A federal effort to clamp down on Medicare fraud has inadvertently opened up new possibilities for fraudsters who prey on the elderly, prompting a California-wide education campaign. While federal officials hope the change will make it harder for criminals to steal Social Security numbers and benefit fraudulently from the Medicare system, criminals are apparently seizing on news about the change to take advantage of unsuspecting seniors.
Drug labels can pose a huge challenge for non English-speakers. Inability to read labels can put them at risk of taking the wrong medicine or dosage, of failing to adhere to instructions that minimize side effects, and may even lead them to give up taking needed medications altogether.
For dozens of local Spanish speakers caring for elderly and disabled relatives, this tiny center is a lifeline. The Family Caregiver Resource Center in Santa Paula, which focuses exclusively on assisting the Spanish-speaking caregiver population, is unique to Ventura County and possibly the state.
People who rely on Medi-Cal for their health insurance are finding it difficult to get critical care because the state’s reimbursement rates to doctors are unreasonably low, a new lawsuit alleges. While the problem affects all age groups, older Californians find it especially
Samuel Raymond Curtis is very familiar with hospital stays. For the past two years, the 58-year-old homeless man who suffers from problems related to a hernia has been in and out of hospitals in Ventura County more times than he can count. Each time he got treated and released back onto the streets, he said. It wasn’t long before his health started deteriorating again. “I’d
The future is hot, and seniors, who are more prone to heat stress than younger adults, will be among those most affected by rising temperatures. With the over-65 population projected to expand rapidly in the coming decades, the accompanying hotter weather could place an enormous burden on emergency and health care infrastructure.
A San Francisco program connects low-income seniors who have become socially isolated, have trouble connecting with others (or even leaving their homes) with companionship.
Food banks and advocates for seniors are nervously eyeing a looming threat to the nutritional wellbeing of the poor, elderly and disabled: a proposed $193 billion cut to federal funding for SNAP over the next 10 years. The cuts to the program, which was once called food stamps and goes by the name CalFresh in California, were proposed as part of President Trump’s 2018 budget.
Older Californians could face increasing financial hardship and difficulty finding health care if Republican-led efforts to overhaul the nation’s health care system move forward, state officials and advocates agreed. The American Health Care Act (AHCA) would drastically cut federal funds used by states to provide health services to poor and disabled seniors. The budget slashes funding to Medicaid, the federal insurance program for low-income people, known in California as Medi-Cal.
Hepatitis C kills more people in the United States each year than any other infectious disease, yet few people realize how widespread the virus is or know what areas of the country are most impacted.