Got Mail? It’s not from Medicare. The law forbids insurance representatives from coming to the homes of Medicare beneficiaries unless they are invited. Your signature on the bottom of a post card (see picture) from the National Processing Center is considered an invitation. “It is nothing official from Medicare or the government,” said Martha Johnson, program manager for AIAA’s Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program. “We believe these are sent out on behalf of insurance salespeople as a way to get leads for potential customers. Sign it and you’ll get phone calls and visits from insurance people.” For unbiased, free help in understanding Medicare, call HICAP at 444-3000.
Extra Medicare Help Available California has 1.2 million Medicare beneficiaries getting extra financial help on one of five Part D prescription drug plans in 2011 – a 20 percent increase from the 1 million who got help in 2010. “That’s only the tip of the iceberg,” said Martha Johnson, manager of Area I Agency on Aging’s Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program. “Medicare statistics suggest there are several hundred Humboldt and Del Norte County residents who have difficulty paying for Medicare programs, live on fixed incomes and could get help if they came in to enroll.” Some seniors are unaware that their homes and first car do not count against them when extra help assessments are made. An individual with monthly income of $1,361 – and couple with a combined income of $1,839 – qualify for a Part D subsidy as long as their additional resources don’t exceed $12,640 (single) and $25,260 (couple). Call HICAP at 444-3000 for help.
Local Grandparents Shine in KEET Documentary
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ore than half the nation’s 70 million Baby Boomers are grandparents, but Fortuna’s Carl Young, Eureka’s Kelly Remington, and Arcata’s Barbara Davis are pulling double duty. They are among the 2.9 million grandparents with full responsibility for their grandchildren. “Skipping Generations: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren” is a half-hour documentary about the trio. It will make its public television debut at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6 on KEET-TV. College of the Redwoods’ FosterKinship Care Education program will air a premiere screening on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Arts! Alive. Times are TBA, but admission is free at 333 Sixth Street in Eureka, six blocks from the heart of Old Town. The American Community Survey reports 3,000 grandparents in
Humboldt and Del Norte counties reside with grandchildren under age 18 – and 41 percent are responsible for those children. Nationwide, 4.9 million children are living in grandparentheaded households, a 10 percent increase in the past decade. “Those are just the ones we know about,” Area 1 Agency on Aging Executive Director Cindy Denbo said. “Most of us know many other grandparents who are informally raising their grandchildren and don’t want to talk about it or can’t.” The documentary outlines the isolation, lack of resources, and multiple challenges faced by grandparents who become the safety net that keeps children out of foster care and with their families. Area 1 Agency on Aging and KEET-TV co-produced the project.
Nursery and Garden Center Shop and Power Equipment Landscape Contractors 1828 Central Ave. • McKinleyville • millerfarmsnursery.com SPECIAL INSERT TO THE NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, OCT. 6, 2011
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