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What changes can I make during Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period?
Toni,
This is my first Medicare Annual Enrollment Period, and I don't know anything about this process. How do I find out which options are best for me? I have some health problems and I’m concerned about making a change. Which Medicare health plan and prescription drug plan do I choose? Will I have to answer health questions to qualify? ...Read more
Art teacher focuses on serving San Diego's disabled community with classes, studio space
SAN DIEGO In middle school, local artist and instructor Vickie Lawrence took some of her first art classes and quickly fell in love with visual arts. It was the support of one of her art teachers that gently nudged her down the path of a career as an artist.
"I was encouraged and supported by an art teacher who believed that I could be a great ...Read more
89-year-old Kan. bar survived WWII, the Great Depression. Now it’s closed
DE SOTO, Kan. — In the thick of the Great Depression, Mary Guntert’s parents spent their Friday nights boogeying to the jukebox in De Soto’s Silver Wheel Tavern.
The country bar by a little filling station was a 1930s hot spot — hosting alcohol-free nights for high schoolers in collared shirts and long skirts. Then World War II began, ...Read more
Judy Reeves listens to her heart, travels to Europe, learns to trust herself
SAN DIEGO — Anyone in San Diego who considers themselves a writer is probably familiar with Judy Reeves — if not by name, then through her work. She's co-founded two literary organizations (The Writer Center and San Diego Writers, Ink); written books and columns; edited collections and anthologies; won numerous awards and recognition for her...Read more
Jennifer Brooks: In Minn. county, a battle over green cemeteries spirals to affect the whole state
Vern Simula wanted the story of his life to end where it began. In the earth of Carlton County.
Simula, 90, was born in Cloquet and generations of his family rest in a local cemetery. But when he tried to make his own arrangements, the cemetery turned him away.
Simula wants a green burial. No embalming. No glossy coffins with satin pillows. No...Read more
Road Trips & Recipes: Monet immersion arts excursion in Cincinnati
Swing into the arts scene in Cincinnati, from immersing your senses in a dazzling experience to exploring world-class art collections at the first purpose-built art museum west of the Allegheny Mountains and one of America’s finest small art museums to gliding through the air on a literal swing as it moves back and forth across a two-story ...Read more
Social Security and You: A Special Rule for Widows and Widowers
Here is a special message to all Social Security representatives reading this column. You are right when you tell customers that as a general rule, they cannot file for reduced benefits on one record and later switch to full benefits on another record. But if you are talking to a widow or widower, that rule does not apply.
I've heard from four ...Read more
Moving overseas … should we keep our Medicare?
Hello, Toni:
My husband and I are enrolled in Medicare with a Medicare Supplement and Part D coverage. We will be moving to England and then return to the United States in a few years. I understand that there is no coverage from Medicare for overseas expenses and that we should seek a medical plan if there are issues while not in the United ...Read more
Social Security and You: What to Do When Someone Dies
Q: I know you've written columns about how to handle Social Security affairs after someone dies. In fact, I had clipped one of those columns and saved it. But now I can't find it. Sadly, my husband, who is in hospice care, isn't expected to live long. Could you possibly send me a copy of that column? (And just so you know, we are both in our 80s...Read more
Need skilled nursing for my mother
Dear Toni,
My mother had to go into the hospital this week with a urinary tract infection and pneumonia, then she slipped and bumped her head. No concussion, but she is very weak, so we are asking that she be placed into a skilled nursing facility to build her strength back up.
Since she disenrolled at the last Medicare Annual Enrollment ...Read more
Increased staffing for nursing homes? Sure, but the lack of oversight is deplorable
Given the enduring scandal of shoddy care in many of the nation's nursing homes, highlighted by the roughly 200,000 deaths in the early stages of COVID, there were high hopes for the federal government to come to the rescue.
But Friday's long-awaited Biden administration proposal to set minimum staffing requirements, while a step in the right ...Read more
In the Home: Get ready for trick-or-treaters with these decorating tips
We have all enjoyed Halloween at one time, dressed up in your favorite costume, ready to walk the neighborhood with a pillowcase or pumpkin pail. Grabbing those trusty flashlights and dragging your parents along as you go from house to house, knocking on each door.
Your favorite houses were most likely the ones with spooky decorations out front...Read more
Social Security and You: When in Doubt -- File a Claim
Regular readers of this column know that one of the messages I preach is this: "You have every right to file a claim for any kind of Social Security benefit you think you might be eligible for."
Even though I deliver that message often, I sometimes worry that it falls on deaf ears. But two emails I got this week helped me to realize that at ...Read more
If you do cough up a lung, is one health care plan better than another?
Not that I'm seeking your sympathy, but I felt washed out on Sunday, had a throat full of knives on Monday, and became convinced on Tuesday that coughing up a lung is a medical possibility.
I lost my voice and had to postpone a reporting trip to the Bay Area, but didn't want the week to be a total loss. So I began reading a book called "The ...Read more
If you do cough up a lung, is one health care plan better than another?
Not that I'm seeking your sympathy, but I felt washed out on Sunday, had a throat full of knives on Monday, and became convinced on Tuesday that coughing up a lung is a medical possibility.
I lost my voice and had to postpone a reporting trip to the Bay Area, but didn't want the week to be a total loss. So I began reading a book called "The ...Read more
Social Security and You: Disability Myths
There are so many misconceptions about the Social Security disability program. I've written a book called "Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts." It puts to rest all the crazy rumors that are out there about the entire Social Security program. But I could probably write another book just setting the record straight about Social Security ...Read more
Medicare questions from Toni Says readers
This week’s Toni Says Medicare column consists of “what if” Medicare questions from Toni Says readers around the United States.
Q: What if I did not enroll in a Medicare Part D plan when I turned 65 and I am taking an expensive medication? When can I enroll in a Part D plan?
A: When one fails to enroll in a Medicare Part D plan at the...Read more
Column: Retired Judge Lance Ito's weekly ritual — paying homage to his late wife
Lance Ito drove slowly up the hill under the hazy light of a Los Angeles summer morning, past rows of graves, hoping to run into some of the regular visitors he's gotten to know in the last two years at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
Nobody was around, though, so the retired judge — who presided over the 1995 murder trial of O.J. Simpson — ...Read more
Social Security and You: Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice
Do any of you remember the movie: "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice?" It came out in 1969 and starred Robert Culp and Natalie Wood as a trendy West Coast couple who were trying to talk a not-so-hip, straight-laced couple, played by Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon, into a wife-swapping arrangement.
So, what does wife-swapping have to do with Social ...Read more
A new Medicare proposal would cover training for family caregivers
Even with extensive caregiving experience, Patti LaFleur was unprepared for the crisis that hit in April 2021, when her mother, Linda LaTurner, fell out of a chair and broke her hip.
LaTurner, 71, had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia seven years before. For two years, she’d been living with LaFleur, who managed insulin injections for ...Read more
