KaiserEDU.org has posted information of interest to long term care providers: long term care financing and Medicaid 101. You may review the tutorials and Power Point slides at this link.
The site also features a Q&A section for people with questions about Medicare. In light of Medicare’s new prescription drug program, this web site should prove helpful. An excerpt
Q: I’ve heard a lot about the “doughnut hole” in the new Medicare drug benefit. Can you help me understand what it is and how it affects me? — Marjorie
Dear Marjorie:
The “doughnut hole” describes the coverage gap in the standard drug benefit offered by many Medicare prescription drug plans. Typically, enrollees share costs with the plan until their total drug costs reach $2,250 (or about $750 out of pocket). After that point, enrollees pay all of their drug costs until they have spent $3,600 out of pocket in 2006 (the “doughnut hole”). If they have expenses above that level, their Medicare drug plan will pay 95% of the cost for covered drugs for the remainder of the year.
If you think you might end up with expenses high enough to reach the doughnut hole, here are some tips to consider. First, while the majority of Medicare drug plans have a gap in coverage, you may be able to find a plan with some coverage in the doughnut hole. Typically, these plans have higher monthly premiums and may only cover generics in the gap.
Continue reading the answer here.