Meet our new physician, Dr. Janani Singaravelu Polder, who joined Retina Northwest on October 1, 2024.
Dr. Polder began her education at The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Neuroscience and South Asia Studies, followed by a Master of Medical Science degree at Drexel University College of Medicine. She was subsequently awarded the Fulbright Student Research Grant to conduct Public Health research in India. Upon returning, she earned a Doctor of Medicine degree at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. She was selected for the prestigious NIH Medical Research Scholars Program, where she conducted basic science retina research at the National Eye Institute. Her postgraduate training began with her transitional year internship at Mt. Carmel Health System in Columbus, OH, followed by Ophthalmology residency at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She completed Ophthalmic Oncology fellowship at the renowned Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic then joined The Retina Group of Washington where she was a Surgical Vitreoretinal Fellow.
Good Days Chronic Disease Fund: Lack of Funding for 2025
In the past, patients with Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans were eligible to enroll in the Good Days program, a national non-profit charitable organization, that assisted with offsetting the cost of the patient responsibility coinsurance for injections based on financial need.
Unfortunately, at this time, Good Days has not received adequate funding in order to continue to provide assistance for all eligible patients.
As a result, unless there is additional funding received, moving forward, patients will be responsible for their coinsurance amount at the time of their visit. As participating providers in the Medicare program, Retina Northwest is required by federal law to collect unmet deductible, and coinsurance amounts for Medicare and Medicare Advantage plan beneficiaries.
Retina Northwest recognizes the importance of continued treatment for our patients – if you are unable to afford your coinsurance, please do not skip your scheduled appointment – there may be other treatment options available.
If you would like to check your funding status you may follow this link: https://mygooddays.org/check-status/. Most of our patients are covered under the Macular Disease program but if you cannot find your account, you can check under the Retinal Disease program.
