January 3, 2025, press release from the the Alzheimer’s Association: TOLEDO, OH, Jan. 3, 2025—During Financial Wellness Month this January, the Alzheimer’s Association is encouraging individuals and families to make financial plans that will create some security in preparing for an unexpected crisis of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or other dementia. One in nine Americans aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s disease – that’s nearly 7 million Americans across the country and 236,200 in Ohio. Dementia not only takes a tremendous physical toll on diagnosed individuals, but the costs associated with the disease can be overwhelming and put a huge economical strain on families. Disease-related costs can jeopardize a family’s financial security, and many families and caregivers make enormous personal and financial sacrifices.
August 28, 2024, Press Release from AARP Ohio: COLUMBUS, Ohio-Today, AARP released a report that shows an estimated 127,193 of Ohioans on Medicare prescription drug plans will see savings thanks to a new out-of-pocket cap that starts January 1, 2025. The savings are made possible by a provision in the 2022 prescription drug law that AARP championed which caps out-of-pocket prescription drug costs every year, beginning at $2,000 next year, for America’s 56 million Medicare drug plan enrollees.
July 29, 2024, Press Release from Allen County Public Health: Allen County Public Health (ACPH) is pleased to announce that individuals with Medicare Part D coverage can receive vaccinations from ACPH with no out-of-pocket expenses. Vaccines that are covered with no out-of-pocket costs include all adult vaccines that are recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices including RSV, Shingles, Tdap and vaccines recommended for international travel. Previously ACPH individuals getting vaccinated with Medicare Part D coverage were required to pay for vaccinations and seek reimbursement or individuals were referred to pharmacies to obtain these vaccinations.
July 19, 2024, Press Release from the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio: TOLEDO – Ankita Singh, 42, formerly of Maumee, Ohio, was sentenced to 26 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary, for her role in a durable medical equipment (DME) scheme that defrauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicare Program. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,470,931.02, serve two years of supervised release, and pay a special assessment fee of $600.
LIMA (WLIO) - The Allen County Council on Aging held a Medicare workshop free to the public this afternoon.
A poll from the University of Michigan finds that more than half of older adults have cut back on everyday expenses in the last year, and nearly 1/5 said they have had trouble in the past year paying for health-related costs. Older adults who said they’re in fair or poor physical or mental health were around twice as likely to say they have slashed their health-related spending. The physician who leads the national poll on healthy aging team says the findings are concerning for the wellbeing of older adults.
July 2, 2024, Press Release from the Office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine: (COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced today that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved a proposal by the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) that will incentivize nursing homes to make more private rooms available for residents. The plan is part of the Governor’s comprehensive strategy to maximize the quality of care and quality of life experienced by nursing home residents across Ohio.