Open Minds: Florida Faces ADA Lawsuit Over Medicaid HCBS Wait List (January 27, 2019)
This health care trade publication article summarized our complaint in the case Alexander et al., v. Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, including the key facts of the case and noted Florida’s lack of an Olmstead Plan to guide the delivery of services for class members in the least restrictive placement to meet their needs. The article is behind a paywall that can be accessed by members here.
On Wednesday, January 23rd. AARP honored Justice in Aging attorney Denny Chan with its Asian American Pacific Islander Hero Award for his work to advance language access for limited English proficient older adults. Several members of the media attended the event at AARP’s California headquarters in Pasadena. See the list of clips below.
- ETTV News News segment aired on Jan 29, 2019
- Sampan.org January 24, 2019
- MeiMin.us January 24, 2019
- ChineseDaily.com January 26, 2019
- ESO411.com January 28, 2019
- Chinese L.A. Daily News Jan 26, 2019 Print Issue
- Zhong Guo Daily News January 26, 2019 Print Issue
- World Journal, January 24, 2019
Medicare & You is the official government publication designed to provide beneficiaries with factual information about the Medicare program, their choices for obtaining coverage, and the benefits they can expect. Unfortunately, the draft 2019 Handbook includes inaccurate descriptions of the differences between Original Medicare and private Medicare Advantage plans. Without fair and accurate information, older adults, people with disabilities and their families cannot make informed choices about their health care coverage. Read More
The Not Old – Better Show: #144 Fighting Senior Poverty (12/20/17). Listen to Justice in Aging’s Executive Director Kevin Prindiville discuss the state of senior poverty with Paul Taylor Vogelzang, an award-winning blogger, podcaster, writer, producer.
Below is a statement opposing the amended version of the American Health Care Act from Kevin Prindiville, Executive Director of Justice in Aging:
“The new version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) is even worse than the previous one for the older adults in our communities. The new version of the bill includes all of the devastating cuts of the old version, and also further weakens important protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”
“Eight in ten older adults ages 55-64 have pre-existing conditions. The MacArthur amendment would allow insurance companies to discriminate against those with pre-existing conditions by charging them sharply higher premiums, taking us back to pre-ACA days when these older adults couldn’t visit a doctor because they couldn’t afford to purchase insurance.”
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Oakland, CA – On Thursday, March 16, Judge Jon S. Tigar of the Northern District of California granted final approval of the settlement agreement in Hart v. Berryhill, a case filed on behalf of over 4,000 residents of the broader Bay Area and Central Coast whose disability benefits were denied or terminated, based on medical reports of a disqualified physician.
Morrison & Foerster LLP, Justice in Aging, and Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County filed the case against the Social Security Administration (SSA) in 2015 challenging the agency’s reliance on the medical reports of a disqualified physician to make disability eligibility decisions. The physician had been disqualified from performing medical exams for the agency after numerous complaints about their quality and accuracy, and his failure to correct his practices after warnings from the agency, yet the agency continued to rely on his reports. The parties have agreed to a settlement that will allow many plaintiffs to have their disability status redecided.
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OAKLAND – On January 13, 2017, the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Justice in Aging, Medicare Rights Center and 65 other organizations that represent older adults and people with disabilities wrote Congressional leadership expressing grave concern about repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In particular, the organizations urge that any legislation to repeal the ACA be rejected unless it is accompanied by a detailed replacement plan that provides American families with equal or improved access to high-quality, affordable health coverage.
“Repealing the ACA without an immediate replacement could cause 30 million Americans who rely on expanded Medicaid and the individual market to lose health coverage. Over 4.5 million people ages 55 to 64 could lose coverage and the share of uninsured people in this age group could double—from 8% to 19%,” the letter cautioned. Read More
Low-income older adults have significant oral health needs. Unfortunately, they face serious obstacles to obtaining care in large part due to complex and limited health insurance options. This webinar, Oral Health Basics for Low-Income Older Adults, provides a summary of what dental coverage options are available to older adults, a summary of covered and non-covered benefits, how different coverage options work together, and other barriers older adults face in accessing dental care. The webinar also provides advocates and community-based providers the opportunity to share what their clients are experiencing. Read More