Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, February 22, 2020

10

 Mountain Views News Saturday, February 22, 2020 


10 THINGS MEDICARE 
DOESN’T COVER

Dear Savvy Senior:

I will be enrolling in Medicare in a few months 
and would like to find out what they don’t cover so I can avoid any surprises. Almost 65

 Dear Almost:

While Medicare (Part A and B) covers a wide array of health care services after you turn 
65, it doesn’t cover everything. If you need or want certain services that aren’t covered, 
you’ll have to pay for them yourself unless you have other insurance, or you enroll in a 
Medicare Advantage health plan, which may offer some additional benefits. Here’s a look 
at some commonly needed medical services that original Medicare doesn’t pay for.

Most dental care: Routine dental care including checkups, cleanings, fillings, tooth extractions 
and dentures are not covered by Medicare. However, some Medicare Advantage 
plans do cover basic dental care services.

Routine vision care and eyeglasses: Medicare does not cover routine eye exams, eyeglasses 
and contact lenses (except following cataract surgery), but tests, treatments and surgeries 
for medical eye diseases like cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration are covered. 
Some Medicare Advantage plans do offer routine vision benefits.

Alternative medicine: Acupuncture, chiropractic services (except to fix subluxation of the 
spine), and other types of alternative or complementary care are not covered by Medicare.

Prescription drugs: Medicare (Part A and B) doesn’t provide coverage for outpatient prescription 
drugs, but you can buy a separate Part D prescription-drug policy that does, or 
a Medicare Advantage plan that covers both medical and drug costs.

Cosmetic surgery: Most cosmetic procedures are not covered, however, if the surgery 
is due to an injury or deformity, it might pay. For example, Medicare will cover a breast 
prosthesis for breast cancer survivors.

Hearing aids: Medicare will not pay for hearing exams or hearing aids, but may cover a 
hearing and balance exam if your doctor determines it’s necessary. Some Medicare Advantage 
plans do offer hearing benefits.

Long-term care: Nursing home care and assisted living facilities are not covered by Medicare. 
But, Medicare will help pay up to 100 days of skilled nursing or rehabilitation care 
immediately following a hospital stay of three or more days.

Personal home care: If you need to hire help for bathing, dressing or getting out of bed, 
Medicare typically won’t cover these costs either, unless you are homebound and are also 
receiving skilled nursing care. Housekeeping services, such as shopping, meal preparation 
and cleaning are not covered either unless you are receiving hospice care. But a few 
Medicare Advantage plans do offer in-home support services.

Routine foot care: Medicare does not cover most routine foot care, like the cutting or removing 
of corns, calluses and toenails. But they do cover medically necessary podiatrist 
services for foot problems like hammertoes, bunion and heel spurs, along with exams, 
treatments and therapeutic shoes or inserts if you have diabetic foot problems.

Overseas coverage: In most cases, health care outside of the United States is not covered 
by Medicare except for very limited circumstances – such as on a cruise ship within six 
hours of a U.S. port. But, Medigap supplemental plans D, G, M and N cover 80 percent 
of emergency care abroad, and some Medicare Advantage plans cover emergency care 
abroad too.

The best way to find out what Medicare covers is to talk to your health care provider, visit 
Medicare.gov/coverage and type in your test, item or service, or download the Medicare 
“What’s covered” app on the App Store or Google Play. And to look for Medicare Advantage 
plans that offer additional benefits visit Medicare.gov/plan-compare.

Also keep in mind that even if Medicare covers a service or item, they don’t pay 100 percent 
of the cost. You will have to pay a monthly Part B premium (which is $135.50 for 
most beneficiaries) and unless you have supplemental insurance, you’ll have to pay your 
annual deductibles and copayments too. However, most preventive services are covered 
100 percent by Medicare with no copays or deductibles.

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.

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …February Birthdays*

Beatrice DaRe, Cathrine Adde, Hilda Pittman, Anne-Marie Stockdale, Susan 
Henderson, Allie Attay, Ursula El-Tawansy, Gladys Moser, Sylvia Lorhan, Ana 
Ptanski, Winifred Swanson , Janet Gillespie, Marian DeMars, Vickie Vernon, 
Mary Beth Knox, Sharon Lefler. 

 * To add your name to this distinguished list, please call the paper at 
626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required


HART PARK HOUSE MONTHLY PROGRAMS: 

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

Hawaiian & Polynesian Dance Class: Every Tuesday Morning from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. 
Join the class with Instructor Barbara Dempsey as she leads you in the art of Hula!

Bingo Time: Every Tuesday beginning at 1:00 p.m. Cards are only $0.25 each! Everyone is welcome to play! Activity may 
be canceled if there are less than five people.

Free Blood Pressure Testing: 2nd Tuesdays Monthly from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary.

Brain Games: Every third Thursday of the month at 12:45-1:45pm Join us for Scattergories, a creative thinking game by 
naming objects within a set of categories; or Jenga, a block-building challenge that keeps you stacking and bal-ancing 
your tower. Everyone is welcome, and no experience is needed. A great way to strengthen your mind and make new 
friends... Games are facilitated by Senior Volunteers. 

Free Legal Consultation: Wednesday, February 12th from 10:30 a.m. - Noon. Attorney Lem Makupson is available for 
legal consultation. Specializing in Family Law, Wills, Trusts, Estates and Injury. Please call the Hart Park House for an 
appointment, 626-355-5278 ext. 704.

Senior Club: Meets Saturdays, Weekly at Hart Park House Brown Bag Lunch, great company and bingo at 11:30 a.m.

Chair Yoga: Mondays & Wednesdays 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. with Paul Hagen. Classes include Yoga and balance exercises. 
All ability levels are encouraged and welcomed!

Birthday Celebration: Every 2nd Thursday Monthly at the Hart Park House. Share free birthday cake and ice cream 
kindly provided by the Senior Community Commission!

Game Day: Every Thursday Monthly 12:00 Noon come into the Hart Park House and join a lively poker game with 
friends!

Free Strength Training Class: Fridays 12:45 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. with Lisa Brandley Light weights, low impact resistance 
training and body conditioning. Class equipment provided.

Gentle Yoga for Active Seniors: Every Monday & Wednesday from 8:15 - 9:45 a.m. with Andrea Walsh at the Hart Park 
House. Classes include complete floor relaxation, standing and floor postures, balancing, and featuring extended 
meditations on the fourth Wednesdays of the month! Call (626)-355-5278 for more information.


MEALS - ON - WHEELS PROGRAM

The Home Delivered Meals Program provides healthy meals to homebound Seniors 60 and above. 
Seven frozen meals, milk, bread and fruit are included and delivered once a week. $3 Donation per 
meal is suggested but remains completely anonymous and voluntary. Clients must be eligible and we 
invite you to contact YWCA Intervale Senior Services at 626-214-9467. SUBJECT TO CHANGE 
WITHOUT NOTICE SUGGESTED DONATION $3.00 1% LOW FAT MILK INCLUDED


SENIOR CINEMA 1st & 3rd Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m.

February 5th “Moonstruck” PG; 1 
hr. 42 min.

Loretta Castorini, a bookkeeper 
from Brooklyn, New York, finds 
herself in a difficult situation when 
she falls for the brother of the man 
that she has agreed to marry

 

February 19th “Hope Floats” 
PG-13; 1 hr. 54 min

Birdee Calvert choose between 
her morals and her heart after 
her husband divorces her and a 
charming young man, who her 
daughter disapproves of, comes 
back into her life.


AUTRY MUSEUM (LOS ANGELES)—LOS ANGELES

*Date: Thursday, February 20th *Time: 9:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. *Cost: $20 per 
person

Don't miss a visit to this historic museum and the once in a lifetime exhibit Master 
of the American West Art Exhibition and Sale. See paintings and sculptures by 
more than 60 nationally recognized, contemporary Western artists. A one hour 
docent-led tour of the exhibit will be given upon arrival.

* Lunch will be on your own at the Crossroads West Café at the Autry;

* Participants should bring money for lunch & souvenirs;

* Level of Walking: Medium;

* Bus departs from the Hart Park House Senior Center at 9:00am and returns at 2:30 p.m.

 Please arrive 15 minutes prior to departure. 

Sierra Madre Resident Registration starts Monday, January 27, 2020 through Tuesday, February 4, 
2020. Non-Resident Registration starts online or in-person on Wednesday, February 5, 2020.


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

THE WORLD NEEDS MORE GRANDFATHERS 

As time has gone by, I have learned a few things. According to the Gracious Mistress of the 
Par-sonage, I have not learned enough yet, but that's just her opinion. She gave me a great 
compliment the other day when she said, “Dear, you’re as smart as you will ever be.”

I am still not over that, and I walk around with my chest pushed out a little bit, not in front 
of her, though.

Honesty will make me say that I do not know as much as I really ought to know. So much I do not know that I 
am not quite sure how much that is. I really won’t ever come to that conclusion.

I would say, and do not repeat this to my wife, but I am smarter today than I ever was in my life. To put it bluntly, 
I am smarter today than the day she married me. That is as far as I am going to go on that topic.

Although I do not know everything, I have figured out a few things. We live in a very complicated world, and it 
just seems to get more complicated every day. I long for those days when a cell phone was what a prisoner used 
to call somebody.

As people, mostly men, get older, they get a little grumpy. I did not know I was getting grumpy until the Gracious 
Mistress of the Parsonage said, “Why are you so grumpy today?”

With a face like mine, it is tough to hide any grumpiness.

Because I know she is always right, I began to think about the idea that maybe I am getting grumpy. Thinking 
along that line, I wanted to know what good could come from being grumpy.

I begin to think about myself, and what in the world has made me so grumpy? And, more im-portantly, how in 
the world can I overcome this infectious disease called grumpy-itis?

The more I thought about it, the grumpier I became. Believe me, I do not want to be grumpy around my wife. I 
need to work out a solution before I get any grumpier.

Nothing seemed to help me understand this until one day the grandchildren came over for the day. It was then 
I begin to understand one solution to get over this grumpy-itis disease.

When the grandchildren are around, especially the younger ones, there is no time to be grumpy. Their infectious 
laugh cures just about any kind of grumpiness I might ever have.

If I had time to think about it, which I do not with the grandchildren around, I would wonder why and how 
these kids can laugh so much. Everything and anything is a target for their laughter. And my laughter.

Try not to laugh when your grandchildren are around laughing and creating a wonderful sense of chaos. It is 
impossible.

After the grandchildren left, my wife and I sat down in the living room and said to each other, “Boy, was that 
fun.” Then we fell asleep with smiles on our faces.

It was then I found the remedy for my grumpy-itis. As a grandfather, I need grandchildren in my life to make 
sure my life is not grumpy. Even days after they leave I'm still smiling and even laugh-ing.

Every once in awhile, my wife will say, “Do remember…” Then she goes on about something that happened 
when the grandchildren were here.

Once I quieted down a little from all the grandchildren's activity, a thought took hold of my mind, which even 
brought another smile.

I knew I needed those grandchildren as therapy from my grumpy-itis, but there was something even better than 
that. Those grandchildren needed me.

In a million years, I never would have thought about that myself. Those grandchildren have so much going for 
them today that I never thought they would need somebody like me.

When the grandchildren are under my “supervision,” they have a freedom that they do not have anywhere 
else. As a grandfather, I have a hard time pronouncing the word N O. It did not take those grandchildren long 
to figure that out.

Every once in a while, I'll hear, "Let's ask Granddad.” Then I know they are asking me for some-thing that maybe 
nobody else would approve. After all, grandfathers are just like that.

In such a world that we live in, our grandchildren need to understand that there's something in this world that 
they can really enjoy. That’s my job as a grandfather. To give them reasons to laugh and enjoy themselves.

As much as my grandchildren do for me, I do for them as well. We’re a team, and we work well together.

Grandchildren need someone in their life not stressed with schedules and finances and all of that stuff. They 
need to see someone in their life that is happy and glad to see them.

Don't let this get out, but they need to see someone in their life that has them as a priority. Nothing is more 
important in a grandfather's life than his grandchildren. If he does his job well, they will come to understand that 
they are the most important people in his life.

I like this one Bible verse. “Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children” 
(Proverbs 17:6).

The key for grandchildren to be genuinely grand are grandfathers.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com