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How do I enroll in Medicare?

Senior Living / Toni Says /

Hello Toni:

I am turning 65 in July and am bombarded with mail and telemarketing calls. I am not receiving Social Security and a friend who just got Medicare is receiving her Social Security check. Do I have to be receiving my Social Security check to get Medicare?

Please explain what I should do because I was waiting to apply for Social ...Read more

Social Security and You: That's Not What I Meant To Say

I've always taken pride in the fact that I do a pretty good job of explaining Social Security rules in simple and easy-to-understand language. But every once in a while, I'm reminded that something I say or write that I think is pretty clear and simple can be misinterpreted. Here are some examples.

Q: I am 62 and have spent most of my life as a...Read more

Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

Disabled, elderly rely on this transportation program. It’s leaving them behind

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Tom Newsome likes to stay busy.

Newsome, who has an intellectual disability, goes to Employment Solutions, an organization that provides a host of services for people with disabilities, a few times a week for adult day training.

He enjoys archery and takes ukulele lessons, said Peggy Petrilli, Newsome’s mother. Newsome was ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Study looks at the overwhelming cost of dementia care in senior homes

ATLANTA -- Thousands of families with loved ones who have dementia have turned to senior care homes for help, and a new study from Georgia State University details the heavy financial toll that care in these facilities can place on those with the condition.

The paper, which was done in conjunction with researchers from the University of ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Study: More older adults are using cannabis post-pandemic

A new study, published in the Cannabis and Cannabinoids Research journal, found more older Americans are using cannabis today than before the pandemic. According to researchers with the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, roughly 1 in 8 Americans over 50 currently use the substance.

“As the stress of the...Read more

Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

These older women are feeding Philadelphians in poverty. What happens when they’re gone?

PHILADELPHIA -- Gloria White, 74, can’t remember precisely how long she’s been volunteering at the food pantry at the Second Antioch Baptist Church in West Philadelphia.

“Thirty, maybe 37 years,” said White, a retired investigator for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. “It’s a calling.” White, who now lives in Townsend, Del.,...Read more

Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Older drivers reveal strategies for passing that 'ridiculous' California DMV renewal test

LOS ANGELES -- I wouldn't call it an atmospheric river, because those come and go. DMV mail falls in a never-ending rain, without regard to seasons.

Not that it's all bad news from readers who, like good soldiers, dutifully report every development from the front lines of the battle to renew their driver's licenses.

Rosa Maria Juarez, 94, ...Read more

Losing employer dental benefits when enrolling in Medicare … what do I do?

Senior Living / Toni Says /

Dear Toni,

I will be eligible for Medicare in July and am now receiving cancer treatment. I am currently on my ex-employer’s COBRA and searching for dental care when I go on Medicare in July. The only dental/vision plans I am finding are in Medicare Advantage plans, but my cancer facility has advised me to not go in that direction because...Read more

Social Security and You: Geezers, Floozies and Valentines

This column should be coming out around Valentine's Day. And it was 50 years ago, on Valentine's Day, that my soon-to-be wife and I went out on our first date. How that came about makes for a cute story.

I had just started working for the Social Security office in the small farming community of Litchfield, Illinois. I had moved there from my ...Read more

Oona Tempest/KFF Health News/TNS

Do we simply not care about old people?

The COVID-19 pandemic would be a wake-up call for America, advocates for the elderly predicted: incontrovertible proof that the nation wasn’t doing enough to care for vulnerable older adults.

The death toll was shocking, as were reports of chaos in nursing homes and seniors suffering from isolation, depression, untreated illness, and neglect....Read more

Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Climate change is not just a risk for our grandkids

Young people are often the most vocal and concerned population regarding climate change, but it is increasingly becoming an issue for those of us age 50 and older.

Older adults face unique challenges and heightened health risks from a warming climate. It’s not just future generations that will be affected during some distant date in the ...Read more

Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Retirement home residents face losing some or all entrance fees as facility struggles to pay debts

BARTLETT, Ill. -- Continuing care retirement communities offer seniors their own home, meals and activities, and assisted living or nursing if they need it. They can accommodate residents who range from being independent to those who require 24-hour care.

Also known as life plan or life care communities, they require a hefty entrance fee, often...Read more

America’s veterans need to enroll in Medicare the right way

Senior Living / Toni Says /

Dear Toni,

My husband, Jason, is a Vietnam veteran and never enrolled in Medicare Part B because he uses the VA for his medical care. He is 77 years old and retired when he turned 65 about 12 years ago.

Because he is having heart issues, he wants to go to a local cardiologist that his best friend uses and must now enroll in Medicare for ...Read more

Social Security and You: Retirees With 'Disabled Adult Children'

This is going to be a column about DACs. And what's that? It's the abbreviation the Social Security Administration uses to refer to "disabled adult children." Here is some background.

Since almost the beginning of the Social Security program in the 1930s, minor children have qualified for benefits on a retiree's record. A child gets an amount ...Read more

Son loses mom’s house because of poor Medicare/Medicaid choices

Senior Living / Toni Says /

Toni,

I have a client, Joshua, who just received a bill for his mother's long-term care paid by Medicaid in the state of Texas. Her care was provided at her house instead of a nursing home during the last few years of his 80-year-old mother’s life. No one informed him that the state was running a tab of all health care expenses that ...Read more

Social Security and You: How Your Retirement Benefit Is Calculated

Q. Even though I'm not on Social Security, I've been reading your column for years. A while back, I had clipped out a column you wrote explaining how benefits are figured. And now that I'm getting ready to file for benefits, I can't find that column. Can you please reprint it? And I also have a question. I do recall that you said a benefit is ...Read more

Tommyandone/ID
126159757
© Tommyandone
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Dreamstime/TNS

Preparing to hang up the car keys as we age

Lewis Morgenstern has made up his mind. When he turns 65 in four years, he’s going to sign an advance directive for driving.

The directive will say that when his children want him to stop getting behind the wheel, Morgenstern will follow their advice.

“I recognize that I might not be able to make the best decision about driving at a ...Read more

Tommyandone/ID
126159757
© Tommyandone
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Dreamstime/TNS

Preparing to hang up the car keys as we age

Lewis Morgenstern has made up his mind. When he turns 65 in four years, he’s going to sign an advance directive for driving.

The directive will say that when his children want him to stop getting behind the wheel, Morgenstern will follow their advice.

“I recognize that I might not be able to make the best decision about driving at a ...Read more

Why enrolling in Medicare Part D is important

Senior Living / Toni Says /

Toni:

I was told to receive a shingles vaccination; I need to be enrolled in a Part D prescription drug plan for the vaccination to have a $0 copay or pay $200. I thought all vaccinations and immunizations are covered at no cost under Medicare Part B.

Can you explain this Medicare rule? Thank you.

--Carl from Lubbock, Texas

Carl:

On ...Read more

Social Security and You: What We Expect From Government

I have been writing this column since 1997. So this will be my 27th year of helping people better understand all the intricacies of the various Social Security programs. But I was recently reminded I've been doing that a long longer. While cleaning out my desk, I discovered a folder of newspaper columns I wrote way back in the 1980s while ...Read more