Page 8 - Senior Times South Central Michigan - October 2018 - 25-10

Page 8
Senior Times - October 2018
Update On Your
Co-Owners:
Thomas J. Unger, ACSW Patricia D. Slayton, RN, MSN
5350 Beckley Rd, Suite D
(Side door of Southern Michigan Bank & Trust)
269-883-6002 www.homecaretransitions.net
CHOOSING THE BEST MEDICARE D PLAN FOR YOUR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
Annually reviewing your Medicare coverage and prescription drug plan can save you money.
Open enrollment for Medicare occurs each year from October 15 through December 7. Any changes made become effective on January 1.
This is the time to review your cur- rent Medicare health and drug cover- age. If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan or a Part D plan, you should receive an Annual Notice of Change and/or Evidence of Coverage from your plan. Review these notices for any changes in the plan’s costs, benefits, and/or rules for the upcoming year.
Even if you are satisfied with your current Medicare coverage, looking at other Medicare options may better suit your individual needs. For example, check to see if there is another plan that will offer you better health and/or drug coverage at a more affordable price. Research shows that people with Part
D could lower their costs by shopping among plans each year. There could
be another Part D plan that covers the drugs you take with fewer restrictions and/or lower prices. The amount of money you might be able to save with a different plan that better suits your indi- vidual situation might surprise you.
Help using the computer to review available plans is available. The Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program (MMAP) provides high quality, unbi- ased Medicare and Medicaid benefits counseling without charge. Trained staff and volunteers are available in-person to offer their expertise to help seniors make informed decisions about healthcare and prescription benefits. Counselors have received extensive training in Medicare and Medicaid law and regulations, and relevant health insurance products. MMAP counselors are not connected with any insurance companies, and are not licensed to sell insurance. They are not going to sell you any products but will help you compare policies to select the best poli- cy that covers the prescriptions that you have and your individual situation.
You should sign up for Medicare three months before reaching age
65, even if you are not ready to start receiving retirement benefits. Medicare consists of many parts and can be
very confusing. Medicare Part A is
for hospital insurance and Part B is health insurance. Be aware that, with certain exceptions, there are late-enroll- ment penalties for not signing up for Medicare when you are first eligible. If you do not sign up for Medicare Part
B when you are first eligible, you may need to pay a late enrollment penalty for as long as you have Medicare. Your monthly Part B premium could be 10% higher for every full 12-month period that you were eligible for Part B, but didn’t take it. This higher premium could be in effect for as long as you are enrolled in Medicare. One exception is if you have health coverage through an employer health plan or through your spouse’s employer plan, you can delay Medicare Part B enrollment without paying a late-enrollment penalty.
Seniors will find MMAP Counselors have a wealth of knowledge. Counselors understand the difficulty in making health insurance decisions and the frustrations that may be encountered when comparing many different plans. Call today to make your benefits coun- seling appointment. The toll free help- line will connect you to a local MMAP counselor at 1-800-803-7174.
Do you qualify for the low-income subsidy for Medicare? Eligible bene- ficiaries who have limited income may qualify for a Federal government pro- gram that helps pay for Medicare Part D prescription drug costs. Medicare beneficiaries receiving the low-income subsidy get assistance in paying for their Part D monthly premium, annual deductible, coinsurance, and copay- ments. To qualify for extra help with Medicare prescription drug plan costs in 2018, your annual income must be at or under $18,210 for an individual ($24,690 for a married couple living together).
Call to make an appointment for benefits counseling:
Calhoun County Senior Services: Marshall, (269) 781-0846
CareWell Services SW: Battle Creek, (269) 441-0973
Forks Senior Center: Albion/Homer, (517) 629-3842
Senior Services Southwest Michigan: Kalamazoo, 1-800-803-7174
Helen Guzzo, MSW, is the Manager of Calhoun County Senior Services, which administers Senior Millage
tax dollars. To learn more, call (269) 781-0846.
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SENIOR PROGRAMS
Helen Guzzo, Special to Senior Times
Their Reality
When your older adult has dementia, their brain may experience a different version of reality because of the damage the disease has caused.
Dementia care experts recommend stepping into your senior’s reality rather than trying to correct them or bring them back into ours.
The brain of the person living with dementia is steadily losing the ability to process information in the same way. Forcing them to join us in the “real world” only causes confusion, anxiety, fear, and anger.
This technique takes some getting used to because going along with your senior’s new reality can feel like you’re lying to them. But the reality is that honesty is not always the best policy when it comes to someone with dementia.
Telling the truth can be cruel, espe- cially about an emotional subject. It is likely to cause your older adult pain and distress.
Furthermore, their challenges with short-term memory mean they probably won’t remember the conversation, so
it will come up again. Telling the truth each time forces them to experience the fear and anxiety over and over again. Therapeutic fibbing may be the answer.
An effective way to step into your older adult’s reality is to agree with whatever they say or tell harmless untruths. Experts call this therapeutic fibbing. It means saying things that
are not true, or possibly not correcting them, to spare them unnecessary anx- iety, pain and fear. Using untruths to validate their feelings and reassure them is not the same as lying for a malicious reason. It is a challenging skill to learn but your loved will benefit from it.