Archive for Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Medicare wants seniors to try a little prevention

June 28, 2006

Advertisement

— With most of Medicare's $336-billion budget devoted to treating the debilitating consequences of chronic illnesses, officials say they want to close a "prevention gap" created by senior citizens' low use of preventive services.

Medicare has lagged behind employer-financed health plans in recognizing the value of preventing illnesses. But the government program that provides health care for 43 million elderly and disabled people will launch a campaign this summer to inform beneficiaries how to make better use of recently expanded preventive services.

The campaign will feature a special effort to reach minorities ages 65 and older - a group that is among the least likely to get preventive care and suffers higher rates of some chronic illnesses.

In addition, the 2007 Medicare handbook will focus on preventive care.

Comments

LJWorld.com doesn’t necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.