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The New York City Council is pulling out all the stops to halt the spread of social day care centers that rip off Medicaid. The New York Times is reporting that the Council is looking to implement regulation and enforcement in order to weed out the shady centers that lure in healthy seniors in order to reap a windfall in Medicaid benefits.

In April, we first reported on the proliferation of social day care centers, which exploded from just eight programs citywide to 192 in only two years. The facilities arose in the wake of a new law enacted by Governor Andrew Cuomo, which wished to curb Medicaid costs by steering seniors needing expensive in-house or nursing care to the less-costly, community-friendly centers. The centers are supposed to treat patients with severe disabilities and medical problems but instead, many have been tapping healthy seniors to participate, luring them with cash and free groceries. The Times explains how the managed care plans and social centers profit by this practice:

Under the new system, managed care plans get roughly $3,800 a month for each eligible person they enroll in New York City, regardless of what services are provided. The plans contract with the social adult day care centers to provide services to their members. But advocates for the elderly and for people with disabilities have warned state officials that some plans were “cherry-picking” healthy seniors by using the new day care centers as marketing tools, while shunning the people who needed hours of costlier home care.

Joan Pastore, director of Amico, a city senior center in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, said members of the center told her that they were not only signed up by new centers with enticements like $100 in cash and $50 for bringing a friend, but “coached on how to lie to qualify for home care.”

Members of the Council expressed anger at the practices of the managed care plans and the social day care centers.

“It is just outrageous that these pop-up centers are threatening the well-being of our seniors while draining Medicaid resources from legitimate programs for older adults. Increased oversight and regulation of these programs is needed immediately,” City Council Speaker Christine Quinn told the Times.

In response, the Council has introduced a bill that would impose minimum requirements on the centers, which as of right now, are unregulated. Centers would be limited to treating seniors with impairments, set minimum safety standards and must register with the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The bill would also protect centers that play by the rules and offer robust service to patients with actual disabilities.

Centers that don’t register or ignore the new rules could be fined between $250 to $1,000 a day. Enforcing these new rules won’t be cheap. City officials estimate that it will cost $2 million to police the nearly 200 centers throughout the city.

State Senator Diane Savino is looking to create a statewide bill that is modeled after the Council version.

Source: Blue387 via wikimedia commons

Marty Golden is following through on his promise to bring back the old voting machines by leading the New York State Senate in approving legislation that would allow the machines to be used in upcoming elections, according to a press release.

The legislation, which was sponsored by Golden, allows New York City to use lever machines for all non-federal elections, including the upcoming mayoral primaries, run-offs and general election. Golden praised the passage of the bill as a victory for making voting simpler.

“The lever voting machines had been successfully used in New York for over 100 years. They have proven to be reliable and easy for voters to use. In addition,  using lever voting machines will expedite the canvass of votes cast in the primary election and reduce the number of paper ballots that would need to be hand-counted,” Golden said in the release.

State Senator Simcha Felder believes that the machines will help seniors.

“The new voting machines are confusing to people and very hard to read, especially for seniors,” Felder said.

There have been concerns that the new voting machines, which rely on paper ballots and digital readers, were causing more problems than solving them. Voters, especially seniors, complained about difficult to read and confusing paper ballot instructions, and the Board of Elections has proven unequal to the task of tallying the votes on the new machine in a timely manner.

The bill will now go to the Assembly for a vote.

Raynaldo Carmoega

The NYPD has issued a silver alert for Raynaldo Carmoega, age 73, pictured above.

Carmoega was last seen in the vicinity of West 33rd Street and Surf Avenue in Brooklyn on March 28 at 5:00 p.m. He was wearing blue jeans, a red jersey with white marking, and a white hat.

Carmoega is 5′ 5″ and weighs 147 pounds. He has short, brown, frosted hair and gold teeth. He is reported to suffer from dementia and diabetes.

If this person is seen, please call 911 immediately.

The Be Proud Foundation served approximately 500 local seniors in need during its fourth annual Passover food distribution event last week.

The organization took over the Aqua Health Rehabilitation Center at 2753 Coney Island Avenue on March 21, handing out goody bags overflowing with food supplies for the holiday, including chocolate matzo, pickles, raisins, tuna and other products.

Raisa Chernina, Be Proud’s executive director, said the event is a way for her organization to “share the joy of the holiday” with those who are struggling. It was attended by Community Board 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo, Councilman Michael Nelson, and 46th Assembly Democratic District Leader Mark Davidovich.

Source: Jaszek Photography via Flickr

According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), seniors account for 38 percent of pedestrian fatalities, yet represent only 12 percent of the population. The reasons for this discrepancy, they say, are the lack of “complete streets.”

What are complete streets, you ask? Well, according to the National Complete Streets Coalition, “complete streets are designed and operated so they work for all users—pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities.”

Essentially, they are the sort of streets that are neatly organized with sensible traffic flow, clear traffic signs and wide walking spaces that compliment bike lanes so pedestrians and bikers aren’t getting in each other’s way.

An example of a “complete street.” Source: smartgrowthamerica.org

New Yorkers can sense when they aren’t on a “complete street.” Incomplete streets are the sort of narrow sidewalks that barely accommodate two-way foot traffic, have winding twists and no clear intersections that promote safe crossing. According to the DOT, the lack of complete streets present a real issue for seniors:

A recent report by AARP showed that 40% of adults over 50 reported inadequate sidewalks in their neighborhoods, and 50% reported they cannot cross streets safety. The report also revealed that many people would walk, bicycle or ride the bus if these conditions were improved.  Challenges that frequently affect people’s mobility as they age include declining vision, reduced physical fitness and flexibility, decreased ability to focus attention and increased reaction time.

For the DOT, the need to proliferate the city with “complete streets” will become a pressing issue within the next decade as 2025 the population of older adults will double, likely leading to an increase of pedestrian accidents. Because of this, they are advocating community involvement and awareness in “complete street” policies and planning. Here is some relevant information:

Attend a DOT forum or workshop about transportation or neighborhood planning.  Visit our event calendar or view upcoming events on Facebook. Participate in your community board’s transportation committee. (Find your community board).

Check out resources like the National Complete Streets Coalition, the National Center for Safe Routes to School, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at NYU.

Source: Google Maps

After years of delays and millions of dollars over budget, Marine Park residents are still without a much-anticipated community center. And the project is now one of the most notable in the city as an example of the Parks Department’s waste and inefficiency.

The community center, located at the northern end of Marine Park at Fillmore Avenue was touted in a new report by New York City Comptroller John Liu that blasted the Parks Department for “not carrying out and overseeing capital construction projects in a timely and cost effective manner.”

According to  the report, which audited Parks projects conducted in fiscal year 2010-2011, the agency was late on delivering 47 percent of the 315 capital construction projects completed. On average, the projects were 218 days late, nearly double the estimated time for completion.

And it’s not just a matter of delays keeping parks closed from the public. They’re racking up a price tag. Thirty projects combined to run up a tab of $10 million in cost overruns. And bungling by consultants and designers cost the city an additional $4 million to correct, an amount the agency failed to recoup despite clauses in contracts that require contractors to return the money to taxpayers.

The Marine Park Community Center, though, remains particularly galling. Its numbers are not included in the tally above – as Liu’s team only looked at projects completed during the audit period – though it earned some honorable mentions.

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Source: Jhawk/Flickr

Telling Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.

Happy Holidays to our seniors. Here are a few of the benefits that the re-election of Obama has made possible for you:

The ‘Donut Hole’ is Being Eliminated: Seniors are responsible for a co-pay of their prescription drugs as well as for 100 percent of these medicines until they have paid an amount, known as the ‘gap,’ or ‘donut hole.’ This gap was projected to be $6,000 by the year 2020. Now, it will be totally eliminated by 2020. In 2010, Medicare recipients who hit the donut hole received a $250 rebate. In 2011, recipients received a 50 percent discount on covered brand-name drugs, as well as a discount on generic drugs. (In New York for 2012, 126,907 seniors are projected to save an average of $663.)

Annual Wellness Visits are Now Free: There are no deductibles or co-payments for essential preventive care such as screenings for pelvic exams, pap smears, or diabetes or prostate cancer.

Hospital Stay Policy: Many times a patient will pick up a condition they did not have before being admitted to the hospital. The new policy will reduce payments to hospitals that are in the bottom 25 percent of patients contracting new health conditions after being admitted.

‘Readmissions Reduction Program’: If a patient is readmitted for the same or similar condition shortly after being discharged, the hospital will have a ‘payment adjustment’ from Medicare.

Purchase of Durable Medical Aids: The cost is reduced significantly by allowing competitive bidding for the purchase of items such as wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, and nebulizers.

Support for Women: As of the policy renewal date on or after August 1, 2012, women will receive free preventive care for: wellness visits; gestational diabetes screening; ‘domestic and interpersonal’ violence screening and counseling; contraceptives as well as contraceptive education and counseling; breastfeeding support, supplies and counseling; HPV DNA testing (over age 29); sexually transmitted infections counseling; HIV screening and counseling; as well as mammograms, cholesterol screenings, and flu shots. (More info at www.healthcare.gov/prevention.)

Nursing Home Short-Term Medicare Coverage Progress Not Required: If a Medicare-covered patient has a chronic condition like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, hypertension, arthritis, heart disease, or stroke, Medicare coverage will continue, even if no improvement is shown. The coverage is still limited to 100 days, and only if skilled nursing care is required, but improvement is no longer a part of the equation.

‘Extra Help’ Program: This is estimated to be worth about $4,000 a year. The program requires the person to be receiving Medicare, enrolled in a Medicare prescription drug plan, have Medicare Part A and/or Part B, no more than $26,120 in savings, investments, and real estate if living with a spouse, $13,070 if not married or not living with spouse.

Personal homes, vehicles, personal possessions, life insurance, or burial plots are not counted towards that amount.

Protection of Patients who are Gay, etc.: Hospitals (including the V.A.) are mandated to grant visitation rights to gay men and lesbians. In addition, medical decisions for partners will be easier to make.

Medicare Prescription Drug Premium: There will be no increase in the Medicare prescription drug premium for the third straight year, which is about $30 a month.

Community Health Centers: These centers provide comprehensive and quality primary health care to communities which are medically underserved. Their plan is provide support services like education, translation, and transportation to promote access to health care. These services are available to the entire community, with fees adjusted based upon the ability to pay. Of the $128.6 million in new grants, L’Refuah Medical and Rehabilitation Center, the only one in Brooklyn, received $650,000.

Congress is now trying to figure out how to pay for this. Any thoughts?

Tax Tip: CP-2000 for Individuals and Businesses: Although there have been a number of CP-2000 notices telling taxpayers that some information reported to the IRS is not shown on their 2011 tax returns, many more are scheduled to be sent out this month. Last year, the IRS sent about 4.7 million notices, of which about half were not correct. In addition to notices to individuals, this year many businesses will receive letters because their credit card sales are less than their reported gross sales. (Want more tax tips. Sign up at www.TaxHelp1040.com.)

Joseph Reisman, of Joseph S. Reisman & Associates, has been serving tax prep and business accounting expertise from his Coney Island Avenue office for more than 25 years. Check out the firm’s website.

UPDATE (10/16/2012 @ 1:41 p.m.): Ping Yim Lee has been found! His granddaughter, Linda, tweeted the following to us at 1:30 p.m.:

“Found! He was spotted at convenience store in Queens but no recollection how. On the way to dialysis w/him.”

This is great news. We wish Ping Yim Lee and his family well.

Original post:

The following comes via Notify NYC:

Notification issued 10/15/12 at 10:55 PM. The NYPD has issued a Missing Senior Notification for Ping Yim Lee, male, Asian, 87 years old.  Mr. Lee is described as being 5′ 5″ tall, 150 lbs., brown eyes, bald with no teeth. He was last seen boarding an Access-a-Ride on 10/15/12 near 2577 East 18th Street, Brooklyn, headed to 139 Centre Street, Manhattan, for a medical appointment.  Mr. Lee was wearing a black waist length jacket, khakis, and black leather shoes. Call 9-1-1 if seen.

Homecrest Community Services will hold its 16th Annual Senior Health Fair tomorrow, September 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., rain or shine at the Homecrest Senior Center, 1413 Avenue T at East 15th Street.

The center is located one block north of the Avenue U stop on the Q train. There is car parking at the site. A light lunch will be served.

For more information, call (718) 376-4036.

The following was submitted by Sheepshead Bay resident Jeanine Grimaldi, whose family wrestles with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease every day.

Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia, affects an estimated 5.4 million Americans. Although this disease is most commonly known for its major symptom — memory loss — it comprises so much more. Typical Alzheimer’s patients feel disoriented, confused and, have drastic mood and behavior changes. They can often become suspicious of family members and friends and, during the later stages of the disease, have difficulty speaking, swallowing and walking.

These symptoms are caused by plaques and tangles, two different types of proteins that build up in the brain. Scientists do not fully understand this build-up but believe it plays a critical role in blocking communication among nerve cells in the brain. We still have a long way to go in beating this disease, but we are heading in the right direction. On May 15, 2012, the Obama Administration released the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s in which the major goal is to effectively treat and prevent this disease by 2025.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are currently more than 320,000 people over the age of 65 in New York alone who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. This number does not include the growing number of people in their 50s who have been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.

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