While N3 is not able to provide any help with health care or with referrals to specific health care providers, there are many programs that might be useful for seniors. Thoughtful advanced planning can help keep health care costs down. According to an article in Home Health Care News, Medicare Advantage offers significant monetary savings over standard Medicare fee-for-service plans. Medicare Advantage Creates Savings

We Care Program

Low income, uninsured adults in Leon County can get medical care through the We Care program of the Capital Medical Society Foundation. More than 300 volunteer medical physicians and 40 dentists donate specialty medical and dental care, four hospitals and many ancillary (imaging services, home health care agencies, and durable medical equipment) providers donate healthcare services to We Care Network patients.

In addition to donated care, the We Care Network provides help by paying for medications, transportation, and durable medical equipment to ensure patients can follow through with their treatment plans.

Patients must be referred to the We Care Network by their primary care providers, must have a household income that is at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, and cannot be eligible for any other program that will pay for their medical or dental care, such as Medicaid, Medicare, or private insurance. In 2022, 150% of poverty level is $20,385 for a one-person household and $27,465 for a two-person household.

There are also local providers who offer care on a sliding fee scale or even free for those who qualify: 

Bond Community Health Center: www.bondchc.com (850) 576-4073   

Care Point Health and Wellness Center: carepointwellness.com (850) 354-8765   

Many elders postpone visits to doctors for fear of catching contagious diseases in the waiting rooms or offices. This is a good strategy until something comes along that should not be postponed or cannot be managed via a tele-health visit. When that occurs, here are tips for how to manage a visit to the doctor.

Find out in advance of an appointment with the doctor what the practice is doing to avoid contamination. If you do not get satisfactory answers to your questions, consider changing doctors or request special treatment so you feel comfortable in the office. Some questions to ask:

• Are patients screened for fever upon arrival?
• Do I need to wear any protective equipment (such as gloves and/or a mask)?
• Who can accompany me?
• Are areas I will visit cleaned and disinfected between patients?
• Are patients known to have contagious diseases treated in the same areas I will use? Will medical staffers seeing me also see these patients?
• Where am I expected to wait? How many other people are typically in that area? Is there an option to wait in my car?
• What protective equipment does staff wear? 

On the patient’s side of the safety equation, plan to wear a high-quality mask. Be ready with questions and information when the doctor appears so you spend as little time in the clinic as possible. If you need to make notes about information the doctor gives you, take time to do that but have pen and paper ready for use or use your Phone. Do as much as possible on-line, such as filling out forms, prior to the visit.

Even though precautions are tedious, it is important that we continue to be careful for our own health as well as that of others.

(Information in this article summarized from Kaiser Health News, July 6, 2020)

Telehealth – another word the coronavirus pandemic added to our everyday usage list, along with social distancing, self-isolating, etc. Telehealth amounts to “the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care“. This means having an office visit with a doctor at home using an iPhone, for example. We need to become more familiar with telehealth because that may be the safest way to get non-urgent help from a doctor for the foreseeable future. Check with your doctor’s office to determine how to proceed with a telehealth visit.

You may be able to communicate with your doctors or certain other practitioners without necessarily going to the doctor’s office in person for a full visit. Medicare pays for “virtual check-ins”—brief, virtual services with your physician or certain practitioners where the communication isn't related to a medical visit within the previous 7 days and doesn’t lead to a medical visit within the next 24 hours (or soonest appointment available). You need to consent verbally to using virtual check-ins and your doctor must document that consent in your medical record before you use this service. You pay your usual Medicare coinsurance and deductible for these services. Medicare also pays for you to communicate with your doctors using online patient portals without going to the doctor’s office. Like the virtual check-ins, you must initiate these individual communications.

According to Medicare.gov (accessed September 1, 2022) Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance)

Part B covers certain telehealth services, including doctors' services, outpatient care, medical supplies, and preventive services. After you meet the Part B deductible, you pay 20% of the Medicare-Approved Amount for your doctor or other health care provider's services. For many telehealth services, you'll pay the same amount that you would if you got the services in person. Some examples of Medicare-covered telehealth services include: 

• Therapy and online counseling
• Prescription management
• Urgent care issues, like colds, coughs and stomach aches
• Post-surgical follow-up
• Treatment of recurring conditions, like migraines or urinary tract infections
• Treatment of skin conditions
• Lab test or X-ray result consultations

Medicare Advantage Plans and providers who are part of certain Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) may offer more telehealth benefits than Original Medicare. These benefits are available in a variety of places, and you can use them to get services at home instead of going to a health care facility. Check with your plan to see what additional telehealth benefits it may offer. If your provider participates in an ACO, check with them to see what telehealth benefits may be available.

Hospital sitters (also known as “Patient Sitters”) are people who stay with a patient during their overnight stay at the hospital. Hospital Sitters may be assigned by an attending physician (not hospitalist), if a patient is confused or is a safety risk. At Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, physician assigned Hospital Sitters are typically Patient Care Assistants (Certified Nursing Assistants), and they are provided only when medically necessary or legally mandatory, at the discretion of the attending physician and based on internal hospital availability. 



There is also the possibility to contract out for a private Hospital Sitter. www.care.com is a source for background checked caregivers with a broad range of qualifications and availability, should a friend or family member be unable to sit with someone during their hospital stay. Paid Hospital Sitters may cost upwards of $50/hr depending on qualifications.