In a few days Medicare Open Enrollment starts.
And in preparation you should have received your “Annual Notice of Changes” which
describes any changes in your current Medicare plan for 2017 such as cost,
coverage, and what providers and pharmacies are in their networks. It is
strongly recommended that you review those changes to make sure your plan will still
meet your needs in 2017.
If your current plan won’t, then during
Medicare Open Enrollment from October 15 to December 7, you can change your
Medicare plans. But as many of you know, it’s not always easy to navigate
through all the choices. If you have questions, which most folks do, you can
call the Center to make an appointment with a trained SHIBA (Senior Health Insurance
Benefits Assistance) volunteer; or visit the website www.Medicare.gov.
One significant change for 2017 is Regence will
no longer offer a Medicare Advantage Plan in Wasco County forcing over four
hundred Regence Medicare Advantage plan recipients to search for another plan. If
you are one of the four hundred, don’t panic. There will be a meeting at the
Center at 1:00 on October 25th presented by local SHIBA volunteers
to describe your options; and if you need further assistance, to schedule an
appointment with a SHIBA volunteer.
Last week when I looked out my office window I
was reminded that the speed limit in a school zone between 7:00 and 5:00 pm is
20 mph. What was the reminder? A city policeman parked at the corner of 10th
and Cherry Heights for two days, with his radar gun, ticketing drivers for
speeding in a school zone. Now, there is good reason for the 20 mph limit. Research
shows pedestrians have a 90 percent chance of surviving car crashes at 18 mph
or below, but less than 50 percent at 28 mph or above. So for the sake of our
children - and your pocketbook, remember to slow down to 20 mph in the school zones.
A growing percentage of older adults own
smartphones – which you can use to check Facebook, send and receive texts, and
even tract your medications. It also is a pretty decent digital camera - right
there in your pocket for those unexpected special moments. But what do you need
to know to take great pictures? Framing? Lighting? And what do those terms even
mean?
The Center is looking for a volunteer
knowledgeable about photography and can answer those questions to facilitate a
Smartphone Photography class. If you are interested, give me a call at
541-296-4788.
I don’t
want you to wake up Saturday morning and realized you missed an opportunity to
hear vocalist Nehemiah Brown sing the standards from the 50’s and 60’s. So here
is your last reminder that Nehemiah will be performing at the Center on Friday,
October 14th, from 7:00 – 9:00 PM sponsored by The Dalles Health and
Rehabilitation Center. You can purchase $3.00 tickets at the door.
Last week I started a new feature: “40 Great
Things about Growing Older”: Here is #2. “The longer you live, the smarter you
get.” Of course that’s assuming I can remember what I learned last week!
(Anyone remember from grade school who was the first to sail around the world?
It isn’t who you think.)
The
name of the show that aired from 1950–1956 and starred the title character and
his sidekick Pancho was the Cisco Kid.
(This week’s winners of a quilt raffle ticket each are Ed Anghilante, Jim Ayres,
Alice Mattox and Virginia McClain.)
Even
though this political spoof of President Kennedy was good natured and pales in
comparison to the nasty political satire these days, it was still rejected by
most music recording executives because it would be “degrading of the
Presidency”. But it was released in November, 1962 by Cadence Records and was
one of the fastest selling records in history. For this week’s “Remember When”
question, who was the comedian that impersonated John F. Kennedy on the 1963
Grammy “Album of the Year”, The First
Family? Email your answer to www.mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message
at 541-296-4788 or deliver it “with great vigah” to the Center.
Well,
it’s been another week, enjoying my favorite season of the year. Until we meet again,
remember there are only twenty-seven more days.
“I’m not taking any chances and leaving it
‘till the election. When you are 103, you make every minute count.” Ruline
Steininger, 103 years old, who voted early in Iowa as reported by CNN.
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