What is the Medicare Advocacy Project?

The Medicare Advocacy Project is a collaborative project of the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging to respond to the Alzheimer’s-related Medicare inquiries from local Alzheimer’s Association chapters throughout the country.

The Medicare Advocacy Project:

• Responds to inquires from Alzheimer's Association chapters regarding Medicare problems;
• Advocates for increased Medicare coverage of services for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease;
• Identifies problems, patterns and trends, and assists with the development of appropriate federal policy positions related to Medicare and health care delivery.
• Prepares written materials about Medicare coverage.

Medicare Problem Areas include:

• Coding and billing errors;
• Drug benefit problems
• Physical, occupational and speech therapy denials;
• Psychiatric, psychological and mental health services denials;
• Hospice and home health care denials.

Medicare Advocacy Materials:

The Medicare Advocacy Project has developed is numerous fact sheets and other materials on the Medicare fee-for-service program including,

• Frequently Asked Questions about Medicare for People with Alzheimer’s Disease;
• Original Medicare: An Outline of Benefits
• Medicare’s Hospice Benefit: Frequently Asked Questions about Medicare’s Hospice Benefit for Alzheimer’s Beneficiaries;
• Medicare Savings Programs,
• Basic Facts about the Medicare Drug Benefit,
• Special Considerations When Choosing a Medicare Drug Plan for People with Alzheimer’s Disease and
• Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Medicare and You.

These materials can be obtained on the Alzheimer’s Association web page or ordered from the Alzheimer's Association’s Public Policy Office in Washington D.C. All Medicare Advocacy Project materials are on-line at
http://www.alz.org/Resources/FactSheets.asp

To Contact the Medicare Advocacy Project:
Leslie B. Fried, Project Director
(202) 662-8684
friedl@staff.abanet.org
Leslie.Fried@alz.org