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As the 2016 presidential primaries and the nomination fights move to the political front burner, a look at the health care and Medicare policies of the candidates raises questions of how far the candidates and their parties want to go in pushing for changes. Republican presidential candidates are sharply divided over whether to seek drastic changes to Medicare, Social Security and other entitlement funds at the same time as Congressional Republicans continue to push repealing Obamacare. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is...
Ketchikan Pioneer Home’s administrative director, Julie Sande, has been around the home long enough to see various rate increases. Sande was a social worker when the first big rate increase was implemented, when residents went from paying $700 a month to $1,500 a month. “It was a tremendous jump and was very painful,” Sande says. “There was a lot of pride involved with the residents being on a fixed income and expecting set projected prices.” The state’s six Pioneer Homes serve over 400 Alaska seniors, according to the Division of Alaska Pion...
You've heard of omnivores, vegetarians and vegans and you probably have an idea of what these terms mean. But, a newer term "locavore" may be unfamiliar. Actually, the word locavore has been around for 10 years and current momentum promoting sustainable communities by "eating local" has pushed the locavore movement. The locavore chooses to eat only locally grown and produced food or as much locally produced food as possible. "Local' is often defined as grown or produced within a 50 mile radius...
Members of the Alaska Commission on Aging will gather in Juneau, Feb. 8-11, for the quarterly commission meeting and to pay visits to legislators in the state Capitol. The commission meeting will be held in the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation Building (Goldbelt Building), Suite 302 in the Hugh Malone Conference Rm. Hours for the regular meeting sessions are: Feb. 8 from 3 to 5 p.m.; Feb. 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a lunch break at noon (lunching at the Juneau Senior Center is encouraged). There will be a public comment period from 11...
Keep track of senior-related bills, budget decisions and other issues by attending the Alaska Commission on Aging Legislative Teleconferences. Hosted by local agencies statewide, and available by toll-free call-in, the teleconferences provide a convenient forum for seniors and advocates across Alaska to share information about issues and specific bills of concern. Teleconferences are scheduled 9:30 to 11 a.m. every other Thursday and weekly during the last month of session. The remaining 2016 meeting dates are February 11 and 25; March 10 and...
You may file for your 2016 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend today. If you choose, you can designate a portion of your PFD to support non-profit organizations in Alaska who are eligible for the Pick.Click.Give. program. This year, Older Persons Action Group is eligible and will appreciate all Pick.Click.Give. donations, which will help us continue our programs, including publication of Senior Voice and the Directory for Older Alaskans, free Medicare counseling, free educational forums and more. Visit https://pfd.alaska.gov/ to file online....
I had an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education and a job I really liked, an automobile and property. That was all before I became disabled with schizophrenia. Over a five year period I lost everything. I went from being happy to often being humiliated and traumatized in institutions and psychiatric ER’s with no way to complain or effect changes. After getting out of the psychiatric institutions, thousands of dollars were spent treating me for PTSD that was the result of institutional trauma. Here are some stories of my encounters with...
VetVillageAK is a win-win, as reported in the December 2015 edition of Senior Voice. Now it’s crunch time for Alaska’s homeless veterans and civilians; urban and rural; frequently homeless through no fault of their own. VetVillageAK can start construction in the fall of 2016 if the legislature appropriates $7.8 million in Capital funds and $0.6 million in Operating funds. And if Governor Bill Walker then approves those funds when he signs the budget. The governor and all 60 legislators need to hear that this is a project they should sup...
February marks the opening of TaxAide sites around Alaska. The AARP Foundation TaxAide program is designed to prepare basic tax returns for most low and middle income taxpayers, with an emphasis on seniors and disabled taxpayers. Sites are staffed by volunteers who are trained and certified by Internal Revenue Service and AARP Foundation instructors to prepare basic tax returns. By using AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, these taxpayers also avoid tax preparation fees and pitches for high-interest tax credit or refund loans. And the service is free....
Pill Splitting: A Two-fer Deal Whatever your opinion about health care reform and Obamacare, you’ve probably noticed that health care is getting more expensive and harder to find. And chances are, it’s only going to get worse. The fact is, the number one cause of bankruptcy in America is medical bills. For most of us, the older we get the longer the line of pill bottles on the shelf grows. Jim Miller, a regular contributor to the NBC “Today Show” and the author of “Savvy Living,” has information that could help you reduce the money you spend f...
People with Medicare can get off to a healthy start in the new year. Medicare covers a full range of preventive services to help keep you healthy and find problems early, when treatment is most effective. If you have Original Medicare, you’ll be able to get a yearly “Wellness” visit and many preventive services at no cost to you. Talk with your doctor or health care provider to find out what tests or other services you may need. Medical assistance and your taxes If you are one of the milli...
Benefits from eating chocolate Historically, chocolate has been recognized as a vasodilator, meaning that it widens blood vessels and lowers blood pressure in the long run. However, chocolate also contains some powerful stimulants. Now, researchers are reporting that adults who eat chocolate receive immediate brain benefits. They have found that the brain is more alert and attentive after consumption of chocolate and blood pressure also increased for a short time. “Chocolate is indeed a s...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in February. This month’s focus: National American Heart Month. Feb. 2, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Feb. 9, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Feb. 16, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. Feb. 23, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Support meetings allow you to share your experiences as a caregiver, or support someone who is a caregiver. If y...
I walked in cold. Although I've been a regular lap swimmer at the Anchorage Community YMCA for decades, ever since the day the pool opened back in the 1970s, I had not attended land classes. So there I was, a true klutz, in the Y's SilverSneakers® class. "I know why you love to swim," my husband has told me, kindly but pointedly, many times. "You can't trip when you are swimming." There's much truth in that. I spotted a friendly face. I'd often been in the pool with Alis Schmitt. She would b...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (Feb. 9 and 23), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Feb. 3 and 17), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s southeast communities can call the Juneau Soc...
The Kenai Peninsula Senior Olympic Games return this year, Feb. 16-20, offering friendly competition in more than a dozen events: eight-ball pool, exhibition water-walk, cribbage, bridge, darts, walk-a-thon, hand-n-foot, wii bowling, basketball, pinochle, dominos, ping pong and poker. The events will be held at various locations in the Nikiski, Kenai and Soldotna areas, and are open to all Peninsula seniors age 55 and older. This is the 12th year for the games. New event co-chair Bonnie Cain says she heard “a lot of feedback” when the gam...
This year’s Fur Rendezvous Festival is celebrated Feb. 26 through March 6. Some of the many events include the Amateur Photo Contest; Charlotte Jensen Native Arts Market; GCI Snow Sculpture Competition; the Rondy Grand Parade; fireworks show; Running of the Reindeer; Rondy Melodrama; Miner’s and Trapper’s Charity Ball; and the annual Pioneer Pancake Feed. The Anchorage Senior Activity Center has its own extensive Rondy activities schedule, including the art show and reception, and annual Fur Rendezvous Pioneer Stories Dinner Theater. For ticket...
After decades of oppression by Russian fur traders, and then American interests, the Natives of Southeast Alaska decided it was time to organize into a united voice to change the way people perceived them and to better their circumstances in a land that their ancestors had inhabited for thousands of years. A dozen men and one woman from Sheldon Jackson Training School (later known as Sheldon Jackson College) met in 1912 and wrote a charter for what became known as the Alaska Native Brotherhood....
A hugely popular singer and actress throughout the 50s and 60s, Doris Day first became interested in animal issues on the set of a 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film. "One of my first profound experiences working with animals in my films was in Morocco on the set of 'The Man Who Knew Too Much,'" recalled Ms. Day from her long-time Carmel, Calif., home. "I was never one to make waves when working on my films, but was appalled at the condition of the local animals used in this film and refused to...
There are traditional ways to show your love on Valentine’s Day. You can buy a card that expresses your true feelings and give it to someone you care about. There are also heart-shaped boxes of assorted chocolates and bouquets of roses. A powerful and lasting way to express your love is to show that you care about a family member or friend’s future. Everyone you love probably wants to enjoy retirement once they decide to stop working. Preparing for that future takes planning and careful thought about when and how you want to do it. Social Sec...
As an estate planner, there is one call I absolutely hate to get. It’s second only to hearing that a client has died, and in many ways worse. It’s the message that somebody in the hospital needs a will done right away. Why is that such a problem? Because deathbed wills (or trusts, or any kind of estate planning documents) are the worst kind. For one thing, the person’s competence may be slipping at that point. He or she may have had a stroke or other serious condition which could affect the abil...
Q. One of the apps on my smartphone does not work. I tap on it, and after a brief animation nothing else happens. What is going on and how can I fix it? A. Every device eventually does something unexpected. One of the enduring trouble spots in tech is when something suddenly stops working, seemingly for no reason whatsoever. Recovery may be a simple fix or a long frustrating battle, but the first step is the same: restart the device. The advice to “turn it off and turn it back on again” has been around forever because it works surprisingly oft...
The currency exchange with Canada has gotten even better – now it's 72 cents on the U.S. dollar. Oops, that was a couple of weeks ago when I first started on this column, but as of Jan. 20 it was 69 cents on the US dollar. Reminds me of the time in 1999 I bought a 24 x 28-foot timber frame package, complete with structural insulated panes and windows for $18,000. At that time in 1999, the Canadian dollar was 75 cents. With the exchange rate this low, there are bargains to be had! When I lived in...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Interagency Breakfast, sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, is an opportunity for all of the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The February meeting is Feb. 10, hosted by Older Persons Action Group, Inc. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group for the location and more information on these events or to be added to our e-mail...
