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(When including the message you are replying to, please make sure that the lines in the original message's header are preceded by >. Otherwise, the listserver sends it back to me as an error message. Also, I think that chocolate cures EVERYTHING! :) Barb) > Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 07:36:14 EDT >From: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Home Health Workers If you or someone you know is on Medicare and in need of help to give medications, cook, etc., because of Parkinson's, or any other medical reason, Medicare will pay to have a nurse or aide come to your home. A doctor has to approve the visits. I also STRONGLY suggest that anyone on Medicare look into joining one of the Medicare HMO's. As long as the person has both Parts A and B, there is NO additional cost. Each state is a little different, but in Texas, my plan has no deductables. I pay $3 per office call and $5 per prescription. Everything else is covered 100%, no maximum, no bills, no forms. My HMO arranges for Home Health Care, medically necessary beds, walkers, etc. Medicare pays the HMO through some formula based on an average per person allowance. In turn, the HMO must take everyone on Medicare who applies. Call your state Social Security Office for details. P.S. There is a rumor that chocolate may cure Parkinson's. I"m trying to get my doctor to write a prescription for a 5 lb. box of Whitman's. <G> ---- End Forwarded Message This is a response to J. Finch's post about Medicare HMOs. Be *extremely cautious* about such arrangements. While they can be money-saving, they are fraught with great potential for trouble; these "capitation" schemes *encourage* the "gatekeeper" physicians (the family doctor) to *avoid* referrals to specialists, and the freedom to see other health professionals is severely restricted. I have recently submitted an article which I wrote to several national publications, and if it is published, it will expose the financial pitfalls of this type of arrangement (most of the profits go to the insurance companies!). A few of these arrangements can be helpful; but, in my experience, most of them result in a severe deterioration in the quality of care that the patient receives. I believe that the "solution" to this and other healthcare problems in the U. S. is a "single-payer" program, such as the one which is currently on the California ballot, and which has worked quite well in Hawaii, and not quite as well in Canada. Best regards, Bob -- ******************************************************** Robert A. Fink, M. D., F.A.C.S. Phone: 510-849-2555 Neurological Surgery FAX: 510-849-2557 2500 Milvia Street Suite 222 Berkeley, California 94704-2636 USA E-Mail: [log in to unmask] CompuServe: 72303,3442 America Online: BobFink "Ex Tristitia Virtus" ********************************************************