Health & Wellbeing

By Danielle Harrell

By Mike Holsinger

Do you have the health care coverage you need? Have you assessed your current health status and coverage? If you are a Medicare beneficiary, open enrollment, which begins on October 15, is your chance this year to reexamine your coverage and options. You can either select a new plan, or keep the one you have.

NEW ORLEANS -- In North Carolina, the faith-based community is instrumental in educating and promoting the health and wellness of people in communities across the state. This week on Real Life, you’ll learn more about efforts by AARP and the faith-based community here and in other states.

By Margaret Toman -- as appeared in the July/August NC Medical Journal

AARP North Carolina applauds Congress and the President for their approval of the NOTICE Act, a federal law the President signed yesterday to take effect in August of 2016. Short for “Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility,” AARP pushed to require hospitals to provide written notification to patients 24 hours after receiving “observation care,” explaining that they have not been admitted to the hospital, the reasons why, and the potential financial implications of that decision.

Special guest column from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

By Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO -- Where We Stand Your AARP

DURHAM -- AARP Chief Medical Officer Dr. Charlotte Yeh met with NC health care leaders, and the state's Alzheimer's Task Force, explaining some promising pilot programs that improve health care outcomes while reducing overall costs.

WASHINGTON, DC — Family caregivers in North Carolina provided 1.19 billion hours of care—worth an estimated $13.4 billion—to their parents, spouses, partners, and other adult loved ones in 2013, according to AARP Public Policy Institute’s new report, Valuing the Invaluable: 2015 Update. The total estimated economic value of uncompensated care provided by the nation’s family caregivers surpassed total Medicaid spending ($449 billion), and nearly equaled the annual sales ($469 billion) of the four largest U.S. tech companies combined (Apple, Hewlett Packard, IBM, and Microsoft) in 2013.