Medicare Help Line Needs Help

‘Kick in the backside’ urged for Medicare help line

Not long after moving to Salem, Ore., last year, 69-year-old James Corbett sought to untangle problems with his Medicare benefits.

The provider he had in Illinois was not available in Oregon, and with a stent in his heart, Corbett was anxious to update his coverage.

So, like millions of Medicare beneficiaries, he called 1-800-Medicare, the government’s toll-free help line.

It did not go well.
“I called and nobody was there,” Corbett said. “Then I called back and got somebody, and they don’t have a clue. They give me no options, they give me no information. They act like they’ve been untrained. They didn’t seem to know what they were doing.”

A recent survey by the Senate Special Committee on Aging found that callers were put on hold an average of 16.6 minutes. Only half got through to a real person, and 90 percent got at least one piece of incorrect information.

“They need a kick in the backside,” said Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, the ranking Republican on the committee. “We’ve had time to get this right, and this is so important an intersection between America’s seniors and their government that it has to be made right, or the program won’t work as it’s designed.”

Mary Agnes Laureno, who oversees the federal call centers, takes issue with critics. “Any time you’re handling half a million calls a week, you’re going to have some exception where people give you feedback for improvement,” she said.

But independent audits since 2004 have cataloged long wait times, inaccurate information and difficulty navigating the system.

The call system is a resource for 43 million senior citizens eligible for Medicare who need to find a program that meets their medical and financial needs. The toll-free number is especially crucial for the 25.5 million in the prescription drug program and millions more who will be signing up for the first time.

Little wonder that the call centers absorb more than 30 million calls a year—at a cost of $270 million.

Gene could boost stroke risk for migraine sufferers
Scientists say they’ve spotted a gene that may lessen the risk of migraines with aura.
However, the risk is still there, and if the person goes on to develop migraines with aura, this migraine-protective gene actually boosts their risk for stroke.

“”There is a reduced association of migraine with aura with this gene, but if you have migraine with aura, the risk of stroke is magnified,”” said study senior author, Dr. Tobias Kurth, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Using data from just over 25,000 white women who participated in the Women’s Health Study, Tobias and his team found that almost 4,600 — or about 18 percent — of the women reported a history of migraine.

From that group, nearly 40 percent said they had migraines accompanied by an aura. An aura is a visual disturbance, such as seeing flashing lights.

During nearly 12 years of follow-up, 625 women had a cardiovascular event, such as a stroke, according to the study, which appears in the July 30 online issue of Neurology.

The researchers reviewed the data to see which women carried a particular form of the gene MTHFR 677C — a gene that had been suggested by prior research as a possible link between migraine with aura and stroke. They found that 11 percent of the study population carried this gene variant.

Alone, the MTHFR 677C variant doesn’t appear to raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, in women with the gene and a history of migraine with aura, the researchers found more than three times the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Kurth said it’s too soon to start recommending that anyone have genetic testing done, even if they do have migraines with auras.

“”At the moment, we’re not suggesting genotyping for women with migraines with aura. The consequences (of having this gene) are completely unclear right now,”” said Kurth.

Kurth also noted that researchers can’t know from this study what the effect of this gene might be for men.

Another expert agreed.

“”The problem here is they’re trying to find the exact gene, and they’re getting into the ballpark, but to isolate the exact gene is so complicated. This might be more of an association rather than a direct cause, so until more research is done, screening isn’t justified,”” said Dr. Keith Siller, medical director of the Comprehensive Stroke Care Center at New York University’s Langone Medical Center in New York City.

There may still be ways women with migraine can cut their stroke risk, however. Both Kurth and Siller said that while no one should smoke, it’s especially important that women who have migraines with aura forgo cigarettes. Additionally, since birth control pills can increase the risk of vascular problems, women who smoke or have migraines with auras might want to discuss other birth control options with their doctors, Kurth said.

“”The take-home message here is that if you have migraine with aura, you’re likely have an increased stroke risk and you may want to be more careful,”” said Siller.

(Source: HealthDay News)