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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....
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...
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...
A new law signed by President Obama will help shield some 17 million Americans from steep premium hikes. But many will continue to see changes in the amounts they pay for Medicare next year. About 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries were facing a 52 percent increase in their Medicare Part B medical insurance premiums and deductible in 2016. But Congress and the Obama Administration worked out an agreement so beneficiaries will pay about $119 per month instead of $159.30 for Part B. The remaining 70 percent of Medicare beneficiaries will contin...
You may file your 2016 Alaska Permanent Fund Divided beginning Jan. 1, 2016. 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...
Dear Senator Murkowski: The Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA) is gravely concerned about the proposed 42 percent reduction to the federal State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), from $52 million to $30 million, at a time when Alaska and our nation has witnessed unprecedented growth in our older adult populations. Alaska’s population of people age 65 and older, who number 71,080 and growing at an annual rate of 6 percent, is projected to more than double by 2030 to 152,740. Alaska’s growth rate of the 65+ population is more than 2.5...
I became President and CEO of the Foundation for Hospice and Homecare earlier this year, because I understood the home care and hospice community is committed to every person’s right to receive care in the setting of their choice. Simply put, people prefer to receive high quality care in the convenience of their own homes near family and friends. This is especially true in Alaska, where the challenges of traveling to receive hospital care can be prohibitive for many. A new study released by the Foundation for Hospice and Homecare sheds light o...
I have been asked what the difference is between a primary and secondary payer in Medicare. The insurance that pays first (primary payer) pays up to the limits of its coverage. The one that pays second (secondary payer) only pays if there are costs the primary insurer didn’t cover. The secondary payer (which may be Medicare) may not pay all the uncovered costs. Remember, Medicare usually pays only 80 percent of the cost of the medical procedure. If your employer insurance is the secondary payer,...
You’ve probably already heard that Social Security recipients will not get a raise in their benefits in 2016. One person’s bad news is often the next guy’s good news. Social Security raises are tied to inflation, and of course high inflation is bad for the economy as a whole. But high inflation means a stiff raise in Social Security benefits. This year, inflation was ultra-low, and that means no raise for Social Security. For 2015, benefits rose only slightly, by 1.7 percent. For 2016, the average monthly benefit for Social Security recipients...
Older Persons Action Group, Inc. conducted its annual membership meeting Nov. 19 in Anchorage. At the meeting, board members nominated and voted for officers. The newly-elected officers are as follows: Yvonne M. Chase, president; Pam Yeargan, vice president; Mike Dryden, treasurer; Rita Hatch, secretary. Thank you to Access Alaska, for use of their conference room for the event. Thanks also to OPAG administrative assistant Maggie Zabinko for organizing the event and arranging for the delicious food. Thanks, too, to other board members who...
I cannot believe that this year is almost over. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! It is ironic to me that although I have helped so many people in all the years that I have been working with AARP and the Older Persons Action Group this is the first year I will have been alone through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. Due to my advanced age I have lost all my friends, who have either moved out of Alaska or are deceased. My small family lives a thousand miles away and will not be...
“Aging Alaskans Info” is a blog and website which I started earlier this year to be a comprehensive resource for aging Alaskans and our families. I started the website for reasons that were personal and difficult, yet familiar to most of us. I have been in Alaska since 1982, but in the last decade I was responsible for the care of my elderly mother and aunt, who were both living in New Mexico. They have since passed away, but it was a tremendous struggle to try to help them manage their lives from such a great distance. This stressful exp...
The annual window for Medicare beneficiaries to review their prescription drug, or Part D, insurance plan options for next year is open until Dec. 7, 2015. Alaskans who get both Medicaid and Medicare can enroll or change plans any time. “Consumers should always compare plans, but this year it’s more important than ever,” said Judith Bendersky of Alaska’s Medicare Information Office. “Plan premiums are trending upward for the first time in years, so are many medication costs, and most of the plans that did not have an annual deductibl...
Alaskan seniors are being targeted with unwelcomed calls from telemarketers pitching unneeded medical devices. Better Business Bureau and the Alaska Medicare Information Office say the callers will trick seniors into parting with personal information and agreeing to medical devices that may be lesser quality than claimed. Alaska health officials say the practice has been rampant in the state. The callers often times will offer Medicare recipients free or discounted wrist splints, back braces and diabetic supplies, even though they may not need...
Winter has finally arrived, with one small fall of the flaky, white stuff and if the prognosticators are to be believed, due to the imminent arrival of “El Nino,” it will be a mild one. At my age I am forever thankful. I used to welcome snow, when I could go “sno-go” riding and even take a turn on the old skis, but now snow is just a nuisance. It is again time to remind us that winter brings slippery steps, streets, roads and don’t forget fallen leaves, and we have to step carefully. And that...
Medicare’s open enrollment, the time you can keep or switch your Medicare coverage, runs from October 15 until December 7. To Medicare scammers, open enrollment means open season on seniors. The best advice to prevent yourself from being taken advantage of by these con artists and scammers is jarring but to the point: be rude and just hang up the phone. If a solicitation comes via email or on a website, don’t click on the link, as it may open you up to a computer virus. You may also need to watch out for predatory insurance agents, who som...
I like to find places that have an Alaska connection, and Portland, Oregon is one. A favorite old dead guy of mine, Charles Erskine Scott Wood, spent some of his early years in Alaska, but left behind a mighty legacy in Portland. In early 1877, when an infantry officer, he joined an expedition that had requested a military escort to climb Mount St. Elias, but after the group left Sitka, and without approval from superiors, Wood set off for Alaska. Ranging along the Southeast coast, he stayed in...
Here is some Medicare bad news, disguised as good news. Congress has finally moved to change the laws about observation care, a problem that’s been vexing seniors for years because the laws are unclear. This has forced millions of seniors to face huge unexpected medical bills when they get home from short hospital stays. Congress has supposedly “fixed” the problem – with the House and Senate approving legislation, but the fix appears to be a step in the right direction, without fixing the actual problem. Under legislation that passed the Sen...
What’s new for Medicare Prescription Drug coverage for 2016? There will be 19 Medicare Prescription Drug Plans available (versus 24 in 2015). No Medicare Advantage Plans will be available; 54 percent of Alaskans are eligible for Extra Help but not all have taken advantage of the great savings it affords. The lowest monthly premium for a prescription drug plan will be $18.40. The highest will be $89.20. People who reach the “donut hole” in the drug benefit will save 55 percent on covered brand name drugs and see increased savings on generic drug...
Fall is here and we are expecting another mild winter; happy days for me – the less snow we get the fewer times I have to have my roof shoveled. I haven’t heard from any readers about the “filial responsibility laws” I last wrote about, which is probably good news, since it means that seniors are taking care of their children and children are happily taking care of their parents. After my own 14-day stay in the hospital, which cost over $100,000, I am curious as to what Caitlyn Jenner had to...
Editor’s note: Staying on top of breaking news can be challenging in a monthly newspaper. Here’s the most recent information available when this edition went to press. The Alaska Legislature announced Aug. 18 it will sue the governor to block Medicaid expansion, calling the decision the Legislature’s to make. Legislators also said they want more time to study the issue. Governor Walker has said he plans to expand Medicaid in September for two main reasons: 1) to meet the health care needs of Alaskans without coverage, and 2) to bring milli...
September, what a terrible month with the loss of the David Letterman and Jon Stewart shows. Well, now I can get to bed an hour earlier. We could be paying much less Why do Americans pay a lot more for prescription drugs than people in other advanced countries or even those with certain private insurance plans? In case you don’t know, Medicare is not allowed to negotiate with drug companies to get lower prices, according to the Part D prescription drug program. This is one of the reasons I w...
Much has been written about the governor’s attempt to expand Medicaid in Alaska and the debate has yet to be settled. While I am sure some of the stakeholders like the working poor, social service non-profits, medical providers, and small businesses are in support of the expansion, seniors and veterans are the big losers. I have been admonished that it is selfish of me to deny coverage to someone who cannot afford health insurance when I have coverage. This line of justification does not wash w...
Doctors are different than you and I. They know how to die. They do not tell family and colleagues to do “everything you can” to save them. This may surprise you, but doctors often choose less end-of-life care for themselves than the average patient – an important lesson for seniors as they discuss end-of-life care decisions with family members. In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which administers Medicare, announced it will change its longstanding policy and begin reimbursing doctors and other health professionals,...
Editor’s note: This press release was received July 14. On the 50th Anniversary of the Older Americans Act (OAA), The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — is calling on Congress to reauthorize this vital legislation, which supports programs and services for approximately 11 million individuals and their families. Through a national network of aging services and funding, the OAA offers a wide range of supports, including home-delivered and congregate meals,...
