Public Medical Care

Medicare
Medicare is available to people ages 65 and over with qualifying work history. Part A Medicare is hospital insurance and is free to people 65 and over and those with kidney failure and other specific disabilities. Participants must pay an annual deductible. Those enrolled in Part A must also enroll in Part B, which pays for doctor visits, clinics and laboratories. Part B is not free--an annual deductible and monthly payments must be made. Medicare does not cover all medical expenses and many states have created a separate plan called "Medigap." For details, call 1-800-772-1213 or visit the Medicare website at www.medicare.gov.

Medicaid
Medicaid is health-care assistance available to low-income families. Medicaid is administered by individual states. "Maine Care" is the new name for the program in Maine that was formerly called Medicaid and Cub Care. The new program is offering more flexibility and higher income thresholds so more people may qualify than have previously. Through a new program offering services to adults without families, care is currently available only to families with children up to the age of 20 or pregnant women. For more information or to see if you qualify, contact the Department of Human Services toll free at 1-877-KIDS NOW (543-7669). You can also visit the Cub Care website at www.state.me.us/dhs/cc_menu.htm or call the toll free Covering Kids and Teens Helpline at 1-800-965-7476.

Long-term care
Long-term care insurance covers you in the event that you might need to use a nursing home or hire someone to help you in your home. Medicare will pay for a nursing home stay for up to 100 days. The patient must have been in the hospital for three weeks prior to entering the nursing home and must enter not more than 30 days after leaving the hospital. Long-term care insurance might be useful to you as you get older.

Look for backing by a financially strong insurance company and coverage at the skilled (24 hour), intermediate and custodial levels. Benefits should be provided based on the inability to perform activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and toileting. Compare policies based on the elimination period, or the period between when care begins and when the insurance starts paying, the length of time you receive benefits, the dollar per day amount that you will receive, and the availability of an inflation rider.

A good policy will have an A+ or AA insurance company rating and offer:

• Coverage for any level of care
• Coverage for Alzheimer's disease
• Benefits triggered by ADLS or cognitive impairment
• Daily coverage that will pay for the individual needs of the patient
• An elimination period--the time you will have to cover your own expenses--that you can afford
• A benefit period of three years
• Admission to any facility
• Adult day-care coverage
• Home health care coverage
• Inflation protection

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