Adamsky Law Offices Blog

A Federal Appeals Court has ruled that the Medicare Part D beneficiaries who were erroneously mailed a premium refund do not have the right to apply for a waiver excusing them from repaying it. This new decision overturns a prior ruling by a federal district court ordering the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to halt efforts to collect the mistaken refunds. In August 2006, about 230,000 people were mailed refunds for their Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums and told to pay their carrier directly. Although this was not correct, no one ever admitted how the mistake was made. Almost immediately, the government insisted that the money (about $215 per beneficiary) be paid back by the end of September. The Center for Medicare Advocacy filed suit on behalf of two senior’s rights groups, arguing that Medicare law states that the government cannot recover an overpayment if the beneficiary was not at fault and if such recovery would violate “equity and good conscienc...

Antipsychotic Drugs Increase Risk Of Death In Older People With Dementia It has long been a concern that the use of anti-psychotic drugs for elders with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia was not healthy. These drugs were designed to treat Mental Illness, not the symptoms of Dementia. However, dementia patients often suffer agitation, can be violent, and are hard to calm down. The widespread use of anti-psychotics to treat these symptoms was often just a convenience for caregivers and nursing homes. New research is showing that this may be a bad practice and should be carefully monitored. Some of the newer drugs show less problems, but the older drugs show an increased incidence of death among the elderly patients who received them. The FDA issued warnings in 2005 about the use of the newer drugs and their association with increased death. However, the study data was preliminary and not definitive. New, larger studies have found more definiti...

For the second year in a row, Adamsky Law Offices is taking part in the Memory Walk to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. You can help by joining us on the walk or donating to someone who is walking. To sign up to walk or donate, follow this link: Team Adamsky Law Offices

Our quarterly newsletter has just come off the presses and will be mailed out in the next few days. Also, we have started a new monthly email newsletter. You can sign up to receive either by going to www.adamskylaw.com .