Profile of Kevin Price and Florence Lullo
Profile: Kevin Price and Florence Lullo
Kevin Price loves spending time with his grandma, Florence Lullo. In fact, throughout college he opted to spend his spring break with her, instead of going on vacation with friends! Kevin is currently working towards his Masters in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. As a social work intern, he performs intake assessments and individual and group psychotherapy at Saint Elizabeth's Outpatient Behavioral Clinic. Having just turned 96, Florence is aging in place in Melrose Park, Illinois.
Last summer, Florence fell in her house and broke her hip. While recovering in the hospital after surgery, she contracted pneumonia extending her hospital stay for an additional four months. Florence received intensive care and rehabilitation to get her back on her feet. Her long hospital stay resulted in high medical bills, and Florence’s supplemental insurance ceased during her hospital stay causing her to incur significant medical debt.
After working for a manufacturing company for twenty seven years, Florence received a sufficient retirement plan, including a pension and health insurance to supplement Medicare. At 96 years old, Florence was receiving both her pension and health coverage for longer a period than her years working. As a result, her former employer decided to cut her supplemental health coverage and substitute it with only $100 each month.
This payment does not even begin to cover the cost of Florence’s prescription co-pays, let alone the medical debt accumulated as a result of her hospital stay. Furthermore, Florence is unable to pay out-of-pocket for a supplemental plan because she cannot afford it. Despite her inability to afford adequate health care coverage, Florence is solely responsible for paying the high medical bills that Medicare doesn’t cover, accumulating to over $100,000, which resulted from her long hospital stay.
Florence’s story illustrates the devastating financial toll of a catastrophic health event in late life. With access to appropriate health care coverage, Florence would have avoided falling into such significant debt. In addition, she could more easily afford the medications that allow her to maintain her health and remain in her community. As Florence’s case demonstrates the cost of adequate health coverage can be financially burdensome for elders living on a fixed income. According to the Illinois Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index), a single elder in poor health, such as Florence, needs $396 per month or $4,752 per year to afford supplemental coverage to Medicare. This additional insurance is vital to assuring an elder can access the many health care services and supports not available through traditional Medicare. The Elder Index shows that health care costs account for an elders’ second highest expense following housing.
Kevin has mixed feelings about his grandma’s situation. Florence’s long life is a blessing, but also seems to be the cause of her current predicament. He understands that since his grandma has been retired longer than she worked for her employer a benefits adjustment is up for discussion, but the adjustment his grandma received is not nearly enough to meet her medical expenses. In sharing his grandmother’s story, Kevin shared that he believes elders, especially those in their 90’s, are the ones that need comprehensive and affordable healthcare the most. Kevin believes that something must be done to help elders access the affordable health care services they need to stay healthy.
Florence passed away in August of 2009.
Stories like that of Florence illustrate the need for well-informed decision making by policy makers, service providers and advocates working on behalf of seniors, particularly given the economic downturn and state budget constraints. The Illinois Elder Economic Security Initiative™ offers a conceptual framework and concrete tools, such as the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index, to evaluate how well programs and policies are helping elders who struggle to make ends meet.
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