Before you can choose the Medicare Advantage plan that is best for you, it’s important to understand the basics of Original Medicare.

Medicare is a federal health insurance program. In order to qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen or lawfully present in the United States. You also must be age 65 or older; or be under age 65 with certain disabilities; or have permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis.

Medicare has four parts: Part A hospital coverage, Part B medical coverage, Part C Medicare Advantage plans and Part D prescription drug plans.

Part A hospital coverage

Most people do not pay a monthly premium for Part A.

In our hospice inpatient unit, we have taken care of the following patients:

• An elderly patient with metastatic cancer who fell while walking and suffered a traumatic lower extremity fracture, requiring inpatient hospice care to manage fairly severe pain and agitation. She was not a surgical candidate. Her medication regimen included a continuous infusion of morphine at 10 mg intravenously per hour, along with a scheduled dose of lorazepam at 2 mg every six hours. She could have as-needed doses of both medications for breakthrough pain and agitation (10 mg of intravenous morphine hourly is the approximate equivalent of 30 mg of oral morphine tablets taken every hour).

How often have we heard friends and neighbors tell us that they were not going to vote because they thought their vote would not make a difference? This is especially true in today’s polarized political climate where there are well-documented instances of foreign (attempts of) intervention and massive campaign financing by political action committees (PACS). So, I ask, can a voice of one make a difference? Is every vote important? I say yes and have experienced it first-hand.

In 1998, I was a councilor for Pennsylvania to the American College of Radiology (ACR). While most radiology societies have predominantly academic membership, the ACR represents all of radiology – academics and private practice, and functions to establish practice standards, provide education, manage economic issues, and serves as the political arm for the profession.

Opinion

Editorial …………………………..362
Pocket MBA
Deval (Reshma) Paranjpe, MD, FACS

Editorial …………………………..364
A voice of one
Richard H. Daffner, MD, FACR

Editorial …………………………..366
When the music stops
Andrea G. Witlin, DO, PhD

Editorial …………………………..368
‘Generation A’ comes of age
Anthony L. Kovatch, MD

Miller Time ………………………372
High-dose opiates and benzodiazepines in end-of-life care
Scott Miller, MD, MA, FAAHPM

Perspective………………………374
An ode to Planet Nine Pluto: A human hospice physician sharing a pet hospice experience
Keith R. Lagnese, MD, FAAHPM, HMDC

Perspective………………………380
A case for diversity in the Pittsburgh workforce
William Simmons, MD

Departments

Membership Benefits………..378
Society News …………………..383
• Pittsburgh Ophthalmology Society
• Pennsylvania Geriatrics Society – Western Division
Activities & Accolades………384

Articles

Feature……………………………..386