Medicare’s Preventive Services

Did you know that as a result of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare now covers a yearly wellness visit and many preventive screenings and services? Preventive services like these can find health problems early, when treatment works best. These services can also help keep you from getting certain diseases or illnesses.

Take Advantage of Your Yearly Wellness Visit
If you have Medicare, the yearly wellness visit is your opportunity to talk with your doctor to make sure you’re getting the care you need, including a review of any prescriptions you are taking. At this visit, you and your doctor can do the following:

• Review your medical and family history
• Create a list of your current providers and prescriptions
• Take height, weight, blood pressure, and other routine measurements
• Create a screening schedule for appropriate preventive services for you
• Create a list of risk factors and treatment options for you

Get Discounts on Prescription Drugs
If you have Medicare prescription drug coverage and you’re in the donut hole during 2011, you get a 50% discount on covered brand name prescription drugs you buy at the pharmacy or order through the mail. This benefit helps make your prescription drugs more affordable so you will take them as prescribed to stay healthy.

Keep You and Your Friends and Family Healthy
The best way to stay well is to live a healthy lifestyle. You can be healthier and prevent disease by exercising, eating well, keeping a healthy weight, and not smoking. Getting preventive services you need is just another way of taking good care of your health. Tell your friends and family with Medicare about them, too. Because when you share the news, you share the health.

Need More Information?

• Visit www.MyMedicare.gov to see descriptions of covered preventive services and track the services you get.
• Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

This information prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Subsidized Housing Issue

The Department of Justice ("DOJ") and the Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") are jointly, responsible for enforcing the federal Fair Housing Act ("the Act"), which prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. One type of disability discrimination prohibited by the Act is a refusal to permit, at the expense of the person with a disability, reasonable modifications of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by such person if such modifications may be necessary to afford such person full enjoyment of the premises. HUD and DOJ frequently respond to complaints alleging that housing providers have violated the Act by refusing reasonable modifications to persons with disabilities.

In the state of Missouri, many lease agreements of subsidized programs omit mention of the obligations of the landlord relating to tenants with disabilities. If you live in subsidized housing in the state of Missouri and your lease agreement is 10 pages instead of 15 pages, this issue may concern you.

It is the responsibility of the landlord to maintain the common areas and facilities in a safe condition; this includes the safety concerns of tenants with disabilities.

When a person with a disability believes that he or she has been subjected to a discriminatory housing practice, including a provider's wrongful denial of a request for reasonable modification, he or she may file a complaint with HUD within one year after the alleged denial or may file a lawsuit in a federal district court within two years of the alleged denial. If a complaint is filed, HUD will investigate the complaint at no cost to the person with a disability. In order to file a complaint, visit HUD's website.

Note that the USDA-Rural Development is the provider of HUD funds for cities of less than 70 000 people.