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Senior News

What Will Insurance Look Like Next Year?

Question: When do we find out what our insurance looks like in next year? Answer: Well school has started and that means we are fast approaching my favorite time of year, Annual Open Enrollment Period for the Medicare insurance products. Individuals with Medicare in the coming weeks will be receiving the 2021 information packets. Medicare along with the Medicare Advantage Plans, the Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, and the Medicare Supplements all have slightly different coverage pricing and benefits each year. Many of those changes are announced Oct. 1 for the upcoming year. The ...

When Am I Able To Collect Social Security Benefits?

Question: I am still working but curious about collecting Social Security benefits, so when am I eligible to collect Social Security? Answer: I feel like Labor Day is the perfect day to address this question. To collect Social Security benefits you must “file a claim” with the Social Security Administration (SSA). This contact with SSA can be via phone call, or using the ssa.gov website. The SSA office at this time is not open for individuals to come into the office. If you are calling the SSA office you will find you get through quickly and the staff is very helpful. If you ...

How To Know If A Call From A Contact Tracer Is Real

Question: How do I know that the call I received from a contact tracer stating that I may have been in contact with someone who tested positive to COVID is real and what is my next step? Answer: Contact tracing has been a tool utilized by organizations and governments for many years. Situations like food poisoning, sexually transmitted diseases, and respiratory diseases (like COVID-19) all use contact tracing to help isolate and inform those individuals who may be in danger of getting sick and spreading the disease. During this situation we have found it difficult to determine what ...

How To Dispose Of Medications You No Longer Take Or Use

Question: How do I get rid of the medications I no longer take? Answer: Usually medications and how to obtain them and costs are discussed, but this is the other side of the medication discussion. Do not flush your unused medications down the toilet. Those medications are toxic to our water table and the surrounding environment. The unused may be medication we no longer take, medication that has expired, medications not needed due to a death or moving into a nursing home as the facilities can't accept the medications we have already purchased. There are all types of reasons these ...

What Do You Need?

There is so much going on in the world and it is difficult to know what is available and what is not. Ads on TV, FaceBook and word of mouth can sometimes mislead people when looking for help. Sometimes you need a trusted source to help you navigate to what you need right then and there! Chautauqua NY Connects is here for just that purpose. We are here to help you find information and assistance in finding care in your community. Finding services and programs that help people in the community manage daily needs is what we do. It is easy to access, you can call, e-mail, or do your own ...

Changes For OFA Health Insurance Counseling Appointments

So for most of you, Medicare’s Annual Open Enrollment is still looking like it’s far away. Due to COVID-19, the Office for Aging’s Health Insurance, Information and Assistance program (HIICAP) is looking at Open Enrollment now and planning for how we should assist our clients from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, 2020. Time seems to fly by so quickly and the need for health insurance counseling continues to be in big demand each year. This year’s counseling process will be a little bit different. Our HIICAP counselors will be providing counseling via telephone only. In order for the ...