ALCOHOL Does alcohol help with sleep? Not really. At first it causes central nervous depression but is usually followed by a rebound excitation. This causes disrupted sleep. MELATONIN If taken 3-5 hours before bedtime, melatonin may help with sleep onset. It does not seem to work if taken at bedtime. HERBAL PRODUCTS AND CANNABIS Valerian … More Insomnia – Alcohol, Melatonin or Herbal Products?
From a NYTIMES article By Robert Pear WASHINGTON — Medicare Advantage plans, the popular private-insurance alternative to the traditional Medicare program, have been improperly denying many medical claims to patients and physicians alike, federal investigators say in a new report. The private plans, which now cover more than 20 million people — more than one-third of all … More Inspector General findings: Medicare Advantage Plans Improperly Deny Claims to Increase Profits
Childhood chicken pox can come back to haunt you as shingles, a painful blistering rash. There are now 2 vaccines to protect against shingles, the original Zostavax and the new one Shingrix. Who should get Shingrix? Healthy adults 50 years and older even if you had the original vaccine in the past. How many injections? … More SEPTEMBER 2018 NEWSLETTER
HAVE YOU RECEIVED YOUR NEW MEDICARE CARD? If not, check the Medicare website https://www.medicare.gov/newcard/ This site will indicate the status of the new cards: Finished mailing Mailing now Mailing soon (Hawaii cards are finished mailing) Medicare uses the name and address you have on file with Social Security. To change your name and/or … More Where is my new Medicare card?
Many of our Hawaii travelers take trips to the mainland that last more than 3 weeks. Travelers should always check that they have enough medication to last through the duration of their trip. But what if you run out? Can you get refills on the road? Will they cost the same? Can you get extra … More Traveling with Medicare – Can you use your drug plan on the trip?
Answer: Medicare covers some eligible nursing home costs – not all. Maybe she has been there over 20 days or no longer qualifies for “skilled” care. Recently I received an email requesting assistance for a client’s mother who had just had a stroke. She lived alone and could not return to her home. The family, … More Why is the nursing home billing us when mom has Medicare?
Flying soon? Worried about contagious diseases? This is an interesting article posted on Medscape Localized Risk for Infection Transmission on Planes, Study Finds The likelihood of airline passengers transmitting infectious diseases to one another is low, new data suggest. Although passengers seated within one row or two seats on either side of an infected individual … More Flying and Infection- a new study
Our latest newsletter includes a travel alert, yellow fever vaccine info and the impending arrival of new Medicare Cards. Click here to view the March 2018 letter
Have a Long Term Care claim? Think it’s going to be a slam dunk? THINK AGAIN! Unless you know exactly how to word your claim, approval could be a long journey and even denied. So what can you do to help prepare for receiving these benefits? Here are some suggestions: Review your policy to assess … More FILING TIPS – LONG TERM CARE CLAIMS
URGENT MESSAGE FOR MEDICARE PATIENTS This year your Medicare drug plan is a moving target! It is recommended Medicare enrollees review their current plan annually. This is even more crucial for 2018 as we have noticed a remarkable increase in some drug plan copay costs. For example, a comparison of Medicare drug plans for a client on … More MEDICARE COST ALERT
Crown Care Hawaii 
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