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Senior wellness fair to offer free health care and advice
By Heather M. Smith, Staff writer
The annual senior information and wellness fair will offer free medical services to senior citizens in celebration of Older Americans Month.
The Plano Senior Recreation Center and the Geriatric Wellness Center of Collin County are inviting Collin County senior citizens to take advantage of the free health screenings, door prizes and chair massages offered at the fair, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 27.
Some of the free screenings include: hearing, body fat analysis, posture, blood pressure, blood sugar and BMI (body mass index).
In addition to the screenings, representatives from various senior citizens services will be on hand to answer questions and provide information. Perry said information about Medicare, supplemental insurance, financial planning and assisted living will be available. Some of the participating vendors are Medical Center of Plano, Legacy at Willow Bend, American Hearing Laboratories and Select Physical Therapy, United Financial Services and The Waterford at Plano.
One topic senior citizens will have a chance to discuss at the fair is rising health care costs. The Obama administration is currently working with Congress to overhaul the current health care system. However, reports surfaced from The New York Times and Politico that the administration overstated the health care cost savings “deal” that was in the works. Sen. John Cornyn said the revelation was “extremely troubling, especially with an issue as immense as health care.
“The skyrocketing cost of health care is the greatest concern of middle-class families. But secret deals and rushed press announcements aren’t the way to deliver a high-value, affordable health care system that will work for patients,” Cornyn said. “President Obama needs to shoot straight with the American people. The administration’s proposals will increase health care spending, or shift costs to workers, taxpayers, or our children. A Washington takeover of the health care system will only lead to the delay and denial of treatment and disrupt the sacred doctor-patient relationship.”
Cornyn said he wants patients to have more control over their health care. A “public plan” for all would lead to higher costs n and eventually higher taxes, according to Cornyn.
“The Washington-run Medicare program wastes $60 billion every year through fraud, and has more than $37 trillion in unfunded liabilities,” Cornyn said.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced new changes to Medicare Advantage plans. Those changes will cut subsidies to the insurance companies by as much as 5 percent. The changes will take effect in 2010.
The changes are intended to make the plans more user-friendly and to eliminate overpayments to Advantage plans. Some of the changes will prohibit charging low-income, sick patients more than traditional Medicare. President Obama has stated that he intends to restrict the costs from the Medicare Advantage program. He said he wants to cut “overpayments” to finance the healthcare overhaul. According to CMS, the plans currently cost the government an average of 14 percent more per beneficiary than traditional fee-for-service Medicare.
However, some experts are concerned that the changes will have senior citizens, who are enrolled in the plan, paying higher premiums and seeing fewer benefits. Tony Groselle, director of sales for The Waterford at Plano, said that she hasn’t heard any concerns from the senior patrons at The Waterford.
“The economy in general is affecting people on fixed income,” Groselle said. “There is a general feeling of uneasiness with everything.”
The Waterford at Plano is one of the two lead sponsors of the event, and representatives from the facility will have a booth set up to provide information on the community and services it offers.
“This is our second year to be a sponsor, but we participate in the wellness fair every year as a vendor,” Groselle said. “We are a service to families and seniors in the Plano area and we are very involved with the senior center.”
The Waterford is an independent living and assisted living facility for seniors 62 and up. The facility provides three meals a day, housekeeping, 24-hour response service, transportation and activities. Groselle said the two main events The Waterford are involved in for Older Americans Month are the wellness fair and the Ms. Senior Plano pageant.
The senior information and wellness fair will be held at the Plano Senior Recreation Center. The event is sponsored by Waterford at Plano, HealthSpring and KAAM n Legends 770-AM Radio.
For information call 972-941-7155.
Contact Heather Smith at HSmith@acnpapers.com
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"Sen. John Cornyn said the revelation was extremely troubling, especially with an issue as immense as health care.
The skyrocketing cost of health care is the greatest concern of middle-class families. But secret deals and rushed press announcements arent the way to deliver a high-value, affordable health care system that will work for patients, Cornyn said. President Obama needs to shoot straight with the American people. The administrations proposals will increase health care spending, or shift costs to workers, taxpayers, or our children. A Washington takeover of the health care system will only lead to the delay and denial of treatment and disrupt the sacred doctor-patient relationship.
Cornyn said he wants patients to have more control over their health care. A public plan for all would lead to higher costs n and eventually higher taxes, according to Cornyn.
The Washington-run Medicare program wastes $60 billion every year through fraud, and has more than $37 trillion in unfunded liabilities, Cornyn said."
Stop campaigning for the Republican Party. Let the readers make up our own minds, and stop telling us what to think. "