Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 5, 2016

THE GOOD LIFE

11

Mountain Views-News Saturday, March 5, 2016 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

HOW TO AVOID MEDICARE MISTAKES WHEN 
YOU’RE STILL WORKING


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …March Birthdays

Clare Marquardt, Karen Blachly, Carla Duplex, Ella Guttman, Viky Tchatlian, Mary 
Cooper, Georgina “Snooky” Greger, Sun Liu, Helen Wallis, Joan Crow, Nancy Fox, 
Martha Cassara, Rita Johnson, Mercedes Campos, Dorothy Webster,Terri Elder, 
Carol Cerrina, Amy Putnam, Sally Contreras and Lori Cooper. * To add your 
name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required 
but you must be over 60.

...................................................................

ACTIVITIES: Unless listed differently, all activities are at the 
Hart Park House (Senior Center) 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre

 

 

 YWCA San Gabriel Valley - Intervale Senior Cafe 

Seniors 60 years of age and up can participate in the YWCA Intervale daily lunch program held 
at the Hart Park House Senior Center. Meals are served Monday through Friday at 12:00 pm 
and participants are encouraged to arrive by 11:45 am. Meals are a suggested donation of $3.00 
for seniors 60 and over or $5.00 for non-senior guests. Daily reservations are necessary, space is 
limited. Please reserve your lunch by calling 626-355-0256.

Tech Talk: Held on Monday, January 25th from 1:30-2:30pm. Learn how to use your new 
technology devises. Please reserve your space with the Hart Park House by calling 626-355-7394. 

 

Hawaiian and Polynesian Dance Class: Every Tuesday morning from 10am to 11am. Join 
instructor Barbara Dempsey as she instructs you in the art of hula. 

 

Bingo: Every Tuesday beginning at 1:00pm. Cards are only $0.25 each! Everyone is welcome to 
join. May be canceled if less than 5 people. 

 

Free Blood Pressure Testing: 2nd Tuesday of the month from 11am to 12pm. No appt. is 
necessary. 

 

Brain Games: Thursday, January 21st, 10:30am - 11:30am, improve your memory and strengthen 
your brain. Activities facilitated by Hugo, Community Liaison for New Wave Home care of 
Pasadena. 

 

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, January 27th from 10:30am to Noon. Attorney Lem 
Makupson is available for legal consultation. He specializes in Family Law, Wills, Trusts, Estates, 
and Injury. Appointment are required by calling 626-355-7394. 

Balance Class: No Balance Class due to Martin Luther King Holiday. 

 

Chair Yoga: Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00 to 11:45 am. A suggested donation of $5 at one 
of the classes is requested, but is not required. 

 

Case Management: Meets the 2nd Thursday of the month. Case Management services are 
provided by the YWCA and provide assistance in a variety of areas. Appointments are required 
and can be scheduled by calling the HPH Office at 626-355-7394. 

 

Birthday Celebrations: Every second Thursday of the month at the Hart Park House. The free 
birthday cake is provided by the Sierra Madre Civic Club. 

 

Game Day: Every Thursday starting at 12:00pm. (Please note the time change.) A regular group of 
seniors play poker. Other games available for use. 

 

Free Strength Training Class: Every Friday from 12:45pm to 1:30pm with Lisa Brandley. The 
class utilizes light weights for low impact resistance training. All materials for the class are 
provided. 

 

Senior Club: Every Saturday at the Hart Park House Senior Center. Brown bag lunch at 11:30am. 
Club meeting at noon. Bingo 12:30-3:30pm. Annual Membership is only $10.00. 

Dear Savvy Senior:

Should I enroll in Medicare at age 65 if I’m still working 
and have coverage through my employer? 

Almost 65

Dear Almost:

The rules for enrolling in Medicare can be very 
confusing with all the different choices available 
today. But when you postpone retirement past age 
65, as many people are doing, it becomes even more 
complicated. 

 First, let’s review the basics. Remember that 
original Medicare has two parts: Part A, which 
provides hospital coverage and is free for most people. 
And Part B, which covers doctor’s bills, lab tests and 
outpatient care. Part B also has a monthly premium 
of $104.90 in 2016 (though it’s higher for individuals 
earning $85,000 or more a year). 

 If you are receiving Social Security, you will be 
enrolled automatically in parts A and B when you 
turn 65. If you aren’t yet receiving Social Security, you 
will have to apply, which you can do online at SSA.
gov/medicare, over the phone at 800-772-1213 or 
through your local Social Security office. 

 If you plan to continue working past the age of 
65 and have health insurance from your job, your 
first step is to ask your benefits manager or human 
resources department how your employer insurance 
works with Medicare. In most cases, you should at 
least take Medicare Part A because it’s free. But to 
decide whether to take Part B or not will depend on 
the size of your employer. 

 Small employer: If your current employer (or 
spouse’s employer if it’s providing your coverage) 
has fewer than 20 employees, Medicare will be your 
primary insurer and you should enroll in Medicare 
Part B during your initial enrollment period. This is 
a seven-month period that includes the three months 
before, the month of, and the three months after your 
65th birthday. 

 If you miss the seven-month sign-up window, 
you’ll have to wait until the next general enrollment 
period, which runs from Jan. 1 to March 31 with 
benefits beginning the following July 1. You’ll also 
incur a 10 percent penalty for each year you wait 
beyond your initial enrollment period, which will be 
tacked on to your monthly Part B premium.

 Large employer: If your employer has 20 or more 
employees, your employer’s group health plan will be 
your primary insurer as long as you (or your spouse 
if the coverage is from his/her employer) remain an 
active employee. If this is the case, you don’t need to 
enroll in Part B when you turn 65 if you’re satisfied 
with the coverage you are getting through your job. 
But if you do decide to enroll in Medicare, it will 
supplement your employer insurance by paying 
secondary on all of your claims. 

 Once your employment (or group health coverage) 
ends, you will then have eight months to sign up for 
Part B without a penalty. This is known as the Special 
Enrollment Period. 

 Drug coverage: You also need to verify your 
prescription drug coverage. Call your benefits 
manager or insurance company to find out if your 
employer’s prescription drug coverage is considered 
“creditable.” (Creditable prescription drug coverage is 
one that is considered to be as good as or better than 
the Medicare prescription drug benefit.) If it is, you 
don’t need to enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription 
drug plan. If it isn’t, you should purchase a plan 
(see medicare.gov/find-a-plan) during your initial 
enrollment period or you’ll incur a premium penalty 
(1 percent of the average national premium for every 
month you don’t have coverage) if you enroll later. 

 For additional help, visit Medicare.gov or contact 
your State Health Insurance Assistance Program 
(SHIP) at Shiptacenter.org. The Medicare Rights 
Center also offers a free helpline at 800-333-4114. 

 

 Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. 
Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.
org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show 
and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.


KATIE Tse.....................This and That

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE CRAZY

It’s that time of year again! The weather’s getting 
warmer, flowers are blooming, and school children 
are itching with spring fever! And it’s only the 
end of March! But you must remember that many 
schools started way back in the middle of August. 
That leaves only about 30 school days left, and both 
students and teachers are running on fumes.

 Most “naughty” kids push the envelope of their 
teacher’s patience at the beginning of the school 
year. But there are always a few who students snap 
and revert to their old ways in this last leg of the 
race. This is what happened near the end of one 
of my mom’s last years of teaching third grade in a 
public school.

 The student in 
question (let’s call him 
Ned) came to third 
grade with a reputation 
for chronic sassy-ness, 
noncompliance, and 
general misconduct. 
Ned’s previous teachers 
had exhausted all the usual 
disciplinary methods: 
e.g., behavior contracts, 
punishment, rewards, 
screaming --all to no avail. 
Since my mom had 30 
plus years of experience in 
the trenches dealing with 
every variety of students, she had a full arsenal of 
strategies at her disposal. 

 You see, some kids just get so callused and 
jaded over the years that traditional approaches at 
behavior modification fall short. These kids have 
grown accustomed to having teachers negotiate 
with them, cajole them, punish them, and yell to the 
point of developing vocal nodules. What they’re 
not used to is teachers who are just as crazy as they 
are!

 My mom and Ned maintained a working 
relationship for most of the year, but near the 
end Ned started to slip back into his whinny, 
argumentative habits. Specifically, he claimed 
that my mom had confiscated a ring of his at the 
beginning of the year, and now he wanted it back.

 Of course there was no such ring, but that didn’t 
matter to Ned. He just wanted a fight. Their 
conversation went something like this:

 Ned: “Hey, Mrs. Hopkins, you never gave back 
my ring that you took away.”

 Mom: “I never took a ring from you. What are 
you talking about?”

 Ned: (whining) “NO! You took it! I remember!” 

 Mom: (walking to her desk, she cut a small 
rectangle of paper, 
connected the ends with 
tape, and handed it to 
Ned.) “Ok, here’s a ring 
for you.”

 Ned: (surprised, but 
still angry) “No! It was a 
real ring! My dad gave it 
to me!”

 Mom: “That is a real 
ring. Look, you can put it 
on your finger.”

 Ned: “No! It had a 
diamond on it!”

 Mom: (she takes the 
paper ring back and 
draws a diamond shape 
in the middle) “Okay, here’s a diamond.”

 Ned: (walking away with his new ring) “I’m 
telling my dad!”

 Mom: “That’s fine. While you’re at it, remind him 
to sign and return your report card.”

 Ned had a big, strong male teacher for fourth 
grade. Around the end of the year, Ned’s mom 
came back to thank my mom for working with him. 
“You’re the only one who was able to manage him!”

 Teaching, for the most part, is a thankless job of 
civil servants. But occasionally there’s something to 
brag about!


626-355-5700245 West Sierra Madre BlvdSierra Madre, CA 91024www.TheKensingtonSierraMadre.comRCFE License198601953At first, Dad and I didn’tsee eye to eye about moving toThe Kensington, but sincehe did, we’re both thrilledLimited Senior Living Suites Still AvailableCall or Visit to Reserve Yours Today
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