Disability and Health News USA - October - 05 - 2008

Excerpts of news items and events in relation to disabilities and health in America including news for United States seniors and veterans.

An audit of the Pittsfield Township senior citizens group paints a picture of chaotic and sometimes nonexistent record-keeping by an organization that spent almost $600,000 on travel in one year. The audit says "little or no" documentation exists to support most of the payments involved with the group's expansive travel program. The group, called Pittsfield Seniors, paid "bonuses" to some township employees without reporting the expenditures to the Internal Revenue Service; failed to keep adequate records of money received for trips; claimed sales tax exemptions that it was not entitled to; and had tens of thousands of unexplained "surplus" dollars in the travel account, according to the audit.

Scammers posing as grandchildren are trying to dupe money out of seniors in Missouri and other states, the Better Business Bureau said Friday. One Milwaukee grandmother sent $15,000 to scammers thinking she was helping a grandchild who had been in a wreck.

Gaps in prescription drug coverage and care can have serious health consequences for seniors, particularly the 80 percent of Americans 65 and older living with chronic illness. Bridging those gaps by providing Medicare Part D beneficiaries with personalized information and tools to manage their medication costs and drug treatments can make all the difference. Access plan, a $0 deductible plan with copays for generic medications available for as little as $6 for each 90-day supply via mail and generics coverage in the Coverage Gap. Choice plan, which features a $0 deductible, $6 for a 90-day supply of generic medications via mail, and access to more than 3,400 prescription drugs. Value plan, a low premium plan with access to thousands of medications including generic, brand name and specialty drugs.

People with disabilities, seniors, direct care attendants, and community advocates have announced a major proposal to strengthen home care for thousands more Pennsylvanians. They have proposed the creation of a Consumer Workforce Council, a consumer-driven board charged with protecting the rights of seniors and people with disabilities who direct their own care, while ensuring that the attendants who support them can advocate for living wages and health benefits.

The U.S. Department of Labor shows that 33,153,211 people nationwide ages 16 to 64 have a disability, of those, 18,525,862 are employed. That's 55.8 percent.

Since the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy, in developed countries HIV increasingly is perceived as a long-term illness. Individuals may experience health-related consequences of HIV and its associated treatments, a concept that may be termed disability. To date, a comprehensive framework for understanding the health-related consequences experienced by people living with HIV has not been developed. The purpose of this research was to develop a conceptual framework of disability from the perspective of adults living with HIV.

Thursday night’s forum at the Heathman Lodge, sponsored by the Clark County Disability Council, brought out the best in people. And it showed that just about everyone has been touched by the challenge of living with a disability, including most of those in the audience.

A 55-year-old San Jose man pleaded guilty to multiple charges of elder theft this week in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Albert Acuna approached at least 10 elderly victims in their homes and demanded payment for services he was not asked to do, according to the district attorney's office. In one case, Acuna knocked on the window of a victim's home and told her he had cleaned the gutters at her residence. The victim told police she just wanted Acuna to leave so she wrote him a check. He returned again the next day and requested money for doing yard work. Acuna was charged with 13 counts and is facing 10 years in prison.

EDDINGTON - A woman from Eddington has been convicted of collecting more than $45,000 in Social Security benefits intended for her disabled daughter. Felicia Brooks was sentenced to one month behind bars, followed by five months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. She also was ordered to repay more than $45,000 to the government.

Health and Disability News for American Seniors:

Reverse Mortgage Loan Limit Increased To $417,000, in recent legislation. This is good for those seniors over 62, who may need the cash flow of a reverse mortgage type of loan. Only seniors can get a reverse mortgage loan. This is a mortgage loan program made to help our older neighbors, who may be in need of additional money, or may need the money for big expenses, or unexpected expenses. The way a reverse mortgage works, is that the lender pays the senior montly, in a lump sum, or when needed as credit. The senior does not pay anything back to the lender until the senior moves out of the home, sells the home, or passes on, in which case the lender sells the home. Even if the senior outlives the reverse mortgage loan, the senior still does not owe anything as long as he resides in the home as the primary residence. Further reading

Coming Events:

Florida Senate Bill 856 designates the first two weeks of October as Disability History and Awareness Weeks throughout Florida. Schools are encouraged to provide information about disability history and promote the awareness of the contribution of individuals with disabilities. Of Escambia County's roughly 40,000 students, 6,948 are disabled. Statewide, the number is approximately 381,000. While disabilities are a natural part of life, students with disabilities have not always had access to equal opportunities. Only with the 1975 passage of the federal Education for All Handicapped Children Act did school-age children with disabilities have a right to a free appropriate public education. For further information, please contact Dr. George Ziolkowski, director of exceptional student education, at 469-5518.

Join the University of West Florida in celebrating Disability Awareness Day. October is Disability Awareness Month and in honor of that, UWF is presenting a special day of guest speakers and entertainment, from 8:45 a.m. to 1:10 p.m. Tuesday in Building 22, Commons Auditorium and Great Hall, 11000 University Parkway. The event will feature live entertainment by Paragon, a job and vendor fair, food and more. The keynote speaker will be Sue Straughn, WEAR-TV Channel 3 news anchor; the guest speaker will be Ann H. Richard, a local author who will speak about her experiences raising an autistic child. King, Richard's teenage son, will sing the national anthem. Events are free and open to the public and the UWF community. Details: 474-2518.

LAKEWOOD: The Cerebral Palsy Association of Middlesex County/New Jersey Institute for Disabilities will sponsor a tricky tray gift auction at 6 p.m. Oct. 17 at Woodlake Country Club, New Hampshire Avenue. Admission is $35 and includes a full dinner with choice of entree. Tickets must be purchased in advance. For more information, contact Mary Norris at (732) 549-6187, ext. 539. Reservations can be made online at www.cpamc.org. Proceeds will benefit residents of CPAMC/NJID Options' 10 group homes, which are located throughout New Jersey.

In recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Cancer and Careers, and its founding partner Roche, have joined forces with the Capital Region's To Life! to host a local seminar, which provides practical advice and tools women can use when returning to work after a breast cancer diagnosis. The Balancing Cancer and Careers Seminar will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 7 at the Hilton Garden Inn at Albany Medical Center in Albany, N.Y.

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