Summer is an amazing thing. I love it every year when it so nicely appears here in the Seattle area. However, shorter days and cooler nights remind us that it’s time to prepare for a new season’s activities and learn something new.
This week, baby boomer bloggers have some ideas to help jump-start your autumn.
They’re writing about:
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Rebecca Olkowski of Baby Boomster says she’s been paralyzed by the horrifying things that have been happening with four mass shootings in the United States in one week – Brooklyn, Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton.
Myself, I find the inaction on responsible gun laws appalling. I just can’t understand why Congress won’t do something. I applaud states and local government who have taken action in recent years.
But, it’s not enough. In Washington where I live, the Washington State Legislature passed open carry laws. It’s terrible. One day I went to the state capitol to take photos, and a gun group was having a rally. Guns were everywhere. I asked men at the edge of the group what they were doing. They said they were “protecting the perimeter.” Appalling, just appalling. And Washington is supposed to be a progressive state.
I took photos because I’m a photojournalist and I have a right to take photos in public places. Above is one of the photos I took at the rally. Fortunately, no one shot me.
Baby boomer bloggers are keeping at it, despite upsets, and are writing about:
This is the Best of Boomer Blogs #608. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to leave comments. It’s fun to hear from our readers.
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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.
Continue reading "CVS-Aetna merger harmful to patients, consumer advocates tell the judge" »
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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:
Continue reading "How to select the best health insurance policy to meet your needs" »
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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.
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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.
Continue reading "Doctor’s book, ‘Elderhood,” offers important insights on aging today" »
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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.
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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.
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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.
Continue reading "Three days left to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act" »
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