U.S. and World Newswire
:
General Editorial
:
Senior Citizen Interests
News
Medicare Support Group Launches New Community Outreach Program in Tampa Bay to Alert Medicare Beneficiaries to New Preventive Care Benefits
Published: Tue, 22 Feb 2005, 11:47:00 EDT
Newly covered Medicare cardiovascular and diabetes screenings and complete physical exams are part of nationwide effort to inform Florida's Seniors
CLEARWATER, Fla. /Send2Press Newswire/ -- The Medicare Today partnership today launched a community outreach program to alert Florida's Medicare beneficiaries about new preventative health screenings available to them as a result of legislative changes made to the Medicare program.
Medicare Today's outreach program will offer educational materials and speakers to community groups and senior support groups starting in the greater Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg area. The group is placing an emphasis on the Medicare benefits newly available for prevention and early detection of disease.
Medicare Today is a non-partisan coalition of nearly 100 national organizations representing patients, seniors, health care providers, employers and others who have joined forces to ensure that America's Medicare beneficiaries are fully aware of the new preventive screenings available to them as a result of legislative changes made to the Medicare program.
The coalition includes organizations such as AARP, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Association of Caregivers and the Healthcare Leadership Council.
The Medicare Modernization Act, passed by Congress in late 2003, created a new prescription drug benefit that added new preventive care benefits to Medicare. The benefits are now available to seniors and Medicare-eligible disabled individuals.
These include:
* Cardiovascular screenings. Medicare will now cover blood tests that measure cholesterol, lipids and triglyceride levels. Physicians use these tests to assess risk for heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular illnesses.
* Diabetes screenings. Seniors with diabetes are at greater risk for health complications including blindness, kidney disease and cardiovascular illnesses. Early detection is critical in preventing serious illness.
* "Welcome to Medicare" physical. For the first time, Medicare will pay for new enrollees anyone who enters Medicare for the first time after January 1 of this year to have a complete physical examination. This will give doctors the opportunity to detect any potentially serious health problems.
Medicare Today will also be providing information on the Medicare-approved drug discount cards. Beneficiaries still have the opportunity to enroll in the drug discount card program for 2005 and experience savings on their prescription purchases. Additionally, those who qualify for low-income assistance can receive a $600 credit this year toward their prescription purchases.
To speak with a Medicare Today spokesperson or for print or broadcast interviews with Medicare Today partners or Seniors spokespersons call (404) 885-9596, ext. 23. To schedule a seminar in your Florida community, call (727) 446-8883.More info at: www.medicaretoday.org.
NEWS SOURCE: Medicare Today Tampa Bay Outreach
Send2Press® is the originating wire service for this story.
» Read More Senior Citizen Interests News
» Other Send2Press Industry News by Category
More Information and Media Contact:
For questions about this story, contact the news source:
»
Click Here for Contact Information
THE CONTENT OF THE ABOVE NEWS STORY WAS PROVIDED BY THE NEWS SOURCE WHO IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS ACCURACY. FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS STORY CONTACT THE NEWS SOURCE AND NOT SEND2PRESS (THIS WEBSITE).
O T H E R R E S O U R C E S
T E R M S O F U S E
This article is Copr. © 1983-2008 Neotrope / Send2Press. Reproduction of this news article version requires written authorization. You may freely link to this article. Journalists (see the section "Journalist Resources" above) may use orig. news release as the basis for an article.
News Websites may republish the "news release" text version linked to above under "Journalist Resources" except must retain "Send2Press Newswire" as the source of this news if used verbatim. Websites which offer/sell PR or newswire services, or web promotion services, or "splogs" may NOT reprint our content in ANY form. Send2Press Newswire is a service mark of, and "Send2Press" is a registered trademark of, Neotrope. Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved (3.0) - Attribution Required.
DISCLAIMER: the above article is believed accurate but not guaranteed, and is based on business news supplied by the source (Medicare Today Tampa Bay Outreach). The noted source is solely responsible for its accuracy. Financial/Stock news may contain forward looking statements. Neotrope/Send2Press makes no claims of accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Any opinions expressed by representatives of company(s) mentioned in news and profiles are solely those of the person indicated, and do not reflect any opinion or policy of Neotrope or Send2Press. Your use of any information contained herein is done solely at your own risk, and you are fully responsible for using any information herein, or on sites mentioned or linked to in the article. All trademarks acknowledged.
REFERENCES: Medicare Support Group Launches New Community Outreach Program in Tampa Bay to Alert Medicare Beneficiaries to New Preventive Care Benefits, Medicare Today Tampa Bay Outreach, AARP, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Association of Caregivers, the Healthcare Leadership Council, Florida, Medicare Beneficiaries, Feb 22, 2005.
VIEWED BY MEDIA (and public): 4782 times (3 today, 18 this week,
13 this month, 452 this year)
|
|
|
Subscribe in a reader
PLAIN TEXT FORMAT (UTF-8)
PDF FORMAT
