Breaking News

Senior News

State Senior Medicare Patrol Gives Tips To Avoid Fraud

The New York State Senior Medicare Patrol educates beneficiaries to prevent, detect and report Medicare fraud. Although there are many health care fraud scams, three common scams are: ¯ Vaccine Card Scams — fake vaccine cards on being sold on social media for those who do not want to be vaccinated, putting people at risk. Do not post photos of your vaccine card on social media. ¯ New Medicare Card Scams – Scammers are calling and stating that you will receive a new black and white COVID Medicare Card. This is a scam! Call our office if you have received this call and ...

When Should I Contact The Social Security Office?

It may be helpful to contact the Social Security Administration to: ¯ Enroll into Medicare Part A and Part B ¯ Correct issues with your Medicare Part A or Part B effective dates ¯ Request a replacement Medicare card ¯ Appeal an income-related monthly adjustment (IRMAA) decision, for people who pay a higher Part B or Part D premium because their income is over a certain amount ¯ Apply for Extra Help, which is a federal program that helps people with limited income and assets afford their Medicare prescription drug costs ¯ Report a change of address or phone number

Making Your Home Safe For The Aging

Have you ever thought about your own safety in your home as you age? It is something you should consider as early as your 40s and 50s. Those who plan to live out many years in your home as you age- you need to start looking critically at your environment. I am talking about steps and walkways, door widths, flooring choices, placement of important appliances, and kitchen and bath aspects for aging safely in your home. When we are doing public events, I always have a slide that says— P-L-A-N — and what this stands for in my talk is to “please look at this now!” Not when you ...

Get The Best COVID-19 Information You Can

As we start to open up our senior centers and congregate meal sites, I am getting questions from older adults about how vaccines work. Can we mandate that everyone who comes into our building be vaccinated? And are we protected from the Delta variant of COVID-19? I will try to answer these questions in this article but realize that information is changing as time passes. Information is changing because we are learning more as millions of people have been vaccinated and as the virus changes. Your best source of information is our local county health department as it bases its ...

Milestone Moment

More 100 friends and family of Dr. Frederick Giddy gathered in May at Chautauqua Harbor Hotel in Celoron to celebrate a century of the amazing life of a well-known local man. Born in Bideford, England, in 1921, his family migrated here in 1924. His parents, four brothers and two sisters ...

LTCI Claims Require A Process

Question: My spouse and I have Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI), but we are not sure how to use it? Answer: This is the third and final answer to this question — filing a LTCI claim. LTCI insurance works by reimbursing you for care costs you have already paid. If you have help in the home, and you don’t pay the help money (maybe they are family) the LTCI will not pay any benefit. When you hire help in the home, the LTCI could potentially reimburse you for homecare costs. The caregiver completes LTCI paperwork explaining her qualifications and experience to become an approved ...