help – or a lot – we've selected a group of practical and affordable solutions from our affiliated merchants to help overcome those limitations.

Whether you are looking for yourself, or to help an elderly senior continue living in their own home, you'll find a wide variety of supplies and accessories – raised toilet seats, safety rails, incontinence supplies, large-handle eating utensils, pain relief, diabetic supplies, pill splitters and crushers, big-button telephones, canes, walkers, rollators, wheelchairs – and much more.

Everything is sorted into convenient categories in our Solutions for Seniors section.

Caregiving – Finding the money for care at home

A variety of resources can help pay for care at home. We discussed these resources in some detail beginning with the May 2004 issue of this newsletter and continuing each month through the August issue. To review these newsletters, simply click on Archives and select the issue you want to see.

Caregiver Tip #2

The holiday season is rapidly approaching. Quite often, that includes visits to older relatives when we should be watchful for unsettling warning signs that they may need assistance. Take a look at our checklists for more helpful information ...

Elderly Driving – When to put the brakes on elderly drivers. When the question of declining driving abilities becomes personal, the issues involved with elderly driving are very emotional. Elderly drivers might get defensive – even angry – when the subject of their driving abilities is raised. For more information about elderly driving ...

Home Alone – Are they OK? Will your loved one be safe? Will he or she wander off? Will they let strangers into the house? Will they turn on the stove and forget to turn it off? Here's more information to guide you.

Home Safety – Is your loved one's home safe? More than 600,000 seniors are treated each year in hospital emergency rooms for injuries at home. These injuries often result from hazards that are easy to overlook, but easy to fix. Use this checklist to spot possible safety problems.

Our visitors ask ...

Q. My 94-year old mother-in-law lives with us in California. She still has her farm in Ohio and we keep her banking there for residence purposes. Last week we were visiting the farm and decided to shift her bank account to a bank here in California so that we could have Internet access from here. The account representative at the new bank called the feds to have her Social Security direct deposit shifted from her old bank to the new one.

We were told that this could not be done even though my wife has her mother's power of attorney. My mother-in-law is hard of hearing and is physically restricted to our apartment.

Any suggestions for getting the feds to shift the direct deposit without hassles?

A. Contrary to popular belief, a power of attorney cannot be used for all financial matters related to the person who created it. As just one example, the Social Security Administration does not accept a power of attorney. Instead, to quote their website ...

"Social Security's Representative Payment Program provides financial management for the Social Security and SSI payments of our beneficiaries who are incapable of managing their Social Security or SSI payments. Generally, we look for family or friends to serve in this capacity."

For more information from Social Security, click on Representative Payee Program. After you and/or your wife has been designated as the Representative Payee, you can have your mother-in-law's direct deposit shifted to the new bank in California.

Recommended Reading and Videos

Many excellent books and videos can help guide you through the caregiving process. For our recommendations, including a brief description of each one, click here.

The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is intended as a supplement, not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider. More