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Editor’s note: This press statement was received Oct. 19, 2016. Today’s announcement of a 0.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is another major disappointment to the 60 million people who depend on Social Security, says The Senior Citizens League (TSCL.) “The consumer price index (CPI) that the government uses to determine the annual COLA is simply not doing the job of protecting the buying power of older and disabled Americans,” says Mary Johnson, TSCL’s Social Security policy analyst. Johnson says that the federal governmen...
The federal government is trying to stop nursing homes from forcing people into using private arbitration instead of lawsuits when people bring cases of elder abuse, wrongful death and sexual harassment. The private arbitration issue is actually much larger than just a problem for seniors. Over the last 10 years, thousands of businesses across the country – from big corporations to storefront shops – have used arbitration to create an alternate system of justice. You probably haven’t noticed or paid attention to the notices buried in writt...
This is the ideal time for all people on Medicare to consider whether they have the best prescription drug coverage available. Other times to enroll in Part D are when you are first eligible for Medicare and you join during your Initial Enrollment Period (the seven months around your birthday month) and during the Special Enrollment Period, such as if you’ve lost creditable prescription drug coverage from an employer or union, you’ve moved from your service area, you moved in or out or live in a long term care facility. Here is a chart of Ala...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (Nov. 8 and 22), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Nov. 2 and 16), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Nov. 3, 10, 17), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s southeast communities can call the Juneau Soc...
With more budget cuts from the state forcing the loss of numerous staff positions, the state’s Pioneer Homes assisted living facilities have begun to further limit the number of residents the homes are able to receive. Vickie Wilson, director of the Alaska Pioneer Homes, believes that reducing the number of new residents will allow the remaining staff to give the quality and level of care the homes are known for. “We won’t risk safety or quality by admitting too many people, and I’ve told many people that,” said Wilson. “Our level of care is...
In Alaska, nearly one in four adults has experienced a disability. People with disabilities experience more health disparities than people without disabilities, and these disparities are similar to those reported by other minority groups. This is particularly true for the 18,000 Alaskans with intellectual disabilities. This crisis becomes more critical as Alaskans with intellectual disabilities begin experiencing the health-related challenges of an aging population. Research has shown that individuals with intellectual disabilities are living l...
Older Persons Action Group, Inc., earned honors for its monthly, statewide publication “Senior Voice” in the 25th annual National Mature Media Awards Program. The program, presented by the Mature Market Resource Center, a national clearinghouse for the senior market, recognizes the nation’s finest marketing, communications, educational materials and programs designed and produced for older adults. Senior Voice received a Merit award in the Local/State media division, Newsletter/Newspaper category. And Senior Voice writer Mackenzie Stewa...
Feeling squeezed by adult kids living with you? Or, maybe you’re okay with it. One thing is certain, you’re not the only ones in your situation. Living with Mom and Dad is now the most common living arrangement for young adults, according to the not-for-profit Pew Research Center. Remember when you were in high school and couldn’t wait to get out on your own? Maybe you planned to go to college and live in a dorm or get some roommates and have your own space? These days, the number of young people (age 18 to 34) who live with their paren...
Bring your sensitive personal and financial documents for secure shredding; turn in old, no-longer-used cell phones; learn about ways to improve your financial well-being, all for free at the annual “Secure Your ID Day and Financial Fitness Fair,” Oct. 8 at the Sears Mall in Anchorage. The event is presented by the Better Business Bureau along with sponsor partners Money Management International, GCI, NeighborWorks Home Ownership Center, Shred Alaska, Wells Fargo, KFQD, Anchorage Public Library and United Way. In the Sears Mall parking lot...
After meeting on July 26 to decide whether or not to put Ordinance 2014-24 on the Oct. 4 ballot, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly voted to move forward with the ordinance’s senior property tax exemption phase out plan. According to a borough brochure explaining the ordinance (a link to the brochure is published below), current eligible seniors are offered up to $350,000 in property tax exemptions. The Kenai Peninsula Borough is one of the few municipalities in Alaska to offer an additional $150,000 property tax exemption to seniors along w...
Rep. Diane Black, a Tennessee Republican congresswoman, and Earl Blumenauer, a Democratic congressman from Oregon, don’t agree on very much about health care. Both sit on the powerful House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee and both tend to vote on the opposite side of most health care issues. Black, a nurse by training, has called President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act an “abject failure,” which she argues was “built on a grand deception.” Black’s dislike of liberal health care policies is well known. She’s best known on Capitol Hill...
The Alaska Commission on Aging will hold its quarterly meeting Sept. 15. Due to budget cuts, the meeting will be held via videoconference and teleconference, available at sites listed below, or statewide via toll-free telephone. The meeting takes place 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and public comment is scheduled from 11:30 to 11:50 a.m. For more information, contact the host agency in your area (from the list below) or call the commission office in Juneau at 465-3250. Videoconference sites Anchorage Senior and Disabilities Services, 550 West 8th Ave.,...
Last March, the Senior Benefit program’s top tier beneficiaries – those who qualify for the program at the highest income levels allowed – saw their monthly payments drop from the program’s initial $125 to $47. As of Senior Voice press time for the April edition, March 29, legislators had voted to completely cut out the top tier funds for the program due to the state’s limited budget for the rest of FY16. However, funds were restored to the Senior Benefits program May 31, as well as other state funded programs that have been deeply impacted...
We face difficult financial and political challenges in Alaska, but our state legislature is dysfunctional. We need to do more than sit on the sidelines and complain that politicians aren’t doing their jobs. We need and can do more to fix our government. We can increase and empower our citizens so that, together, we transform our grievances into real solutions. Alaskans from across the state have started that transformation with the PFD Voter Registration ballot initiative. This is a common-sense, money-saving proposal that increases the n...
When Senior Voice ran a feature article in the June issue about my wife Wilma’s book, it brought us a gratifying response from a wide variety of Alaskan seniors. The article, by Dianne Barske, really made the connection between the book, “Four Years Below Zero,” and its intended audience. The article described Wilma’s experiences patrolling 12 hours a night, seven nights a week, on the Arctic section of the huge Trans-Alaska Pipeline construction project in the 1970s. It also told how Wilma was unable to complete her manuscript because of illn...
Alaska faces unparalleled fiscal challenges threatening the hard-won financial and personal security of our elders. In the midst of such challenges it is prudent to utilize a wide and diverse array of policy tools to limit and counteract the damage to our people and institutions. This is not the time to cut programs buttressing the social safety net, the elements of which are the guarantor of our common wealth. Unfortunately, our legislature has taken a different approach. In the course of the legislature’s past two sessions, we’ve wit...
Have you played any online games that promised to reduce cognitive decline? They may be fun to play but be aware that any health-related claims made by the companies may be unfounded. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently brought charges and settled with several companies that advertised false scientific claims that users would develop better cognitive health by playing their online games. Lumosity will pay $2 million in settling deceptive advertising charges (to be paid to customers who purchased the products) and Learning Rx will pay a...
There were a lot of moving parts to House Bill 13, says Michelle Kaelke, Finance and Licensing Supervisor at the Department of Fish and Game (DF&G). Last month, Senior Voice reported that the bill dealing with the DF&G’s senior licenses set out to raise the age requirement from 60 to 62 years of age and would require that licensees renew their license every three years. After going to print, aides from District 6 Rep. David Talerico’s office called to set the record straight. “The final draft of HB 137 decided not to raise the age from 60 to...
Have you reached the donut hole in Medicare coverage? If so then you know, it begins when you and your drug plan have spent a total of $3,310 on your medications. Then, you have to pay a higher share of medication costs till you reach the other side of the donut hole. Ouch. If you haven’t yet reached that point, there are ways Medicare advises people to slow their descent into the donut hole by keeping overall costs lower. • Ask your doctor to prescribe generic drugs if they are appropriate in your situation. • Find out if your local pharm...
The “grandparent scam” occurs in Alaska on a regular basis. It’s an impostor scam that has been around for years and has claimed many victims nationwide. The amount requested by the scammers usually runs into several thousand dollars, but one couple here in Alaska lost more than $75,000 to this scam. Here’s how it works The frantic phone call often comes late at night or early in the morning when a person may not be as cognizant. The scammer poses as the victim’s grandchild (or other family relative such as a niece or nephew) and often the...
Editor’s note: This press statement was received on May 27, 2016. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has introduced S.2989, the Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act, in honor and appreciation of the Merchant Mariners who served during World War II. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) is a co-sponsor. “Merchant Mariners were instrumental during World War II, providing valuable support transporting troops and vast quantities of war material needed to fight and win that war,” said Sen. Murkowski. “Their dedication and vital s...
Editor’s note: This press statement was received June 22, 2016. The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the long-term financial status of the Social Security Trust Funds. The combined asset reserves of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds are projected to become depleted in 2034, the same as projected last year, with 79 percent of benefits payable at that time. The Disability Insurance Trust Fund will become depleted in 2023, extended from last year’s estimate of...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Interagency Breakfast, sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, is an opportunity for all of the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The July meeting is July 13, hosted by Long Term Care Ombudsman Office. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group for more information on these events or to be added to our e-mail reminder list,...
Alaska’s food-growing season is kicking into high gear and Alaska farmers grow some of the best produce in the country, so now’s the time to pick up your coupons for locally-grown fruits and vegetables. The coupons come from the Senior Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program and can be used at local farmer’s markets around the state through Oct. 31. Each eligible senior receives five $5 coupons for a total of $25. The program issues the coupons to senior centers and other agencies, which pass them on to seniors age 60 or older who meet the program...
After meeting on June 21 to discuss Ordinance 2014-24, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly has proposed that the borough do away with the optional $150,000 senior property tax exemption as the senior population in the Kenai Peninsula increases. The state of Alaska requires that all municipalities offer senior citizens and disabled veterans a $150,000 tax exemption. The Kenai Peninsula Borough offers senior citizens an additional $150,000 tax exemption on top of that, meaning they do not pay taxes on the first $300,000 of their home’s assessed...
