Premium Tax Credit
Tax credits are an important way of
making marketplace coverage afford-
able for lower and middle income
families who are not eligible for pub-
lic or employer-sponsored coverage.
If you qualify, you may choose how
much advance credit payments you
want to apply to your premiums each
month up to a maximum amount.
If the amount of advance credit pay-
ments is less than the tax credit you're
due, you'll receive a refundable credit
when you file your federal income tax
return. If your advance payments are
more than the amount of your credit,
you must repay the excess advance
payments with your tax return.
Medicare Reform
The advantage of being 65 and older
and covered by Medicare is that you
are not as directly affected by the new
health care reform rules and regula-
tions as those age 64 and under.
There will there be no cuts to
Medicare Parts A and B benefits. In
addition, you are already eligible to
receive Medicare-covered preventive
services at no cost.
For those who have reached "the
donut hole," the coverage gap in
Medicare prescription drug coverage,
the coinsurance rate for generic drugs
is being reduced, and there are larger
brand-name discounts. Over time,
the donut hole will be eliminated and
cost-sharing for drugs will continue to
decrease.
Those enrolled in Medicare Advantage
may want to revisit their insurance
plans. Changes are likely to take place
here because government payments to
this plan, run by private insurers, will
be reduced over the next 10 years.
Penalty For No Coverage
The law requires that all U.S. citizens
and legal residents are required to buy
health insurance or pay a penalty. If
you can afford health insurance and
don't have coverage by 2014, you may
have to pay a fee plus all expenses for
your health care. You won't be protect-
ed from the kind of very high medical
bills that can lead to bankruptcy.
The fee in 2014 is 1 percent of your
yearly income or $95 per person for
the year, whichever is higher. The fee
increases every year. In 2016, the fee is
2.5 percent of income or $695 per per-
son, whichever is higher.
Open enrollment ends on March 31,
2014. You won't be able to get health
coverage through the marketplace
until the next annual enrollment
period unless you qualify with some
type of minimum coverage, including
Medicaid.
❑
Weisberg Gift
Assists Elderly
At Beaumont
B
eaumont Hospital, Royal
Oak, has opened a 26-bed
inpatient unit designed to
address the special needs of a grow-
ing number of patients aged 65 and
older. It's focused on maximizing
recovery so that patients return to
the quality of life they enjoyed prior
to hospitalization.
The unit's
creation was
supported with
a $1.5 million
gift from Alvin
and Henrietta
Weisberg of
Bloomfield Hills
and is named the
Henrietta and
Henrietta & Alvin
Alvin Weisberg
Weisberg Center
for Acute Care for the Elderly.
Working with patients' attending
physicians, the unit offers multidis-
ciplinary care directed by Beaumont
geriatricians. All of the unit's nurses
and nursing assistants have completed
specialized training in gerontology
nursing through a national organi-
zation (Nurses Improving Care for
Healthsystem Elders) dedicated to
improving care of older adults. They
collaborate with care managers, phar-
macists, physical and occupational
therapists, speech pathologists and
social workers who also specialize in
geriatric care.
"Beaumont saved my life five years
ago, and we are so pleased to be able
to support a specialized center for
seniors" says Alvin Weisberg, who
grew up on Detroit's west side, the son
of a grocer. "We wanted to give back
to Beaumont. As they say, the coin is
round and it always comes back"
Dr. Michael Maddens, Weisberg's
doctor, chair of the department of med-
icine at Beaumont, Royal Oak, says,
"Their gift will help us not only add
years to life, but add life to the years of
our senior patients"
The unit features a dayroom that
offers a home-like atmosphere encour-
aging family and patient interaction,
with activities that promote mental and
physical function and socialization.
Patients have the option of eating in
their own room or with others in the
dayroom.
There's also a family conference
room equipped with Skype and a
SMART interactive whiteboard to allow
family members near and far to take
part in conversations about the care of
their loved ones.
For more, visit www.beaumont.edu/
acute-elderly-care.
❑
For the Best Stroke Treatment,
Come to St. Joe's
A stroke is an emergency. When you or a
loved one has a stroke, call 911 and get to an
emergency room immediately.
A stroke is a brain attack and can take two
forms: a clot or a bleed in the brain. As the brain
is deprived of oxygen, millions of neurons can
die. If not treated quickly, you can suffer brain
damage or death.
For the best, technologically advanced stroke treatment, come to the leader in
stroke care—St. Joseph Mercy Oakland (SJMO). As the home base of the Michigan
Stroke Network (MSN), SJMO has top stroke specialists—vascular and interventional
neurologists, a neuro intensivist, neurosurgical and neuroendovascular specialists,
neuroscience nurses and a whole team of clinicians—to treat your stroke and restore
your quality of life.
St. Joe's stroke specialists use the latest treatments to resolve a stroke. In
some cases, a clot-busting drug can dissolve the stroke. In more severe cases, an
interventional procedure is performed using the latest technology, such as stent
retrievers, to remove the clot and restore blood flow to the brain. For a bleed in the brain,
other technologies are available.
In 2004, SJMO, a member of the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, became
Michigan's first certified primary stroke center. This laid the foundation for the MSN,
which was launched in October 2006 by Trinity Health and SJMO. The MSN provides
technologically advanced stroke care not only at St. Joe's, but also to more than 30
partner hospitals throughout Michigan via telemedicine, using two-way, audio-visual
robotics to provide remote clinical health care. The MSN works in partnership with the
Wayne State University Physicians Group to provide access to stroke care, ongoing
clinical trials and stroke research across Michigan.
To protect yourself from a stroke, know your risk factors and the signs and symptoms
of stroke.
By
Jack Weiner,
President and CEO
St. Joseph Mercy
Oakland
Risk factors for stroke include:
• Irregular heartbeat
• Diabetes
• High cholesterol
• Smoking
• Alcohol abuse
• Belonging to certain ethnic groups, particularly African American
• Family history of stroke
• Sleep apnea
• Age greater than 55 years
Use the acronym FAST to remember the signs of a stroke:
• F: Face numbness or tingling
• A: Arm weakness or paralysis
• S: Speech abnormality
• T: Time is critical
Ramesh Madhavan,
MD, DM
Be aware of stroke symptoms, including:
• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing out of one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness or loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause
"By knowing the signs and symptoms of a stroke, you can help save a loved one,
says Ramesh Madhavan, MD, DM, an SJMO vascular neurologist and Medical Director of
Telemedicine. "Patients experiencing the symptoms of a stroke need to act fast by calling
911 or going to the nearest primary stroke center, such as SJMO."
Dr. Madhavan advises "to prevent a stroke, follow a healthy diet, reduce your sodium
intake, keep your cholesterol and blood pressure down, exercise and don't smoke."
To learn more about stroke care at SJMO, visit michiganstrokenetwork.com .
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September 26 • 2013
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