As a contractor for Medicare, Kepro serves as the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization, also referred to as a BFCC-QIO. While Kepro provides BFCC-QIO services in 29 states, the general information is relevant to everyone who has Medicare (including Medicare Advantage) and everyone who works with people who have Medicare.
This episode is a conversation with our guest, Amy Hagel, SHINE Liaison & Volunteer Manager at Senior Connection Center. Amy is pursuing a Master's Degree in Public Administration and a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of South Florida. With over five years of experience at the Senior Connection Center, Amy is a dedicated professional driven by a desire to empower seniors through education and resources. She wears multiple hats as the SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) Program Liaison and Volunteer Manager. Amy ensures the smooth operation of the agency's SHINE program, manages volunteers, and serves as the agency liaison for the program.
In this podcast, Ms. Hagel will share information about the groups that make up the Hispanic population, health risks in that population, and ways to improve health outcomes.
For more information about Kepro BFCC-QIO, please visit www.keproqio.com.
KEY TOPICS
00:29: Overview, introduction of guest, Amy Hagel
02:13: Definition of the Hispanic population
03:41: Health risks in the Hispanic population
05:20: Ways to improve health outcomes
06:29: Information about SHINE in Florida
07:14: Final thoughts
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RESOURCES
BFCC-QIO Information for stakeholders: www.keproqio.com/partners
BFCC-QIO Information for people who have Medicare: www.keproqio.com/bene
Florida SHINE (SHIP): www.floridashine.org/
SHIPs in other states: www.shiphelp.org/
Music: Motivational Upbeat Corporate by RinkevichMusic
https://soundcloud.com/rinkevichmusic
https://protunes.net/
Video Link: https://bit.ly/3NNqGTs
Welcome to Aging Health Matters, a podcast from Kepro, a Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization. We plan to cover healthcare topics for the Medicare population. Information in today’s show may help you or someone you know in their healthcare journey. Thanks for joining us. Now let’s get started.
Kia Weaver
Hi everyone and welcome to another edition of our podcast, Aging Health Matters. This is Kia Weaver, Outreach Specialist here to introduce today's topic. Just as a reminder, being the QIO for 29 states, we have three key services for people who have Medicare: appeals quality of care complaints, and Immediate Advocacy services. We also work with many outstanding partners to help spread information about the Medicare program and its benefits. While we greatly appreciate their partnerships, we also want to be clear that the opinions and guidance expressed by them in this podcast are solely theirs or their agencies, and not necessarily those of the QIO, CMS, or the Medicare program. Please keep in mind that state-by-state guidance may differ as well. Today we'll be talking to our guest, Amy Hagel, from Florida's Shine program about health disparities in the Hispanic community. Amy, welcome. Can you please tell us tell our listeners about your background and your role within the organization?
Amy Hagel
Yes, and thank you for having me over. I am Amy Hagel. I am the Shine Liaison and volunteer manager at Senior Connection Center having been with the Shine program for a little bit over five years, and I oversee a group of volunteers that help people with Medicare questions. Shine, which stands for serving health insurance needs of elders, helps people with Medicare questions, enrollment and coverage, plan comparisons, financial assistance programs, so pretty much anything Medicare-related.
Kia Weaver
Thanks, Amy, and I do understand that you are a bilingual liaison and work with the Hispanic population. Can you define the Hispanic population and give an overview of the demographics of this population? Yes, absolutely. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, this ethnic group includes any person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
According to the 2020 census data, there are 62.1 million Hispanics living in the United States, and this group represents 18.9% of the total US population, the nation's second largest racial or ethnic group after non-Hispanic whites in 2020. States with the largest Hispanic populations were Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Texas, and 28.4% of Hispanics state that they are not fluent in English and we do assist you know, with the Hispanic populations. We do have a few volunteers that are bilingual including myself as well.
Kia Weaver
Perfect. Thank you for that information. Can you provide information on some of the health risks that affect this specific population?
Amy Hagel
Yes, it is significant to note that Hispanics have the highest uninsured rates of any racial or ethnic group within the United States in 2020. 18.3% of the Hispanic population was not covered by health insurance as compared to 5.4% of the non-Hispanic white population per Census Bureau report, Hispanic health is often shaped by factors such as language, culture, barriers, lack of access to preventive care, and the lack of health insurance.
According to the 2019 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some of the leading causes of death among Hispanics include cancer, heart disease, unintentional injuries, accidents, stroke, and other cerebrovascular diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.
In 2020, the leading cause of death for Hispanics was COVID-19. Some other causes of mortality that significantly affect Hispanics include chronic lower respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, liver disease, influenza and pneumonia, and unfortunately, suicide and kidney disease.
Kia Weaver
Thank you so much. And do you know any ways that this population can improve health outcomes or health equity?
Amy Hagel
They can certainly take advantage of preventive care, including attending health fairs or free clinics. Community health workers can also help provide health, education, and outreach services to Spanish-speaking communities across the country.
They can find a provider that speaks Spanish or has interpreter services by improving their health literacy and helping to teach them to advocate for their own health care. They can improve the chances that problems will go undetected, and understanding their insurance options can definitely assist in more stable care, and that's what our Shine volunteers do, help understand Medicare benefits and help them to maximize their benefits and apply for financing Medicare financial assistance programs that can help them lower the cost of Medicare.
Kia Weaver
Thank you so much. Do you have anything else that you'd like to share with our listeners?
Amy Hagel
Yes, absolutely. SHINE can help review and compare plans and help people through the somewhat confusing process of Medicare enrollment. SHINE can also help people apply for help with Part B and Part D premiums. They are able to provide the services via phone, by face-to-face, and by Zoom meetings. and the way to get a hold of us is by calling the one 809 six elder. That's 1-800-963-5337 or they can visit us at our website at floridashine.org.
Kia Weaver
Great. Thank you so much, Amy, and thank you for providing that contact information for our listeners. This has been such great information, and to our listeners, if you would like more information about our services, please feel free to sign up for our newsletter as well as subscribe to our YouTube channel. Our helpline phone number as well as a link on our website to sign up for our newsletter will be available in the show notes.
We also have resources and Spanish, including the Spanish web page, translation services, and Spanish materials, such as wallet cards. Outreach Specialists are also available to collaborate with partners as well.
Thank you again, Amy, for taking this time out to share all this information with our listeners. and thank you to our listeners and please stay tuned for our next episode of Aging Health Matters.
We appreciate your support of our podcast and would like to share some exciting news for our valued listeners. We look forward to continuing to provide the same services but with a new name and look. Kepro BFCC-QIO will soon be known as Acentra Health. During this rebrand, case reviews and all other services will continue without interruption with the same quality and dependability we have always provided. As we move forward with this next step, updates will be found at www.keproqio.com - that is KEPROQIO.com. We will continue with our Aging Health Matters podcast moving forward, and it will still be available on these same platforms. Thanks again for your continued support.