Respondent Newsletter

What's Inside:
Focus on You!
page 2
Telehealth:
What Is It, How to
Prepare, Is It Covered?
page 3
Sodoku Puzzle
page 3
Recipe: Sweet or
Savory Dutch Baby
Oven Pancake
page 4
Meet the Field
Interviewer:
Michele Duran
page 4

WINTER | 2023

Greetings! Thank you for your participation in the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. The success
of the survey depends on your cooperation. We appreciate your continued support and hope you find this
newsletter both enjoyable and informative!

What is the MCBS?
The Medicare Current Beneficiary
Survey or MCBS is a continuous survey
of people who receive Medicare benefits.
This survey is designed to represent the
entire population of individuals currently
receiving Medicare benefits, including
people living in a community setting or
in long term care facilities. The survey’s
main goal is to help policymakers improve
the Medicare program by providing a
wealth of information about you, the

beneficiary, and your overall health care
experience. We do this by recording costs
associated with health care services, as
well as information on topics including
health insurance coverage, knowledge of
the Medicare program as well as access
to care and satisfaction with care. The
MCBS is sponsored by the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
and is conducted by NORC at the
University of Chicago.

About NORC
NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, nonpartisan, research organization. NORC conducts research and
analysis that decision-makers trust, providing high quality insights for more than eight decades. We have professional
interviewers across the nation working on the MCBS. As a professional research organization, NORC is deeply
committed to protecting the privacy of all respondents’ personal information; the answers you provide will be kept
private to the extent permitted by law, as prescribed by the Federal Privacy Act of 1974.
To learn more about NORC or to contact the MCBS team please:
Call us at
1-844-777-2151

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Email us at
mcbs@norc.org

Visit us at
www.mcbs.norc.org &
www.cms.gov/MCBS

Focus on You!
It can be easy to get caught up in day-to-day life caring or worrying about others whether
you are a caregiver for a loved one with a serious illness, watching the news, or supporting
friends, a spouse, or children through their daily lives, but it is important to take time to focus
on yourself and your needs.

Leisure Activities and Hobbies1
• Your hobbies may be good for your health, as well as being fun!
• Older adults who spent at least an hour a day engaged in a hobby,
like reading, had a decreased risk of dementia than those who spent
less than 30 minutes a day enjoying a hobby.2
• Pet ownership, or regular contact with pets, was associated with
better cognitive function in older adults.3
• Look for opportunities to participate in the activities you enjoy most.

Getting a Good Night’s Sleep4
• Getting a good night's sleep helps you stay healthy and alert.
• Sleep allows your body to effectively fight germs and sickness.
• Try to follow a regular sleep schedule, such as falling asleep and getting up around the same time each day, can help
your body sleep better each night.

Values-Based Actions Self-Reflection
Give yourself time to pause and reflect on what you value (such as relationships with friends and family, your career,
your community, etc.). What do you find fulfilling? What are you excited to do? What is meaningful about those
things? And then think about what actions fulfill those values. Are you taking those actions? Do you want to give
more time to any actions? What steps can you take to better match your actions to your values?

Centering YOU in Your Treatment Plan: Exploring Palliative Care5
One place where you and your values can be centered is in
your medical treatment, especially if you have a serious illness.
Often serious illness treatment can include various specialists,
medications, symptoms and side effects, or other complexities that
can negatively affect quality of life. A palliative care team will
work closely with you to ensure that your treatment plan fits your
needs. The goal is to combine specialized knowledge of symptom
relief and treatment options with a more wholistic understanding
of your situation and values.
Palliative care does not replace your primary treatment, nor does
it require you to stop treatment. It is available at any time during
your illness and the goal is maintain comfort throughout the treatment process by providing relief from symptoms,
dealing with treatment side effects, and addressing the stress that comes with living with a serious illness. Studies of
palliative care “consistently show improvements in patient quality of life.”6
If you want to learn more or find palliative care in your area, go to www.getpalliativecare.org to search by state and city.
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Telehealth: What Is It, How to Prepare, Is It
Covered? | National Institute on Aging (nih.gov)7
Telehealth is a way of receiving healthcare services via video calling or telephone technology, which enables you to
talk with your doctor from home rather than in a medical facility. It can save time and energy getting to and from
your doctor’s office for routine check-ins, especially if you live far from your primary care provider or have limited
access to transportation. It can also make it easier for a patient or caregiver to get questions answered quickly since
they can do it through an online portal rather than having to wait for an appointment. Some helpful tips to make your
telehealth visit is a success are below:
1. Try to use the best video camera you can find. This
may be attached to your phone, laptop, tablet, or
desktop computer. A clear picture can help your
doctor understand and address your concerns more
easily and effectively.

3. Use the best internet connection possible. If you are
not using Wi-Fi, try getting the best signal by using a
wired connection to your router or an Ethernet cable.
If you are using Wi-Fi, being physically close to the
internet router and minimizing devices connected to it
can help improve your connection.

2. Test the camera, sound, and video you plan to use
in advance. Video calling a friend before your
appointment can help ensure that everything is
working properly.

4. Prepare a list of questions/concerns. Being prepared for
your appointment will help make it easier for you and
your doctor to cover everything you need to talk about.7

If you are enrolled in Medicare Part B, certain telehealth services may be covered, including:8
•
•
•
•

Therapy and online counseling
Prescription Management
Urgent care issues
Post-surgical follow-up

• Treatment of recurring conditions
• Treatment of skin conditions
• Lab test or X-ray results

Coinsurance and deductibles still apply, so you will often pay the same amount for a telehealth service that
you would if you went in person.
Medicare Advantage Plans may offer more telehealth benefits than Medicare Part B so check with your
insurance provider to see what additional coverage they may offer.
Learn more at https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth.

Sodoku Puzzle
Sudoku is played on a grid of 9x9 spaces. Within the rows
and columns are 9 – 3x3 squares. Each row, column and
square needs to be filled out with the numbers 1 – 9, without
repeating any numbers within the actual row, column,
or square. Use process of elimination to fill in spaces to
complete the board.

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Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/sodoku on Fri Sept 23 16:08:43 2022 GMT. Enjoy!

Recipe: Sweet or Savory Dutch Baby Oven Pancake9,10
Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons butter
• ¾ cup milk

Directions

• ¾ cup flour
• 1 pinch salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place butter in
an oven proof pan, pie plate, or cast iron skillet
and place in the oven.
2. Combine eggs and milk in a bowl. Add flour and
salt and whisk until smooth.
3. Remove pan from oven and swirl melted butter
to coat. Pour batter into the hot pan and return to
oven.
4. Bake until puffed in the center and golden brown
on the edges: 20 – 25 minutes.
5. Top as desired and serve.

For Sweet Dutch Baby:

Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
and 1 tablespoon sugar to the batter
during step 2.
Top with: Powdered sugar, maple
syrup, berries, lemon, jam, or anything else you would
want on a pancake

For Savory Dutch Baby:

Add any toppings or seasonings you would like. Some
ideas include:
• Mixing in ½ teaspoon each of dried oregano and basil
into the batter
• Adding ½ cup of shredded cheese and 4 slices of diced
bacon to the top before baking
• Topping with fried eggs, sauteed kale, and avocado or
smoked salmon and crème fraiche

Meet the Field Interviewer: Michele Duran
I was born & raised in Newark, NJ & now live in sunny Miami, FL. I have had the pleasure of
working for NORC since 2016. Two years later, in 2018, I joined the MCBS team. Being from up
north, well…let's just say we talk a lot…so it sounded great to me! I also had a medical background
and am familiar with insurance companies & medical terminology. Over the past four years, I have
met and spoken to the most interesting people. I listened when they told their stories about their lives
and met their family members. It has truly been a rewarding experience that is for the most part
heartwarming.
I am a proud mother to three sons & four grandsons. A bit over ten years ago I married a man with
three daughters, one granddaughter & now one on the way. Our children are all about the same age,
so they get along well. Family has always been important, and we love getting together all the time. I am enjoying being a
grandmother as I go to football games, karate & jujitsu tournaments. We have a German shepherd named Buddy who loves
attention and a cockatiel bird that loves to sing as soon as I start an interview.
The best part of working the MCBS is the flexibility we have to meet people either in person or on the phone. We share life
experiences & laugh a lot too.
I look forward to meeting more amazing Medicare beneficiaries!

Answer

References
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https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-do-we-know-about-healthy-aging#stress
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20660517/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32671105/
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation/health-effects
https://www.ninr.nih.gov/sites/files/docs/palliative-care-brochure.pdf
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32025964/
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/telehealth-what-it-how-prepare-it-covered
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/264986/vanilla-dutch-baby
https://www.therecipe.com/10-savory-dutch-baby-recipes

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