An 80-year-old woman comes to the community health center with a large bag of medications. She tells the nurse she can no longer afford these medications because her only income is Social Security. Which statement is the best response by the nurse?
a. "Let's go through these medications and see which ones we can delete."
b. "You can get these medicines at this clinic for free."
c. "Let's see if we can get some help from Medicare to pay for these medications. I will refer you to our social worker."
d. "These medications are important. Do your best to pay for them."
ANS: C
This elderly patient probably is eligible for benefits through Part C, the Medicare Advantage program, but often a patient needs help negotiating the system. The Medicare Advantage pro-gram incorporates private insurance plans into the Medicare program including HMO and PPO managed care models and private fee-for-service plans. In addition, Medicare Part D has been added to cover prescriptions. These plans receive payments from Medicare to provide Medicare benefits, including hospital, physician, and often, prescription drug benefits. Finding prescriptive coverage through an insurance plan is a better choice than eliminating medications, trying to get medications for free (which is only a short-term solution in most cases), and telling the client to find a way to pay for the medications when she does not have the resources.
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