April is Alcohol Awareness Month

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends that people over 65 should have no more than seven drinks a week, and no more than three drinks on any one day. Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers

alcohol misuse screening & counseling. This is covered

once per year for adults who don't meet the medical criteria for alcohol dependency. For more information, watch this video or read about Medicare’s coverage for screening and counseling for alcohol misuse.

Monthly Partner Update Webinar

April 3, 2018 2:30- 3:30 pm ET

This webinar will cover:

Blue Button 2.0 – A developer-friendly, standards-based API that enables people with Medicare to connect their claims data to the applications, services and research programs they trust.
Periodic Data Matching – An overview of the 4th round of Medicare periodic data matching.
Oncology Care Model – Enhanced services such as care coordination, navigation, and national treatment guidelines for care.
Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems Report – Includes measures on hospice care and hospital survey results.

To register, go to Meetings-cms.webex.com/meetings-cms/.

Upon registration, you will receive an email from "messenger@webex.com" with the webinar link and dial in information. Follow the instructions in the email to attend.

Monthly Learning Series Webinar

April 12, 2018 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET

In observance of Minority Health Month, the CMS 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, preventive, and behavioral health services
Summarize resources for individuals and partners

To join the webinar, visit events-cms.webex.com/events-cms.

Newly Posted Training Materials

2018 Medicare Drug Coverage Under Part A, Part B, and Part D - job aid

Mod 3: Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) Policies

March Learning Series Webinar: New Medicare Card - recording

Did You Know?

Earth Day is April 22 – Encourage people with Medicare to go paperless. They can sign up to get other Medicare resources electronically, like Medicare Summary Notices and the “Medicare & You” handbook.

National Volunteer Week is April 15-22, 2018 –Thanks to all the volunteers who work to help people with Medicare make informed decisions about their health care. Visit CMS Program Resources training module to keep up-to-date on the many resources available to help you and your partners.

Reminder: A New NTP Website Coming Soon! The CMS National Training Program is upgrading our website to a Learning Management System. Soon, you'll be able to take self-paced, online courses that will help you and those you work with, make well-informed choices about their coverage! We will announce it when the new site is available.