“We find it inappropriate and misleading to compare
[Internet] prices to the service delivery model for power
wheelchairs under the Medicare program.”
— Reps. Tom Allen, D-Maine, and Ron Lewis, R-Ky., in a
recent “Dear Colleague” letter to fellow House members
blasting an Office of Inspector General report that found
Medicare's fees for PWCs were 45 percent higher than prices
available on the Internet. Allen and Lewis disputed the OIG's
findings, noting “there are extensive service-related costs
associated with Medicare compliance that need to be considered in
any comparison.”
3,500
Number of adult day centers providing care for 150,000 older
Americans each day. Among those people, 59 percent need assistance
with two or more activities of daily living such as bathing,
dressing, toileting, eating or transferring.
Source: National Adult Day Services Association
15.5%
Percentage of income spent out-of-pocket on health care by Medicare
beneficiaries in 2003 — up from 11.9 percent in 1997
Source: Health Affairs
$10 billion
Amount Medicaid would save in five years if current smokers
enrolled in the program quit smoking
Source: American Legacy Foundation
45%
of physicians with direct knowledge of impaired or incompetent
members of their practice did not always report the incompetence,
according to a recent survey. Forty-six percent who knew of a
serious medical error did not report it to authorities on at least
one occasion.
Source: Annals of Internal Medicine
78
Average age at which baby boomers believe they'll be
“old.” Those in excellent health say they'll be old at
83, while those in poor health put the number at 74.
Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute
Sunlight
may help decrease the risk of lung cancer.
Source: ScienceDaily/British Medical Journal
