Washington Informer

United Healthcare Introduces Dual Complete Plan for District Seniors

For most seniors, getting older means having to contend with the health challenges of aging. And with that comes the reality of just how far a fixed income can stretch to meet those needs.

As a former registered nurse, I have seen strategies that seniors use to lower medical costs such as asking their doctor for generic drugs, filling prescriptions for 90 days, splitting pills, and delaying medical appointments. Realities like this serve as the catalyst for development of United Healthcare's Dual Complete Plan. We like to think of our plan as the bridge between living longer and living well.

Our Dual Complete Plan is just the latest United Healthcare effort to provide seniors with viable healthcare options that offer them peace of mind without breaking the bank. This is a great product for seniors in the District of Columbia. I'm really excited that we can offer this plan to DC residents.

Launched in 2012, this plan offers customers/clients a network of doctors, specialists as well as free transportation to medical appointments and medical supplies shipped directly to their home at no cost. Those who're eligible and who sign up for the plan receive a range of benefits designed to ease the financial burden of the rising costs of healthcare. What is good news for seniors is that this new program covers both Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D prescription drugs.

Those who meet special enrollment criteria can participate in the plan. Seniors who receive assistance from the state and Medicare are also eligible. It should be noted that all cost-sharing is based on a person's level of Medicaid eligibility.

Choosing to become a part of this plan means more choices for seniors. Regardless of who we are, almost all of us want to have real options in our health care and want to be an active participant in determining the parameters of that care. One of the best ways to do that is to be informed and being informed means learning about the choices offered and then making informed decisions about the level and scope of care.

A client's basic benefits as determined by eligibility include: paying nothing for monthly plan premiums, annual physicals, inpatient hospitalization, visits to a primary care physician and emergency care. And there are more safety nets to help senior cope. For example, those who receive full Medicaid coverage and/or get assistance from the state to pay for their Medicare Part B premium automatically qualify for Extra Help which is a low-income subsidy. This help includes help with individual's Medicare drug plan's monthly Part D premium, any yearly deductible, coinsurance, and co-pays. The benefits? No coverage gap and no late-enrollment penalties.

United Healthcare remains committed to offering District seniors the highest quality healthcare at affordable costs. This is not only good news for seniors but for their families and caregivers who want their loved ones to have access to the best health care options possible. For more information on United Healthcare's Dual Eligibility program and eligibility requirements visit www.UHCCommunityPlan.com or call 1-866-367-7257.

Karen Johnson is the Executive Director of United Healthcare Community Plan in the District of Columbia. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Michigan and a Juris Doctorate Degree from Michigan State University College of Law. Karen is an accomplished health executive with a reputation for integrity and the ability to effect change. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the YWCA National Capital where she works closely with vulnerable women and children in the District of Columbia. She serves as a trustee for The Gathering Place board, and is also a University of Michigan Alumni Board member. Johnson resides in Washington, D.C.

Ward 6 resident Godfrey Francis has taken care of his 102-year-old mother, Lucille, for eight years without seeking help from any District government agency. His mother, an undocumented immigrant from Guyana, moved here after living in New York for several years.

"My siblings and I decided to bring her because she was getting up in age," said Francis, 57, who supplied food, shelter and medical needs on his salary; first, as a District government employee and now, a federal employee. His siblings left him with sole responsibility.

"Caring for a senior parent who's undocumented at a high age, she couldn't get all the services when I did seek them," said Francis, whose mother now receives basic doctor visits and some medications through the District of Columbia Healthcare Alliance, after he contacted the Office of Healthcare Ombudsman for help.

He was forced recently to place his mother into a home in Northeast as she began to show signs of dementia.

When asked about her undocumented status, he said it played a role in why as a caregiver he hadn't sought help from the D.C. Office on Aging or other government agencies that assist the District's more than 98,000 seniors, according to the 2010 U.S. Census for the District of Columbia.

Francis represents one of 65.7 million people in the United States in 2009 who served as an unpaid caregiver, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. This person provides assistance for a senior or person with disabilities, limited in their abilities to perform daily activities. Due to a decline among caregivers under 50, there is an increasing trend among caregivers between ages 50 and 64, some of whom also have health care needs.

These were the findings in the report, D.C. Senior Needs Assessment: Initial Data Collection, which Mayor Vincent C. Gray, 69, commissioned from the D.C. Office on Aging [DCOA].

"The needs assessment gives us a roadmap for beginning to meet the current needs of our older residents, identifying service gaps and allowing DCOA to refine its service model," said Gray during a press conference on Oct. 3, at the Washington Senior Wellness Center in Southeast. Besides this report, Gray released a three-year strategic plan on creating an "age-friendly" city, an urban community that is inclusive, accessible and encourages active and healthy living.

DCOA's director, John Thompson said the needs assessment is a "living document."

"The agency will use this to chart the course for shaping long-term services and support systems in the District of Columbia," said Thompson, who added that the last assessment was prepared in 1978. The 269-page report examined wellness, quality of life, safety, socialization, recreation, health, in-home support, meal delivery, employment, assisted living, transportation, Medicaid/Medicare and nutrition. It compared nationwide demographics to the District's.

For two Ward 7 seniors, needs vary.

"I think the most important issue seniors want to know is if they would be able to stay in their homes," said Dorothy Anthony who hasn't yet seen the report. "And what services will be available if I need care." For Doris Thomas, an 80-something-year-old, her needs are transportation-related.

"I seem to be relying on people I know," said Thomas as she left a civic association meeting on Oct. 6 with another senior resident. "The city's transportation system is just awful."

Based on needs such as these, the District will convene a taskforce of agencies and community partners to oversee the execution of the strategic plan with specific goals of making the District age-friendly, which will tie into Gray's One City Action Plan that brings together "the concrete goals, strategies and action steps my administration is working on to make this vision of One City a reality," Gray said.

The District joins seven other states as a pilot for the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities through the World Health Organization Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities.

Francis said he hopes the report will address areas of deficiency.

"I look forward to any changes as I'm approaching 60," he said.

Although many Americans are living longer, a new public policy analysis reveals that a disproportionate number of older people are also living in poverty – particularly if they are a person of color. According to the AARP Public Policy Institute, Social Security keeps about 30 percent of older African Americans and Hispanics from retirement poverty. Yet another 20 percent of these two ethnicities at ages 65 or older, live in poverty at a rate that is double that for whites.

The reasons for these disparities are tied to multiple economic impacts incurred over lifetimes spent in the workplace. Years of working at lower incomes and wages do not easily allow for aggressive savings or investment portfolios. Additionally, many people of color have or held jobs that did not provide for pensions or retirement accounts. For other workers whose employers provided some kind of retirement plan, often the benefits are smaller.

Among all people of color, AARP found that higher-income Asian-Americans were the most likely to receive diversified incomes in retirement years that included interest, dividends and rental income from assets.

For Black and Latino retirees, more than a quarter eventually rely on Social Security for 90 percent of their family income, says AARP. According to the report, "The median annual Social Security family income of older minorities is roughly 26 percent lower than that of older whites."

The worst disparities in Social Security benefits were found in comparing women by race and marital status. Never-married African-American women usually receive benefits at much lower rates than married women of color. By contrast, older white women regardless of marital status received benefits at much similar rates to white men.

Fortunately, the Social Security Administration provides options to increase the amount of monthly benefits by determining the best time to retire.

For example, most consumers can receive Social Security benefits as early as age 62. The trade-off is that the monthly payments will be lower than those choosing to wait for full benefits. People born before 1938 are eligible for full benefits at 65. For people born in 1960 or later, 67 is the age to receive full retirement. If retirement can be delayed until age 70, those extra years of working will earn higher benefits than those available at an earlier age.

Regardless of when people choose to retire, Social Security recipients are eligible for cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). After no COLAs were offered in 2010 or 2011, this year retirees will receive a 3.6 percent adjustment. Earlier this week, the Labor Department indicated an estimated 2013 increase will be in the range of 1.5-1.7 percent.

The Social Security Administration advises that a worker with average earnings can expect a retirement benefit equivalent to 40 percent of his/her lifetime earnings. Each worker's average index includes the 35 years in which the most earnings occurred.

Anyone planning to retire is advised to contact Social Security three months before the date desired for benefits to begin. When applying for benefits, documents such as birth and/or marriage certificates and the most recent W-2 form must be submitted to determine eligibility.

According to AARP, "Social Security is and will continue to be the main source of income for low-and moderate-wage retirees; but improvements in other programs would alleviate poverty and income insecurity among older Americans."

Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it