AAA News & Notes

Postings below reviewed and edited October, 2011

Special Announcement

2011 Needs Assessment & Focus Groups

Periodically, the Alameda County Area Agency on Aging conducts an assessment in order to better understand the needs of seniors in Alameda County. The Needs Assessment includes surveys that seniors fill out (60 and older), consumer focus meetings with seniors (over 55), and key informant meetings and surveys with providers and other groups that work with seniors. The information from all of these activities is assembled and compiled in a publication that provides a detailed look at the demographics, issues and concerns of seniors in our community. The information from the Needs Assessment will be shared widely and will also be used to inform the development of planning for and providing services for seniors throughout the county. We are seeking your help in ensuring a wide response to the survey. You can assist with this survey in the following ways:

Complete the survey online by going to the following link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SeniorNeedsAssess
Get a paper copy by contacting Sandra Braxton at 510-577-1907 to request a survey be mailed to you (or download copy from link below).
Provide copies of the survey at your organization and return the surveys to the address below.

We thank you for your consideration and involvement with the Needs Assessment. If you have any questions about the survey, please feel free to contact Karen Bridges at 510-577-3536 or kmbridges@acgov.org. Complete surveys can be mailed to the following address:

Alameda County Area Agency on Aging, 6955 Foothill Boulevard, Suite 300, Oakland, CA 94605, Attention: Sandra Braxton

Needs Assessment documents are provided as PDFfiles

To view these files click here for the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Needs Assessment Survey Cambodian

Needs Assessment Survey Chinese

Needs Assessment Survey English

Needs Assessment Suvery Farsi

Needs Assessment Survey Korean

Needs Assessment Survey Spanish

Needs Assessment Survey Tagalog

Needs Assessment Survey Vietnamese

Needs Assessment Consumer Focus Group schedule

Needs Assessment Key Informant Focus Group schedule

General Announcement

State Budget Updates and Advocacy Efforts

For information about the state budget and local advocacy efforts see the websites for Senior Services Coalition, www.seniorservicescoalition.org, and Disability Rights of California, www.disabilityrightsca.org.

General Information

ThinkSeniors, resource sharing for senior services in Alameda County

ThinkSeniors is a resource interchange wiki. The purpose of the site is to make it easy for senior serving organizations to share resources and exchange information. For more information and to register see thinkseniors.editme.com.

General Announcement

Older Americans Month (May of each year)

Visit the Administration on Aging (AOA) website for more information about Older Americans Month and other AOA programs.

General Information

California Senior Legislators representing Alameda County

The California Senior Legislature (CSL) is a statewide organization whose main mission is to improve the quality of like for aging Californians by generating bill proposals on senior issues. CSL is made up of 40 Senior Senators and 80 Senior Assembly Members, elected as non-partisan representatives of California's seniors. For information on CSL, go to www.4csl.org.

General Information

Senior Injury Prevention Partnership (SIPP)

SIPP is a coalition of organizations led by the Alameda County Public Health Department who are working together to reduce older adult injuries. SIPP provides Fall Prevention Discussion Groups, Older Driver Safety Discussion Groups, and Emergency Preparedness Discussion Groups. For more information, see the SIPP website, www.acgov.org/PublicHealth/organization/divisions/ems/ems_SIPP.htm.

General Information

Local Emergency Preparedness efforts

For information about emergency preparedness education and links to information, please see the website for CARD (Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disaster), www.CARDCanHelp.org. Also, for more information about emergency preparedness in your neighborhood contact your local Fire Department or Office of Emergency Service.

General Announcement

Annual Flu and Pneumonia Alert

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 50 and older get a flu shot each year and that people 65 and older get a pneumonia vaccination at least once to prevent illness. For more information, consult your doctor, or contact Alameda County Public Health Immunization Assistance Project at 510-267-3220 or Sutter VNA at 1-800-500-2400. Check the Public Health website, www.acphd.org, for times and locations of free flu shot clinics. Flu season can begin as early as October and last as late as May. October or November is the best time to get vaccinated.

Check the Public Health website also for information about H1N1 (swine) flu. While seniors are at greater risk from seasonal flu, they are at less risk for serious complications from H1N1 than pregnant women or children and young adults.

General Information from the Department of Veterans Affairs

Beware!: Bogus "Representative" Scam -- Veterans Programs

forwarded by the DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Veterans Benefits Administration, Washington, D.C. 20420

Summary: Watch for Unauthorized Representation of Claimants and Unlawful Solicitation of Fees

There have been reports about individuals employed by private companies who claim to help veterans and their dependents apply for VA benefits. Some of these individuals have targeted elderly claimants at assisted living facilities. They give claimants the impression that they are employed by VA.

These individuals lead claimants and facilities to believe they have special knowledge of VA laws and can maximize claimants’ entitlement to VA benefits. Although these individuals work for private companies, they may have job titles that suggest a government connection, e.g., Veterans Benefits Analyst.

Representation

Organizations and individuals that represent claimants for VA benefits are subject to specific statutory and regulatory requirements. Section 5901 of title 38, United States Code, provides, "no individual may act as an agent or attorney in the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of any claim under laws administered by the Secretary [of Veterans Affairs] unless such individual has been recognized for such purposes by the Secretary." While VA can authorize an individual to prepare a benefit claim for a veteran on a one-time basis, this authorization cannot be used a second time without the approval of the VA’s General Counsel.

Solicitation of Fees

Accredited attorneys and agents are allowed to charge fees for representational services they provide after the Board of Veterans' Appeals makes a final decision in a case. VA's regulations provide a narrow exception to the general rule whereby a "disinterested" third-party may pay an accredited attorney or agent for services provided before a final Board decision, and that representation can include the preparation of claims.Some organizations that do not qualify for VA recognition structure their business to receive payment for their services from claimants' private care providers in an effort to avoid criminal penalties.

The care providers typically do not know that these organizations are prohibited by law from preparing claims and charging fees, and are generally unaware of the services provided freely by recognized veterans service organizations.

Recognized Representatives

VA currently recognizes 87 veterans service organizations consisting of 37 national organizations and 50 State and regional organizations for purposes of representing veterans before the Department. All of these organizations provide representation at no cost to the veteran, and by law may not charge any other person for representation before the Department.

You can verify the recognition of organizations and accreditation of individuals on the General Counsel’s web page. Go to www.va.gov. Click on Organizations at the top of the page. Under Staff Organizations, click on General Counsel. When that page opens, click on Recognized Veterans Service Organizations on the left side and then click on Current Bulletin 23-S. This will give you the list of recognized organizations. If you want to see the list of individuals who are accredited through each organization, click on Current Bulletin 2-151. The Office of General Counsel maintains these bulletins and updates them periodically.

Unauthorized representation of claimants and unlawful solicitation of fees is a serious matter. VA is interested in any individual or group that may be engaged in these activities. Veterans should contact their local VA Office of the Inspector General with information regarding anyone who may be violating the law by charging fees.

General Information

From: Community Education Advocate

Legal Assistance for Seniors/HICAP -- 510-839-0393

ALERT: Beware of Aggressive Marketing Practices for Medicare Plans

It has come to our attention that insurance agents in Alameda County have been targeting low-income seniors at housing complexes and other locations to market the new Private Fee for Service Plans now available under Medicare Part C, the Medicare Advantage option. While there are no specific regulations against marketing at locations where seniors gather, we would like to warn service coordinators and other senior providers of the concerns for dual eligibles enrolling in such plans.

First of all, Private Fee for Service Plans (PFFS) have no established network of providers. This means that PFFS enrollees must find a doctor and/or hospital that is willing to accept and bill this type of insurance. Insurance brokers claim that all doctors will accept PFFS plans, however, this is not true. We are already aware that Highland Hospital and several doctors are unwilling to accept PFFS plans.

Secondly, if an enrollee is able to find a doctor or hospital who will accept a PFFS plan, they then run the risk that there is no coordination of benefits with Medi-Cal. This means that Medi-Cal will not automatically pay the remaining costs that the plan doesn’t cover. The doctor must be a Medi-Cal provider in order to bill Medi-Cal directly or to waive the costs.

In addition, some PFFS plans may emphasize the “extra benefits” not covered by Medicare such as vision, hearing and dental care. However, dual eligibles may already be entitled to these benefits through Medi-Cal.

For anyone contemplating signing up with one of these plans, it is most important that they make sure their current doctors will accept this type of insurance.

We would like to advise staff members at senior residences to be cautious about allowing insurance brokers and insurance company representatives to speak at your facilities. If you would like to have a HICAP representative speak to your group about ALL the PFFS plans available in Alameda County, or you have questions and need clarification, please do not hesitate to contact HICAP at 510-839-0393, www.lashicap.org.

General Announcement

Medicare Information

If you are interested in having someone from Health Insurance Counseling Advocacy (HICAP) come speak to your group about Medicare Part D and other Medicare Advantage plans in Alameda County, contact Sue Han at 510-839-0393.

General Announcement

Lavender Seniors Needs Friendly Visitors

GOT FREE TIME? How about spending some of it with an LGBT senior who is homebound and/or needs some company? Lavender Seniors tries to meet the needs of those who would like Friendly Visitors from all over the East Bay. From Fremont to San Pablo, members of our community are isolated and would like to have someone visit them on a regular basis. Some need help grocery shopping or getting to the doctor, some need to get out of the house or the nursing home for lunch or a walk or a movie, and others would be happy just to have someone come to visit and talk with them. Because of the large area we try to cover, it is often difficult to find Friendly Visitors to match with the seniors who would like one.

Additionally, we know that there are many LGBT seniors out there who are isolated and probably closeted in their living situations who could really use a Friendly Visitor. If you are interested in becoming a Friendly Visitor or if you know of someone who would like to have a Friendly Visitor, please contact the Lavender Seniors' office at 510-667-9655, www.lavenderseniors.org.

General Announcement

Senior Center Without Walls

Senior Center Without Walls continues to offer free group activities to homebound seniors throughout the greater Bay Area using telephone conference calls. Our support groups for various challenges to seniors--depression, isolation, etc.--fill up quickly, and we feel we need to add more such groups so that no one is left out.

If you know a qualified individual, someone with experience working with seniors in this way, who might volunteer to facilitate a weekly or bi-weekly group on the telephone for those three months, please ask them to email us at info@seniorcenterwithoutwalls.org or call us toll-free at 1-877-797-7299. Facilitators call in toll-free to the groups from home, office, or anywhere it's convenient, and the phone meetings can be scheduled weekdays, evenings, or weekends. We are flexible!

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