Question: Does the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services do big surveys? I don’t mean after a particular treatment; I’ve gotten those letters before. I mean with an interview? They are asking me to do a survey and I want to find out if it’s legitimate. I know that my health data was hacked last year so it’s hard to tell.
Answer: Yes, CMS conducts or sponsors several types of surveys, including the patient experience reviews you’ve participated in, as well as much broader surveys. However, scammers also impersonate this federal agency to commit financial crimes — so you are right to be wary. The CMS website cms.gov provides information to help people verify whether they have been contacted for a legitimate survey.
It seems that you’ve been asked to participate in the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, which is sponsored by CMS and is the most comprehensive survey on the Medicare population.
“Since 1991, the MCBS has collected data on Medicare beneficiaries’ social and medical risk factors and the relationship between these factors, healthcare utiliza -tion, and health outcomes — at a point in time and over time — directly from beneficiaries. These data, linked with Medicare enrollment data and claims, provide information not otherwise available through administrative data on the Medicare program and can be used to evaluate effectiveness of health care policy and policy interventions,” according to the CMS website.
The MCBS is conducted by NORC at University of Chicago. Anyone contacted about the MCBS can verify their selection by going to the MCBS Respondent Page at mcbs.norc.org or by calling NORC toll-free at 1-844-777-2151.
Q: Regarding disability parking (808ne.ws/kline724), there used to be a guide that business owners could follow to make sure they had enough accessible stalls and that they had built them correctly. As the parent of a person with disabilities, when I came upon a commercial parking lot that lacked accessible parking I liked to tell the store manager about this guide, rather than threatening to file a federal lawsuit, which some people do. I had a copy of the guide for many years, but I can no longer find it. I may have given it to a noncompliant business. Do you recall this guide?
A: Yes. The 8-page guide, called “How to Design an Accessible Parking Space,” is posted on the website of the Disability and Communications Access Board, along with a short video that summarizes its key points. To download the guide or view the video, go to health.hawaii.gov/dcab/accessible-parking-design.
Q: Can a person with a felony conviction vote in Hawaii?
A: The state Office of Elections addresses this on its website, which says:
“A voter sentenced for a felony, from the time of the person’s sentence until the person’s final discharge, may not vote in an election. However, if a person is placed on probation or the person is paroled after commitment to imprisonment, the person may register and vote during the period of the probation or parole. For complete information, please refer to Hawaii State Constitution Article II, Section 2, and HRS §831-2.”
Q: With people preparing for power outages under HECO’s new wildfire policies, some neighbors are investing in generators for the first time. I’m worried about this. Would they be using them in the house?
A: No, they shouldn’t be. “Generator exhaust contains carbon monoxide, a poison you cannot see or smell. That’s why you should never use a generator inside a home, basement, or garage. Only use the generator outside, away from your home’s windows, doors, and vents,” Hawaiian Electric warns on its website. You can read more about this at www.hawaiianelectric.com under the heading “Safety & Outages.”
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
