See America's best-kept autumn vacation secret - attention leaf-peepers

Spectacular autumn foliage will peak in Western Pennsylvania near the end of the second to third week in October. Combine your leaf-peeping with a stay in Pittsburgh. See why President Obama wanted to show-off Pittsburgh to the top 20 world leaders at the G-2- Summit late this September. Pittsburgh has been named one of the cleanest, most vibrant, humming cites in the world. Unemployment is far below the national average. The green economy is a model for clean-energy production. Don't pass up this gem! More

<<<<< Banks Bridge, New Wilmington, PA. Located 45 miles north of Pittsburgh. Photographed by www.SeniorArk.com editor.  More photos

SEN. SANDERS (I-Vermont, caucuses with D's)) HAS MADE PROPOSAL TO SAVE COST OF LIVING INCREASE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY RECIPIENTS
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October 17, 2009 Due to the economic recession, Social Security trustees have projected that there will be no cost of living allowance (COLA) increase, which is tied to an inflation index, for 2010 and 2011. For many recipients, the lack of an adjustment will mean that their monthly checks will actually go down, because Medicare prescription drug payments deducted from Social Security are scheduled to increase next year. "Faced with these realities, it would simply be unacceptable for seniors on fixed incomes to not receive additional income in the coming year, something that hasn't happened in over three decades," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said in a statement. On Thursday September 17, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the "Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act," legislation that would provide Social Security recipients a one-time payment of $250 next year. The legislation Sanders introduced in the Senate and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) offered in the House of Representatives would apply the Social Security payroll tax on household incomes above $250,000 and below $359,000 in 2010. Under current law, only the first $106,800 of earned income is subject to the payroll tax. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) also introduced a $150 one- time payment bill last week, H.R. 3536 The last time there was no Social Security COLA was in 1975.

Uninformed comment of the month:

Heard at a recent town-hall:

"DON'T LET GOVERNMENT TAKE OVER MEDICARE !!!!!"

Sorry, it has already happened---in 1965. Medicare was created by, regulated by, and run by our government. It is a single payer public system that has enhanced and saved the lives of millions of SENIORS for 44 years. Both Social Security and Medicare were widely  opposed by some, because "It would turn our country into socialists." I see.

IF YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND A CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

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How many times have you called a companies service phone line and found that the rep. can barely speak English? Once with a major mortgage company it was so bad I demanded to speak with someone who spoke English. Right at that moment I broke the code, the secret password for customer service. 

Come to find out that every American company using overseas operators must transfer you to an American rep. by saying....... 
"I want to speak to a representative in America ".  (Don't take no for an answer on this)
 This was confirmed by the American rep. that they must transfer you after that request. I've tried it on a half a dozen major companies including cable, bank, phone and mortgage companies. It works every time and I actually get my issues taken care of.

KAISER STUDY: PART D HAS BECOME MORE EXPENSIVE AND LESS ACCESSIBLE
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Medicare's Part D prescription drug benefit has always been wrought with loopholes, and according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation study, this coverage has eroded over time, with
premiums and cost-sharing requirements increasing. Beginning in 2006, Medicare has provided patients with private plan options to receive their prescription drugs. However, since that time, there has been an overwhelming increase in spending. The average premium, as well as the average cost sharing for a one-month supply of brand-name drugs, has increased by 35%. The doughnut hole remains, and there are fewer plans available to low-income beneficiaries who are eligible for additional subsidies. We are seeing the inevitable results of insurance companies having too big a role. This system MUST BE REFORMED, and is a harbinger of what universal healthcare might look like if Congress and the President allow the insurance industry to control it - - as they have controlled Part D.

BEWARE DELL COMPUTER ADS ***********************************************************

eniorArk.com needs a new computer for our day-to-day publishing. As you know, we have been a not-for-profit, Senior Citizen service site. So, when we buy, we shop----very carefully. After a week of watching sales and offers, we decided that one offered in a Dell ad would do the job, and it was offered with free shipping. So we went to their web site to find our computer. It was well hidden, and we never did find it. We did find much more expensive versions, but not this one. So, we called them to order it. Things went smoothly in the order, and we did order a slight upgrade in RAM memory. All was set, we thought. The representative began to review our order, and said, "And we will be adding $39.99 for shipping." "No way," I said. "Your ad reads---in a red box--- at the top of the page, "FREE SHIPPING on all electronics and accessories over $129 before taxes and fees." Our purchase was $475.00, so we were clearly over the $129 threshold. "I'm sorry sir, but Dell does not consider computers to be electronics." Never mind that the offer was posted on a page offering ONLY computers. Never mind that the first three pages of a four page ad contained only computers. Dell does not consider computers to be electronics. They must be alone in the world in thinking that computers are not electronics.

I cancelled my order. We do not need to put up with such bait-and-switch advertising. How many of us would say, "Oh---OK, add the $39.99" when told that there is a shipping charge because Dell does not consider computers to be electronics. They are counting on us to do that. But if we say no enough times, companies like this will provide more honest advertising. Until then---say NO, NO, NO.

ALLIANCE FOR RETIRED AMERICANS - - MISGUIDED

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Every Friday I get what is called the "ARA Friday Alert" from the Alliance for Retired Americans. Their lead article today is quoted fully in blue immediately below this paragraph.

"The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently established stricter rules for private insurance companies, effectively cutting subsidies to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans by up to 5%. Currently, the government overpays MA plans an average 14% more per beneficiary than for traditional fee-for-service Medicare. However, according to The Wall Street Journal, under the new regulations, MA plans cannot charge low-income and sick patients more than traditional Medicare, must explain what is covered in the Part D "doughnut hole" coverage gap, and will face extra scrutiny if patients' annual out-of-pocket costs are not capped at $3,400 or less. The changes are designed to allow consumers to more easily compare options and costs. Medicare officials said they would try to eliminate plans with fewer than ten enrollees that are similar to other plans and make it hard for seniors to compare. Also changing: charges for hospitalizations, outpatient services and other services often associated with chronic illnesses - services for which MA plans have been particularly likely to charge patients more than traditional Medicare would. However, many industry experts say beneficiaries enrolled in MA plans will likely face increased premiums or fewer benefits next year. "The Alliance welcomes the changes," said Edward Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. "Insurance companies will no longer be able to use their government subsidies to unfairly treat sick and disadvantaged seniors."

SeniorArk has agreed with many of the Alliance's positions taken on behalf of retired workers. But they have gone far astray on this one. Millions of Americans will pay increased premiums for private Medicare Advantage plans as a result of this move. Premiums may increase by $30 to $60 per month per participant. And the Medicare Advantage plans that now offer coverage through the donut hole, may well be tempted to drop it. And, if one leaves the Medicare Advantage program and returns to "traditional Medicare", similar coverage will require very expensive medi-gap policies, again hitting seniors between the eyes. The Alliance for Retired Americans, and my liberal friends---and I do mean friends--- in Congress, didn't think this one through, and they have failed us.

HOW ABOUT A LITTLE SPRING PROJECT?

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Quickly build a habitat for your feathered neighbors. The 2 SeniorArk Maxwell birdhouses do  not yet have any residents, but we are hopeful. We used two empty 34 ounce plastic Maxwell house coffee containers. The spray paint is from discount store "Ollies", $.99. Everything else was cobbled together from the basement containers---you know, the ones with screws, wire and such. We sprayed the container with two coats of flat exterior deep gray/green paint. The entry hole is 1 1/4". We also drilled 1/4 inch holes at the bottom to drain any water that enters, and 1/4" holes high on the back for ventilation. We placed some broken twigs on the bottom to flatten it out. If you get a family in yours, please let us know, and we will do the same.

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 SeniorArk Editorial – Robert Fassbach

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I am bursting with pride for our new President, Barack Obama.

For most of my 66 years I have watched the political scene. My first presidential campaign memory was 1952. Over the years, good candidates have won and lost. They came with high hopes and delivered, and some have not. Some presidents entered office in quiet, good times, others in the midst of war, recession, or inflation. But in my memory, no chief executive has been served the buffet of challenges faced by Mr. Obama. And few have appeared so anxious to tackle them. This man has rolled up his sleeves, and in a mere 78 days has plunged into deep and troubled water. We are at war on two fronts, and nearly three if you count drug-lords on our Mexican border. Emerging nations are challenging us with rockets and nuclear programs. We are in the midst of the deepest financial crisis since the great depression of the 1930's. Stock markets and retirement funds have lost 50% of their value. Banks are failing, and I mean the big ones. The housing market is in crisis, and prices have dropped 19% from January 2008 to January 2009 alone. Businesses are closing because they can no longer get credit for their day-to-day operations, while demands for their products have plummeted. Unemployment is over 8% nationally, and by momentum may be heading for 10%. An America that was trusted and relied upon by the world for over 200 years is now viewed with suspicion.

Enter Barack Obama, a young black man from Illinois. Not a man of privilege or wealth. Not one who came from power, but with powerful hope, and powerful ideas. There is no doubt that an electrical charge of excitement has shot through America, and the world. Will this man be a pivotal character in American and world history? Will he deliver?  We shall see. But I have a hunch that we have elected the right man for the right time. He reaches out to disparate factions in our country, and around the world, something we have not seen for some time. And it is time. The world is responding, resoundingly.

The photo included in this article was taken on April 1, 2009 at the meeting of the G-20 in London. It is of Obama reaching out to shake the hand of a world leader. So symbolic. I was taken by the photo, and it inspired my article.

I am so proud of Barack Obama, and wish him great success in what appears to be an almost impossible task. Our well-being as Seniors will depend upon it.

HOUSE PASSES THREE BILLS TO HELP SENIORS
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  Two bills designed to aid senior citizens were passed by voice vote in the House on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. The first measure, H.R. 632, would create a national "Silver Alert" for missing seniors, similar to the "Amber Alert" network used to find missing children. Introduced by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), the bill would authorize grants to states and public or nonprofit groups to develop the program and maintain a national list of missing adults. The second, H.R. 908, was introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) to reauthorize funding for the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program. A third bill addressing the needs of seniors passed on Wednesday by a vote of 397-25 (Roll Call No. 62). H.R. 448, introduced by Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), would create positions in local prosecutors' and courts' offices to handle cases involving elder abuse or neglect and establish a new national organization to aid those offices. The bill calls for the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a report to Congress after studying state laws regarding the exploitation of seniors, and would allow state and local law enforcement to receive training and other support.

BILL TO LET MEDICARE NEGOTIATE LOWER DRUG PRICES INTRODUCED IN HOUSE
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January 31, 2009   On Monday January 26, Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR) introduced the Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act of 2009 (H.R. 684), a bill to create Medicare-run prescription drug plans to compete with the private plans offered by Medicare Part D. The bill would also require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to directly negotiate the price of Part D drugs with pharmaceutical companies. In a conference call discussing the bill on Tuesday, Berry and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) noted the proposed plans are modeled on similar ones offered by the VA, which has negotiated drug prices 20% to 30% lower than Medicare Part D coverage. If half of current Part D beneficiaries switched to the government-run plan, savings could add up to as much as $20 billion a year for the next 10 years. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is introducing similar legislation, S.330, in the Senate. Prescription drugs are increasingly difficult for seniors to afford. We need a prescription drug plan that benefits seniors, not insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

TRANSITION TO DIGITAL TELEVISION IN LIMBO
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Just a few weeks before the scheduled February 17 switch to digital television, some members of Congress are drafting legislation to provide more funding for the converter box coupon program and delay the transition by up to three months. In five weeks, broadcast television stations will shift from analog signals to digital programming. While consumers with digital TV sets or cable or satellite subscriptions will not need to make any changes, those with older analog TV sets will need a converter box to receive the new signals. However, the $1.34 billion federal program to offset the cost of the converter boxes with $40 coupons has reached its funding limit. The agency distributing the vouchers cannot hand out new ones until the already-issued coupons expire, and officials are worried that people on the waiting list may not receive them in time for the transition. The Commerce Department estimates 2 million consumers are currently waiting for vouchers, but that the list could grow to as many as 5 million people. Several members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have argued that any delay will worsen consumer confusion.

WALL STREET CHAOS SHOWS DANGERS OF SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZATION
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The past three months' historic turmoil on Wall Street - - massive drops in the stock market, the collapse of the giant Lehman Brothers and Wachovia firms, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, the government bailout of giant AIG Insurance, and now the throwing of a massive amount of your cash to keep the rest of the system from imploding - - serve as compelling reminders of the dangers of privatizing Social Security. As advocated by President Bush and Senator John McCain, Social Security privatization would reduce the Social Security Trust Fund, and allow workers  to create private accounts tied to the roulette wheel of the stock market. "When you look at what is happening on Wall Street, is this really where you want to put your Social Security savings?  Workers who retired in 2002 would have lost 22% of their retirement savings under privatization plans being considered.

According to the Associated Press, the Wall Street turmoil has left John McCain scrambling to explain why the fundamentals of the U.S. economy remained, in his opinion, strong. It has also left him "defending his support for privately investing Social Security money in the same markets that had tanked earlier in the month." The Republican presidential nominee says all options must be considered to stave off insolvency for Social Security, and top McCain advisers say that includes so-called personal retirement accounts like those President Bush pushed in 2005 but abandoned in the face of Democratic opposition. "If the economy's recent struggles have proven anything to Americans, it is that 'personal retirement accounts' like the ones President Bush attempted and failed to institute in 2005 are unsafe and unreliable for our country's seniors. But John McCain has yet to accept this reality."

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals

Super Bowl XLIII

Steelers 27 -Cardinals 23

(MAY WE CELEBRATE JUST ONE MORE DAY?)

Today's Stories:

In Tight Spot, Steelers’ Holmes Keeps Feet Planted

New York Times, United States - February 2, 2009
Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes had nine catches for 131 yards, including a 6-yard reception for the winning score against the Cardinals on Sunday ...

SeniorArk is headquartered 45 miles north of Pittsburgh. We have tried to remain impartial all week, but today must say, WAY TO GO STEELERS!

MARGARET AND HELEN ***********************************************************

Margaret and Helen are two OCTOGENARIANS who have been best friends for sixty years. They have created a discussion type blog so like-minded folks can express their opinion. Nearly 700,000 have. Helen says, "My name is Helen Philpot. I am 82 years old.  My grandson taught me how to do this so that I could “blog” with my best friend Margaret Schmechtman who I met in college almost 60 years ago.  I have three children with my husband Harold.  Margaret has three dogs with her husband Howard.  I live in Texas and Margaret lives in Maine."

Check them out, and have a few laughs.

MEDICARE PART "B" PREMIUM WILL NOT GO UP IN 2009, COLA WILL GO UP.
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For the first time since 2000, the standard monthly premium for Medicare will not increase next year, the federal government announced Friday.

SIGNS OF PROGRESS SEEN LONG AFTER STROKE OCCURS

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New York Times 
Doctors have commonly agreed that after a few months of therapy, stroke patients have made about as much progress as they are going to. But researchers have found that even years after suffering a stroke, some patients may see significant improvement in their ability to walk if they are given a form of physical therapy that uses a treadmill. Read entire article