April is Alcohol Awareness Month

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends that people over age 65 have no more than 7 alcoholic drinks a week and no more than 3 drinks on any one day. For more information visit the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's website.

Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers the alcohol misuse screening & counseling screening once per year for adults who don't meet the medical criteria for alcohol dependency. For more information, visit medicare.gov/coverage/alcohol-counseling.html or watch this video.

Monthly Learning Series Webinar

April 13, 2017 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET

In observance of Minority Health Month, the Office of Minority Health (OMH) will present “From Coverage to Care” which will

Describe the work of OMH, their mission, and vision
Explain their suite of materials that help explain health insurance coverage and how to connect to primary care and preventive services
Summarize resources for individuals and partners

To join the webinar, visit goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1129991.

New/Updated CMS Publications

Welcome to Medicare (Initial Enrollment Period Package)

Calculating the Late Enrollment Penalty

Medicare Hospice Benefits

Medicare Home Health Benefits

Did You Know?

Introducing a new section to our NTP update. It will provide links and resources to commonly asked questions. Some of the topics will be seasonal or tied to national health topic awareness campaigns and others will reflect your interests. If you have suggestions or comments about this section, email us at training@cms.hhs.gov.

Volunteer Appreciation Week is just around the corner. Be it on the front line helping people with Medicare or training other volunteers to help the over 100 million Americans that rely on our programs, the CMS National Training Program thanks you for your time and dedication. We have a variety of job aids to help you help others. Check out the overview of PowerPoint so you can easily edit our training modules to meet your audience’s needs. Share your favorite tool with another volunteer to show your appreciation of his or her efforts.

April is also National Occupational Therapy (OT) Month. Visit medicare.gov/coverage/pt-and-ot-and-speech-language-pathology.html for more information about what's covered.