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THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall River-Fri., Jan. 24, 1992
RON MASAK of TV's "Murder, She Wrote." (CNS/CBS photo)
TV sheriff credits God for his 'success LOS ANGELES (CNS) Whether he's Sheriff Mort Metzger on CBS-TV's "Murder, She Wrote" or the voice of the Vlasic pickle stork, actor Ron Masak gives credit for his success to God. "I am what I am by the grace of God, and I think I know who God is," said Masak, a Catholic. The character actor, who is mar-
ried, has six children and is active in St. Mel's Parish, Woodland Hills, Calif., spoke about his career and faith in an interview with Catholic News Service in Los Angeles. He's starred in 15 feature films and his movie credits include "Tora, Tora, Tora" and "A Time for Dying." He's also been in more than 200 commercials.
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Masak was raised Methodist but became Catholic shortly after college when he was struggling to break into movies and television. Choosing Catholicism "had everything to do with living in California," he said. Masak's mother, a Methodist, taught him to go to church. On Sundays, she simply said, "Get.up and go to church," he recalled. "It had nothing to do with whether I wanted to get up and go to church." Masak learned to look to the church for help, and when he was a struggling actor, alone in Tinseltown, that's what he did. "My church doors were locked," he said. "The Catholic church wasn't." For a time, young Masak trekked five and a half miles every day to St. Charles Church in North Hollywood. He went "every night to talk to this priest, to ask him questions," he said. "I had doubts about what I was doing, whether I was doing the right thing, whether I had come to the right place, and he had answers." Masak also had concerns that reflected "all the things I heard as a kid" about Catholicism when he was growing up in Chicago, he said.
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SHARE AGREAT COMPASSION The Dominican Sisters OfHawthorne.
We nurse incurable cancer patients in our seven free, modem nursing homes, located in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Georgia and Minnesota. Many who enter our community have no prior nursing experience, but we all share a great compassion for the suffering poor and delight at being able to herp them. Living the vows and participating in alife of prayer gives us the ability to serve God in this Apostolate. We seek women who are full of love for Christ, and desire to join a congregation with a strong spiritual and community life. "I will obey God anYWhere, at any time, with courage!" Rose Hawthorne, Foundress.
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" ~. . '''What am I going to confess to you?" he recalled challenging the priest. "He had simple answers," Masak said, "like, 'Everyone needs a friend. I'll be your friend.''' The priest taught him that confessing a sin means "you don't have to carry that burden around by yourself," Mesak said. The idea of a rosary in his pocket offended his sense of masculinity. "I'm a guy," the young actor told the priest, who he said responded with: "Well, if nothing else it's a way to remind yourself to say a little prayer, and prayer doesn't hurt." "He had all the wonderful answers for me," said Masak. The Hollywood scene could tempt a youth to forget basic values, Masak said. "I was pretty good," he said. "But 1 was also doing nightclubs and everything else where it's just as easy to go the other way. "I did have a fine moral upbringing from my mom," he said, "and 1 wanted to keep that. 1didn't want to go out and destroy it and become a drunk in nightclubs.... 1 made up my mind 1 was never going to do anything wrong, and it helped."
Becoming Catholic showed itself to be a lucky move when, he said, "the lady I did fall in love with eventually and wanted to spend the rest of my life with just happened to be Catholic." He boasted about Kay, his wife of 30 years. "The Mother Teresa of the married set," he called her. "When she's not deahng with one of our kids she's dealing with someone else's kids," said Masak. "She's like 'The Volunteer of America.' She was honored in our community as one of the 10 outstanding citizens of the year for her work with the church." Masak gets involved too. "Once she takes over [a project], I'm her right arm ... from Santa's workshop, to the cooking [for parish events] to writing letters to the monsignor." "We're good churchgoers and believe in what we do and that someone's out there watching us and helping us get to where we're at," he said. He and his wife also work for causes which benefit abused children. Masak has found warmth in his religion. "I've never feared an angry God," he said. "I've always found a loving God."
A Joint Publication of the Massachusetts Depanment of Public Health and the AARP
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Elder Health ~ ALERT
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Untangling the health insurance knot Mrs. Fraser, 67, recently had an illness needing six physician office visits, five days in the hospital with tests and surgery, and three prescriptions. Mrs. Fraser believed that her Medicare andmedigap insurance would cover the $15,000 bill. Unhappily, she was wrong and had to pay over $4,000. Mrs. Fraser's situation is not unique. Health insurance for older adults is complex and confusing with new laws regulating what government programs will pay, what private insurance companies. may offer and how much insurance programs will cost.
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Medicare: Basic Insurance Medicare coverage is available to everyone who is eligible for Social Security. It is divided into two parts. Part A covers hospital care and is free. After a deductible, it pays for a portion of inpatient expenses, such as room and board, drugs, surgery, and blood after the third pint. Elders must pay a monthly premium to receive Part B. After a yearly deductible, it covers 80% of office physician charges up to an amount set by Medicare as "reasonable," home health care in very restricted circumstances, and a portion of hospice care and miscellaneous other services. In Massachusetts, physicians may only charge the "reasonable" rates set by Medicare to their Medicare patients. Recently, Congress has made changes in both the coverage and costs of Medicare. These include: - The Part B premium has increased to $31.80 in 1992. The Part B deductible has been increased to $100 per year. - Medicare now pays for 80% of the cost of routine mammo-
grams that cost up to $55 every other year for women 65 and older: - Hospice patients may now receive services for as long as they need them. Medigap Medicare covers only about half of the average person's medical costs. Some of the costs not covered include the deductibles, hospital and physician copayments, and non-covered expenses like private duty nursing. Many older adults choose to purchase additional insurance, called "medigap," You may not need medigap if you have coverage from other sources: These could include insurance through employers or former employers or Health Maintenance Organizations that contract with Medicare. Medicaid may also pay for coverage, because portions of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act that were retained mandate that Medicaid must pay Medicare premiums, copayments, and deductibles for Medicaid recipients. Also, anyone whose income is below the poverty level, currently $7,475 for single people 65 and older and $8,970 for married people 65 and older, may have Medicare premiums, copayments and deductibles paid 路by Medicaid even if they do not qualify for Medicaid. These recipients are known as Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries. How Do I Choose Medigap? First, carefully research your needs and which policy will best meet those needs. Too many elders spend money on policies that duplicate coverage they already have or do not pay for the expenses they are most likely to incur. Keep these tips in mind:
- Choose a policy specifically designed to cover Medicare's gaps. These policies must, by law, provide minimum coverage of basic items like deductibles, copayments and the first three pints of blood. - State laws require what can and cannot be covered after these minimum benefits. Make sure the policy meets these standards. - Compare both benefits and costs. You may not need some benefits. For example, you do not need coverage for care in foreign countries if you never travel. When comparing costs, consider how the costs might change. A policy that has a higher premium now, but guarantees that the premium will not increase may end up being cheaper than a policy with a smaller initial premium that increases with age. Similarly, policies that guarantee they will not reduce benefits are a better buy than those that may be cheaper but will, under certain circumstances, decrease coverage. - Only buy a policy that is guaranteed renewable, and cannot be cancelled because of your health or the claims you make. - Be wary of policies that pay a set amount per day in the hospital (known as "indemnity policies"), or those that only pay if you get a particular illness, such as cancer. For their price, their coverage may be much too narrow. - Practice good consumer buying habits. Like all major purchases, don't be pressured into buying something you do not want or need or making a quick decision; read the policies and "fine print" before buying; never sign a blank application form; and make sure you have the name and address of the insurance company.