The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

CVS-Aetna merger harmful to patients, consumer advocates tell the judge

Photo: JJBers

CVS-Aetna lawyers, consumer advocates, and health care organizations gathered Thursday in Washington, D.C., for oral arguments on whether the Department of Justice’s proposed final judgment in the CVS-Aetna merger is in the public interest. 

U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which filed a friend of the court brief with Consumer Action, called CVS’ claim that the merger would reduce prescription drug prices “absurd.”

“CVS is claiming the merger will simultaneously boost profits to investors and help save consumers money,” said Adam Garber, consumer watchdog for U.S. PIRG. “But without an impartial party holding the combined company accountable, it is more likely than not that instead prices will go up, to the detriment of patients.

How to select the best health insurance policy to meet your needs

When you’re hired by a company, it’s likely that you’ll be able to get health insurance through your employer. In America, 58 percent of people get their health insurance this way.

If your employer doesn’t offer health insurance or if you’re self-employed or do contract work, you can get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

In either case, you’ll need to pick out a policy. It’s a complicated process.

In addition, every year there will be an open enrollment period. That means you’ll be able to look at the different companies and policies your employer or the ACA offer to see if you want to switch.

Here are some tips to help you:

Where are baby boomer living now?

By Florentina Sarac, Guest Blogger

Researcher for RENTCafé

As a generation that values individual choice and can easily adapt to change, baby boomers are known to favor certain parts of the country when it comes to retiring.

No longer tied to a particular city, many prefer to pack up their bags and leave for sunnier places. But while some only take a nice climate and entertainment options into consideration when choosing their next destination, others might want to move closer to family. Affordability also plays a big part in their decision as choosing a city with lower taxes can help them save money.

A study by the apartment search website RENTCafé shows that along with popular retirement zip codes in warm states such as Florida and California, baby boomers also prefer living in lively zip codes in New York or Las Vegas.

Doctor’s book, ‘Elderhood,” offers important insights on aging today

When I was returning from a trip to Bellingham Monday to help my older sister, I listened to a program on Fresh Air, a National Public Radio program, about why new ways of thinking about medical problems in elders need to be considered. It really struck a chord with me, because I help my sister with her medical issues.

Louise Aronson, M.D., talked about her book “Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life.” Aronson said elderly people react differently to medications, even over-the-counter ones, and the medical community often doesn’t take into consideration this possibility when elders are having problems.

She described a situation that happened to her father. He was doing well for a number of years after heart surgery, but then he fainted. In the hospital, his blood pressure dropped, and the staff gave him medication, but then, it dropped again. More medication was given, but it dropped a third time. Aronson went through the list of things that could have been wrong and thought he might be bleeding internally. She tried to get the staff’s attention, but was unable to get them to act. She asked her dad if she could do a rectal exam. A doctor, too, he said yes. When she showed the staff the bloody glove, her father was rushed to the ICU, then to surgery.

States sue 20 generic drug companies and 15 executives for allegedly conspiring to fix prices for more than 100 drugs

A 44-state coalition of attorneys general is suing Teva Pharmaceuticals and 19 of the nation's largest generic drug manufacturers alleging a conspiracy to increase prices and reduce competition for more than 100 generic drugs.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, also names 15 individual senior executive defendants, leaders of the conspiracy, who were responsible for sales, marketing, pricing, and operations. The drugs make up billions of dollars of sales in the United States, and the alleged schemes increased prices affecting the health insurance market, taxpayer-funded healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and individuals who had to pay artificially-inflated prices for their prescriptions drugs.

All types of drugs were included – tablets, capsules, suspensions, creams, gels, and ointments – as well as many classes of drugs – statins, ace inhibitors, beta blockers, antibiotics, anti-depressants, contraceptives, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The drugs treat a range of diseases and conditions from basic infections to diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV, ADHD, and more. In some cases, the coordinated price increases were more than 1,000 percent.

How is Trump’s tax act affecting you?

On Saturday afternoon, I mailed in my income taxes for 2018. Instead of getting a refund of around $1,000 like I do most years, my refund was $170.

The TurboTax representative I spoke to said deductions that were helpful to me in the past, such as for my small business and charitable donations, have been eliminated.

So while Trump’s tax revisions are helping the rich, they have no benefit for me. That huge corporations pay little or nothing in income taxes and I’m paying more is discouraging. I don’t mind paying my fair share of taxes. I support good schools, roads, and bridges. But Trump’s tax law is making the rich even richer.

Three days left to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act

Open Enrollment for 2019 Marketplace insurance ends Saturday, December 15. This means you have only three days to enroll in, re-enroll in, or change a 2019 Marketplace plan.

The Trump administration, which is opposed to anything enacted under President Obama, shortened the enrollment period from 90 days to 45.

However, six states and the District of Columbia have extended enrollment dates: California – Jan. 15, 2019; Colorado – Jan. 15, 2019; District of Columbia – Jan. 31, 2019; Massachusetts – Jan. 23, 2019; Minnesota – Jan. 13, 2019; New York – Jan. 31, 2019; and Rhode Island – Dec. 31, 2018.

Scam artists trying to get information from new Medicare cards

The new Medicare cards have now been mailed to recipients in most states.

The cards have a new Medicare number that’s unique to you, instead of a Social Security number. This helps protect your identity. Carrying the old cards around in your pocketbook or purse meant that if either were stolen, the thief would have your Social Security number. I’ve wondered for years why this change wasn’t made. 

You should only give your new Medicare number to doctors, pharmacists, other health care providers, or your insurers.

Scam artists are busy trying to get your Medicare information by contacting you about your new card. If someone asks you for your information, for money, or threatens to cancel your health benefits if you don’t share your personal information, hang up and call Medicare at 800-633-4227.

Best wishes on Election Day to us all

If you haven’t voted yet, be sure and do it. So much is at stake. Americans have the opportunity to tell a racist, sexist, anti-consumer, anti-environmental president that we don’t want his toxic policies any more.

I’m hoping for a Blue Wave. We must undo the harm that President Trump and his cronies are doing to the nation’s consumer and environmental laws. I’ve written article after article on this. Some examples of Trump’s terrible policies are:

• Allowing oil and gas companies to drill in the Arctic.
• Relaxing car pollution rules.
• Extending the life of dirty coal power plants.
• Weakening protection for student borrowers harmed by for-profit colleges.
• Allowing coal ash to be dumped into streams.
• Allowing association health plans that have a history of offering inadequate coverage, even scams.
• Weakening of chemical and pesticide regulations.

See the Brookings Deregulatory Tracker for more information on the Trump administrations deregulatory program.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Baby boomers provide information on daily living, including relationships and stress

Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty is back in the classroom every week this fall, once as a teacher and twice as a student.

Many baby boomers are interested in pursuing their education, whether for profit, leisure, or cultural enrichment – whether they go to a local adult-education class, attend an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute course at a nearby university, or take off on an educational trip with Road Scholar.

Our baby boomer group, too, is interested in education. They write hundreds of articles every year to provide helpful information to boomers. Here’s this week’s offering: