1
oma
LIFE/ C^iarlotte
Thursday January 4, 2007
Medicaid fills health insurance gap in the U.S.
Continued from page 1B
tions who have monthly
income up to 300 percent of
the SSI income standard.
Medical heed:
• Pr^nant women who can
not affoid private insurance
(coverage in extended until 60
days after the birth of tiie
child).
• Newborns (coverage
extends mitil age 1 year).
• Children under the age of
18 years.
• Certain blind persons (as
determined using SSI pro
gram standards).
• Children xmder the age of
21 years who are full-time
students.
• Relatives or legal
guardians who Uve with and
take care of children.
• Individuals age 65 years
and older
• Disabled persons (as
determined using SSI pro
gram standards).
Medicare is a federal insur
ance program that provides
health insurance coverage for
the elderly In certain cases,
Medicaid may pay for
Medicare co-payments,
deductibles and co-insurance
for elderly beneficiaries whose
income is at or below the fed
eral poverty level ('$9,570 per
year for an individual) and
whose resources ai’e at or
below twice the standard
allowed by SSI. Also, if you
are a disabled peroon who lost
Medicare benefits, because of
work, yet have income at or
below 200% of the federal
poverty level ($19,140 per
year for an individual), and
resources at or below twice
die standai-d allowed by SSI,
Medicaid may cover the cost
of your Medicare premiums.
Proper medical care is
important for everyone,
regardless of your income or
whether or not you are
employed. Medicaid is a ‘safe
ty net’ that provides health
insurance coverage for those
who cannot afford it. The only
way to know for sure if you
are eligible for Medicaid is to
submit an appHcation. Tb
apply, contact your local
Department of Social
. Services. You can find them
listed in the phone book
under government agencies.
If you are unable to go to
Social Services, you may
request a home visit. If you
cannot locate the phone num
ber for your local DSS or if
you have further questions
regarding Medicaid eligibility
after contacting the local
departm^t, call the Office of
Citizen Services CARE-LINE
Information and Referral
Service toll-free at 1-800-662-
7030 to get assistance.
Remember, knowledge is
power, but it is what you do
with it that makes all the dif
ference!
Contribution by Aisha
Bobcombe, BA and Kristy F.
Woods, MD, MPH
For more /nformat/on
obout the Maya Angelou
Research Center on Minority
Health, visit our website at
http://www.wfubmc.edU/m
inorityhealth. Or, call (336/
713-7578.
Resolutions for a new year
Continued from page 1B
9) Help others
A popular, non-selfish New
Year’s resolution, volun-
teerism can take many forms.
Whether you choose to spend
time helpir^ out at your local
library mentorir^ a child, or
buildup a house, there are
many nonprofit volxmteer
organizations that could real
ly use your help.
10) Get organized
On just about every New
Year resolution top ten list,
oiganization can be a very
reasonable goal. Wliether you
want your home organized
enou^ that you can invite
someone over on a whim, or
your office organized enough
that you can find the stapler
when you need it, these tips
and resources should get you
started on the way to a more
organized life.
But as many people that
make resolutions there are a
vast number who don’t keep
them.
According to ehow.com
writer Bob Strauss, there are
five things you can do to keep
them.
“It goes without saying fhat
most New Year’s resolutions
are easier announced than
done,” he writes on the site.
• Aim low. If you set the bar
too high, you’re doomed fium
the start. Instead of a sweep
ing declaration like “I will
lose 30 pounds by April and
finally fit into that dress,” tar
get a goal that’s more attain
able, hke losing 10 or 15
pounds.
• Don’t overload yourself.
It’s difficult enough for the
average person to follow
through on one ambitious
New Year’s resolution; why
on earth would you saddle
yourself with three or four?
Choose the most pressing
issue at hand-losing weight,
finding a girl&iend, improv-
ir^ your relationship with
your parents-and concentrate
on that. Trying to do every
thing simultaneously practi
cally guarantees failure
across the board
• Ttell everyone you know.
One school of thought says
that New Year’s resolutions
are best kept to- oneself, but
look at it this way the more
people to whom you
announce your resolution
(say to get out of your dead
end job by spring), the more
people there’ll be to prod you
along if you fall behind.
There’s no shame in seeking
help if you can’t accomplish
your resolution on your own.
• Reward yoiuself.
Following through on a New
Year’s resolution is rarely
easy, so a httle Pavlovian con
ditioning goes along way If
you’ve rosolved to shop less,
stroke yourself for not buying
tiiose shoes by springing for a
steaming hot cappucino at
the mall. If you’ve resolved to
be nicer to people, buy your
self a nice j acket after endur
ing that tedious cocktail
party without delivering any
insiilts.
New year means wardrobe tweaks
Continued from page 1B
organize!', would make a case
to discard anything you’re not
going to wear for years. But, if
you insist, he’d start by stor
ing those garments on the
upper shelves of your closet in
either deal- plastic or pretty
fabric boxes. Those shdves
aren’t good for day-to-day
items but they’re the best for
what Iszak calls “rainy-day
items.”
What? Those shelves are
already taken?
“Move the photo albums, old
papere, financial records.
That’s all stuff that doesn’t
need to be there. Keep your
doset a doset,” he said.
In other words, go dutter up
somewhere else.
Under the bed can serve the
same purpose as those doset
shelves, notes Iszak, and if
your bed isn’t hi^ enough
you can buy bed risers to raise
the frame 6 or 8 inches, plen
ty of room to shde (and hide)
something underneath.
Some ' closets have two
bars—known in the organiz
ing hiz as a “double hang”—
but if the ceilings are high
enough, you mi^t want to
add a third. You’d have to
either have a ladder or get one
with moveable arms that
pulls down, suggests Iszak,
president of the National
Association of Professional
Organizers.
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