Your Health In the News
66% Percentage of 50+ adults who receive their etirement plan documents in paper format only.
Boomers
In Focus
What an Outrage
Georgia Law Sidelines Doctors, Nurses
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boomer to see
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Boomers are creative, productive and socially conscious. No, they’re
wasteful, arrogant and
self-absorbed. Whatever
you think of the generation of Americans born
from 1946 to 1964, there
are millions of them, and
they’re trying to figure
out the next part of their
lives as they change the
perspective on aging.
; Boomers 2.0, a new documentary produced by NBC
Peacock Productions in
partnership with RLTV
and AARP, explores boomers’ thoughts on their future. ; The hour-long program showcases their views
about a variety of topics—from entrepreneurship and
self-reinvention to managing life with aging parents and
helping adult children. Award-winning journalist Jane
Pauley narrates the film. ; Boomers 2.0 airs Jan. 31 at 9
p.m. EST on RLTV. —Barbranda Lumpkins Walls
More than 1,500 health care professionals in Georgia can’t do their jobs because of
problems implementing a tough new law. For
years, nurses, doctors, pharmacists and other
medical workers in Georgia have routinely renewed their licenses to practice. Now they must
prove that they are either citizens or foreigners
who have permission to work, and short-staffed
state agencies can’t keep up with the paperwork.
In a state that licenses some 500,000 practitioners, the law has sidelined some 500 doc-
At Woodstock, 1969
Jorge Simmonds-Diaz at the Georgia Capitol.
Medicare Part B Premiums Rise
You’ll dig deeper into your pockets to pay
for Medicare, effective this
month. The monthly premium for Part B (outpatient
services) has increased by
$5 to $104.90 for most ben-
eficiaries. ; The increase
amounts to about a quarter of
the $21 Social Security cost-
of-living adjustment given
this year to those who collect
the average benefit of $1,261
earners must pay more for
Part B premiums, based on a
sliding scale. ; Also, the Part
B deductible has been raised
$7 to $147 this year, while
the Part A deductible (hos-
pitalization) has increased
$28 to $1,184. ; Medicare
recipients spend an average
$4,500 a year out of pocket
on health care, according
to the nonprofit Medicare
Rights Center. —Carole Fleck
a month. Most people have
their Medicare premiums
deducted from their Social
Security checks. ; Higher
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tors, 450 physician assistants and respiratory
therapists, and 600 nurses who got caught up in
the backlog, officials say. “If doctors aren’t able
to see their patients, there are potential issues
there, particularly in an urgent situation,” says
Bob Jeffery, director of operations for the Georgia
Composite Medical Board. “Patients can certainly
see other physicians, but you wouldn’t have the
same continuity of care.” Colombian-born Jorge
Simmonds-Diaz, 64, a physician in a family practice outside Atlanta, calls the new law worthless.
“You’re practicing for 15 years or more, and all of a
sudden, they find that you’re an illegal immigrant
working here? That doesn’t make sense,” he says.
Officials say the new rule has not unmasked
any foreigners working without permission. “We
do need some serious immigration reform,” says
Katie O’Connor, an attorney with the Advancement Project, a civil rights group. “But this law is
making changes that are not helpful and are quite
harmful to a lot of people.” —Carole Fleck
