BY SUZANNE KEENE
LANCASTER - With Medicare
paying less and less of soaring
medical and health care costs, it’s
a good idea to check your current
insurance policy and to review how
it will change when you reach
retirement.
“Medicare is cutting down on
everything they pay for,” says
Martha Forewood, a social worker
at St. Joseph Hospital in Lan
caster.
In her work at the hospital,
Forewood sees the problems that
arise when people fail to plan
ahead for ways of meeting health
care costs. “So many people come
in totally unprepared for the bills,”
she says.
Medicare is a broad program of
federal health insurance for
people age 65 and over, consisting
of two parts - basic hospital in
surance and voluntary medical
insurance.
Everyone who is eligible to
receive Social Security checks at
age 65 automatically receives
information about Medicare. The
basic hospital insurance part of
Medicare costs nothing, but the
medical insurance part is volun
tary and costs $14.60 per month.
Parents set example when coping with temper tantrums
LAFAYETTE, Ind. Are a
grade school child’s temper tan
trums spontaneous and un
controllable? Or are they a good
way to get an adult’s attention?
One of the most basic needs of
any person is the need for at
tention. Young children ask for it
directly when they say, “Watch
me! Watch me!” Older children
may be asking for attention by
throwing temper tantrums, ac
cording to Growing Up, the child
development newsletter for school
age children.
When a child loses something, or
feels lonely, hurt, or angry, he
wants someone to pay attention to
him. He wants the attention so
much he doesn’t care whether it is
positive (praise and en
couragement) or negative (an
angry reaction to a tantrum.)
Children often react to emotions
in an exaggerated way, too. They
may cry as loud when denied a
jut
Planning insurance coverage before retirement is wise
“Make sure you have both parts you are enrolled correctly in both
of Medicare,” Forewood suggests, parts.”
“If you don’t understand, call While Medicare does cover a
Social Security to make sure that wide variety of medical expenses,
snack as they would if they were
seriously hurt. They don’t realize
that crying when hurt is okay, but
crying as loud over not getting a
snack is not.
The best way to teach a child
about acceptable ways of getting
attention or showing emotion is by
a parent’s example. If a parent
reacts to a child’s temper tantrum
by screaming and yelling, that
teaches the child that rage and
anger are okay but it won’t
teach the child to handle the
problem. The parent who reacts to
a temper tantrum in a self
controlled, gentle way, on the other
hand, is teaching a child self
controlled, gentle behavior.
One of the most effective ways of
dealing with a child’s temper
tantrum is to ignore it. By not
getting the desired attention, the
child will eventually leam that
temper tantrums are not an ef
fective way to get one’s own way.
It may be difficult at times for
parents to ignore the tantrum
because of the noise and distur
bance it causes. At home, telling
the child to go to his room is one
good way to control the noise level.
When a temper tantrum is not
too severe, many children will
react favorably to a distraction
(for example, “Let’s make a list of
who will be coming to your next
birthday party,” or “Let’s get
ready to go to the store.”)
Children’s reactions can change
very rapidly, from hot to cold,
from temper tantrum to gentle,
loving behavior.
Children are constantly ex
perimenting with different ways of
reacting to situations. Temper
tantrums, if handled in a gentle,
positive, and consistent way, will
eventually taper off and the child
will have leamecj to control his
temper and his emotions.
it does not pay for everything.
Medicare pays only for services
determined to be medically
necessary, and then pays only a
“reasonable amount” for that
service.
“Their reasonable charges are
lower than most doctors’,”
Forewood warned. She said many
people do not realize that Medicare
won’t pay the entire hospital bill if
the charges are considered too
high for the services rendered.
For example, your doctor may
charge you $4OO for an operation,
but Medicare determines the
approved amount for that par
ticular operation to be $3OO. In this
case, you would eni up paying the
difference of $lOO.
This situation can be avoided if
your doctor accepts assignment.
What this means is that you make
previous arrangements with your
doctor to have him accept
Medicare’s approved amount as
full payment. Doctor’s are not
required to accept assignment, but
some do.
Forewood also warned that
people should be aware that
Medicare does not always pay for
nursing home care. “It’s really
specific what they pay for,” she
said.
Because Medicare does not pay
for everv heath care cost, it is
Biff VAtff
II Av a IKUMft
A New Look
At Yonr Own
Backyard
We’ve been enjoying spending
time in our backyard. Our goal is
to transform it from a neglected
jungle to a resting spot. So far, so
good. Bright new, green grass is
covering bald spots and begonias
are growing faster than the weeds!
The biggest joy however, has been
the chance to meet and get to know
the neighbors “over the back
fence”.
There is no better time than
summer for meeting people. A
favorite “Sesame Street” song
asks, “Who Are the People In Your
Neighborhood?” This July marked
one year in our new home, yet
there are many folks with whom
we have not made acquaintance.
Summertime seems to bring the
neighborhood alive with people
working in yards, taking walks and
riding bikes and it also provides
opportunities for meeting each
other. Exploring the neighborhood
may be an ideal idea for your
whole family from toddlers to
grandparents.
Begin by thinking about your
community. What do you already
know about? What would you like
to see and learn? Who would you
like to meet and leam about? So
often we take a vacation to explore
and miss the opportunities in our
own backyard.
Here are some things you might
want to explore with your family:
PEOPLE: How many neighbors
can you get to know better? Maybe
you should instigate a block party
(or mile party for those in the
country). How about the
librarians, station attendants,
important to review your current
policy to see how it will change
when you reach age 65 and how it
will supplement Medicare,
Forewood said.
If, after reviewing your in
surance policy, you decide you will
need additional coverage, it is
important to investigate the op
tions available and select the one
that will offer you the most for
your money. “You really should
investigate thoroughly before
getting into supplemental in
surance,” Forewood suggested.
If you feel unsure of a policy, you
might want to have someone you
trust review it before you buy. In
Lancaster County, the Office of
Aging offers this service,
Forewood said, and many counties
have similar organizations of
fering this service.
The time to do this, she urged, is
before you reach 65. Find out
before you retire if your current
coverage can be continued or
converted into a suitable Medicare
supplement policy when you reach
age 65.
While retirement may seem far
away, now is the time to plan
ahead for the health care costs that
may confront you in the future.
“The key is to think of it,”
Forewood said.
By Michelle S. Rodgers
Lancaster Extension
Home Economist
playground supervisors, and the
mailman? (I just met my mailman
this summer so there’s
progress). Take cupcakes to the
elderly couple on the comer and
see a friendship take shape.
FACILITIES: Are you making
use of the facilities in your own
neighborhood? Explore the trail
through the park, browse in that
little gift shop you’ve always
wanted to go into.
SERVICES: Most of us use the
local library, but it offers many
services in addition to loaning
books. Check out the possibilities.
Find out what services are offered
at the community center, youth
center or playground. What do the
churches offer in addition to
Sunday morning worship services?
ARCHITECTURE: Find in
teresting shapes and textures in
buildings. In our community, each
home has its own unique stain
glass door or window. It is great
fun to take a bike ride and discover
the beautiful windows and doors.
Maybe your children would enjoy
observing the variety in manhole
coverings and have the children do
crayon rubbings of them (except if
they are in the middle of the
street!) Do you know what kinds of
street lighting you have on your
block or what the neighbor’s fence
looks like?
You probably have the idea by
now. Your neighborhood can be
every bit as exciting as a trip to a
foreign country. “Who Are the
People In Your Neighborhood?”,
the Sesame Street song asks. The
question is answered in the last
line: “They’re the people that you
meet every day.”
P«on Slate la an affirmative action, equal
pportunlty, educational Inatltation.)