The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the unemployment rate last month edged down to 7.6 percent. Disability employment statistics for March show an unemployment rate among people with disabilities that moved up slightly from 12.3 in February to 13 percent last month.  The percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 20.7 percent, and the percentage of people with no disability in the labor force was 68.7 percent. A year ago the unemployment rate among people with disabilities was 15.2 percent.

The National Council on Disability has released its annual progress report on national disability policy. The report examines disability policy over the past year and reviews how emerging trends and government policies affect the quality of life of people with disabilities. The report covers three main policy areas, living, learning and earning, and makes recommendations on independent living, the education of children with disabilities, making U.S. currency accessible, and many other issues.

Hear the word “party” and memories of your 8th birthday sleepover or the big bash you attended last New Year’s may come rushing to mind. But it’s exactly these kinds of memories, embedded in a specific place and time, that people with depression have difficulty recalling.

The U.S. Department of Justice has signed an agreement with Schuylkill County, PA to make sure that people with disabilities have full access to all aspects of community life. The agreement is part of Project Civic Access, the department’s effort to make sure that public facilities are accessible in counties, cities, towns and villages comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Access to public facilities includes access to parking, public bathrooms, entrances into buildings and food service areas.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has charged Dillon Companies, which does business as King Soopers Inc. in Colorado, with disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The company fired an employee who had asked for a reasonable accommodation to take time off to manage her bipolarism. Under the ADA, taking medical leave may be a reasonable accommodation. The EEOC has also requested that the company train its staff on disability discrimination and pay damages to the former employee.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced $12.5 million in awards to Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) that provide information and referrals about long-term services and supports for seniors and people with disabilities. ADRCs in every state help people, regardless of their income or financial assets, live independently in their own homes and communities.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania have reached a $715,000 settlement agreement with the Milton Hershey School of Hershey, PA, to resolve alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The school refused to enroll a child because he has HIV. The school has agreed to change its disability discrimination policy and to provide training to its staff on the ADA.

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has reversed the dismissal of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) disability discrimination lawsuit against United Airlines, Inc. The court now agrees that “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act includes reassignment to a vacant job when employees cannot be accommodated in their current position. The EEOC had charged United with violating the ADA by requiring its employees with disabilities to compete for vacant jobs in the company.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the city of Portland, OR have reached a preliminary agreement to improve Portland Police Bureau practices when interacting with people with mental illness. An investigation found that the PPB has engaged in excessive force against people who have, or are believed to have, mental illness. The agreement will address policies on the “use of force” to make sure that officers have guidance when encountering someone with mental illness, particularly in the use of tasers. Crisis intervention training for officers will also be increased.

The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement agreement with Grand Circle LLC, doing business as Grand Circle Travel to resolve alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The company cancelled the reservation of a person who uses a motorized scooter without offering a reason. The agreement will make sure that persons with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids, have equal access to the company’s travel services and facilities. The company will also change its treatment of customers with disabilities and train its staff on the ADA.

Bank of America N.A. has been charged with violating the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act for discriminating against home loan applicants who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The bank asked applicants to provide details of their medical conditions and required a letter from their doctor documenting the income they received from SSDI. The bank has also agreed to revise its policies on documenting disability income, hold employee trainings and pay monies to the loan applicants who were affected by the alleged misconduct.

The Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal and private sector employers nationwide with college students and recent graduates with disabilities looking for jobs. Read the stories of six federal employees who found their path to government service through WRP and were profiled by its “I Am the Workforce” Photo Project. These stories show the broad cross section of skills and talents available to employers who choose to hire through WRP.

The House is scheduled to vote today to repeal the Affordable Care Act (for the 33rd time). If your representative is likely to vote for repeal and you’d like to persuade him/her to do otherwise, here are some talking points:

• Congress should focus on creating jobs, ending outsourcing and improving the economy instead of voting for the 33rd time to take patient protections away from Americans.
• A vote to repeal will take away patient protections for Americans that they already enjoy:

1. Up to 17 million children can no longer be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.
2. 6.6 million young people have obtained insurance through their parents’ plans.
3. 5.3 million seniors have already saved $3.7 billion on prescription drugs.
4. 105 million Americans no longer face lifetime limits on their insurance coverage.

Early this month, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced 2013 payment and policy updates for both Medicare Part C and D plans.

Below are a few of the 2013 highlights and the Part D benefit costs, as outlined in CMS’ recent press release:

• Controlling Beneficiary Costs and Premium Increases: CMS will again exercise its authority under the Affordable Care Act to deny Part C and D plan bids, if it determines that the bid proposes too significant an increase in cost sharing for beneficiaries or decrease in benefits from one year to the next.
• Lower drug costs: CMS will address improvements in the Medicare prescription drug benefit, specifically those provisions that close the Part D coverage gap, or “donut hole.”   As a result of the Affordable Care Act, in 2013, eligible drug plan enrollees with liability in the donut hole will only pay 47.5% of the costs of covered brand-name drugs.  For generic drugs in the gap, cost sharing shrinks to 79%, from 86% in 2012. People enrolled in Medicare Part D who do not receive the low income subsidy (also known as Extra Help) and enter the coverage gap will pay less each year until 2020, when they will pay only 25% for covered brand-name and generic drugs, closing the donut hole.
• Stronger Part D & MA plan quality: In 2013, CMS will alert plan members if their drug or health plan has failed for 3 straight years to achieve at least a 3 (out of 5) star quality rating and offer a special enrollment period that will allow the member to move to a higher quality plan. For MA plans, the 3-year Quality Bonus Payment demonstration will continue to provide financial incentives to improve quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries.
• Reducing inappropriate overuse of prescription drugs: For Part D plans, CMS describes drug utilization management improvements to address overprescribing and overutilization of opiates and other medications to ensure beneficiary safety and prevent fraud.
• Supplemental Benefits: CMS is clarifying its definition of certain supplemental benefits in an effort to ensure transparency and consistency across all MA plans that choose to offer such benefits.  CMS is also extending additional supplemental benefit options to qualifying dual eligible special needs plans (D-SNPs).
• Part D Benefit Parameters: Statutory updates to the annual benefit parameters for the defined standard Part D prescription drug benefit in Calendar Year (CY) 2013. They include:

Part D Benefit ParameterDefined Standard Benefit	CY 2012	CY 2013
Deductible	$320	$325
Initial Coverage Limit (Total drug costs after deductible before hitting coverage gap)	$2,930	$2,970
Out-of-Pocket Threshold (Total amount beneficiary pays before hitting catastrophic phase)	$4,700	$4,750
Minimum Cost-sharing for Generic/Preferred Multi-Source Drugs in the Catastrophic Phase	$2.60	$2.65
Minimum Cost-sharing for Other Drugs in the Catastrophic Phase	$6.50	$6.60

The national Part D base beneficiary premium for next year has also been announced. It will be $31.17 in 2013. This premium amount is used when calculating a Part D late enrollment penalty (for someone who delayed enrolling into Part D when first eligible and who didn’t have other equivalent coverage). And the California Part D low-income premium subsidy amount (benchmark plan amount) will be $29.88 in 2013.

Also, as of last year, people with higher incomes (individuals with annual incomes over $85,000 and couples with incomes over $170,000) pay a higher Part D monthly premium. Below is a chart of the higher Part D premiums for such people in 2013.

Note: The formula used to determine a person’s premium amount is the same one used for Part B premiums, known as the Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA). A person’s income level is be based on income reported to the IRS. These IRMAA-related premiums are either deducted from a beneficiary’s Social Security check or the beneficiary is billed. This premium is in addition to and separate from the premium paid to one’s Part D plan.

Concerns about Medicare and rising health care costs ranked as the 4th most pressing financial concern for pre-Medicare people ages 50-64, according to a recent AARP “Anxiety Index” survey. The other top 3 concerns were rising prices, taxes and financial stability in retirement.

Contrary to the common stereotype that baby boomers are living plush and “high on the hog,” many boomers have experienced significant financial set-backs in the last 10 years with the volatile stock market and dissolution of pension plans and retirement funds. These experiences are reflected in the survey results, with:

• 72% of non-retired boomers believing they will probably be forced to delay retirement, and 50% having little confidence that they will ever be able to retire;
• 65% having little confidence that they will have the means to live comfortably in retirement; and
• 59% fearing that the negative effects of the economic downturn on their retirement savings will force them to rely more heavily on Social Security and Medicare, both of which they are concerned won’t be around when they need them.

In the poll of 1,852 registered voters ages 50+, 95% of them said Medicare was critical to maintaining the health of older adults and those with disabilities, yet only 41% of this group said they were somewhat or very confident that it would exist for them and future generations upon retirement.

As Medicare fraud is a hot topic in California, our Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) is continually receiving and resolving complex cases.

Below is a quick glimpse of a few recent cases our SMP team has successfully resolved.

If you or someone you know has a question about fraud or would like to report fraud, contact our SMP office at 855-613-7080. Also visit our Medicare Fraud section to learn more and find information on becoming an SMP volunteer.