“The Boomer” is a column written for adults nearing retirement age and those already in their “golden years.” It will also promote reader interaction by posting e-mail responses and answering reader questions. E-mail your questions or topic ideas to thefoxboomer@gmail.com.

The open enrollment period for Medicare comes early this year, Oct. 15-Dec. 7, and now’s the time for beneficiaries to review their current plans and decide whether they need to make any plan changes and alter prescription coverage.

Close to 50 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare, and that number will continue to increase as more baby boomers turn 65. As boomers’ health-care needs and financial situations change from year to year, now is the time to make sure our coverage is adequate.

Navigating the offerings and coverage rules to find the right plan can be hard, but there are many resources at the federal and local level to help make the right choice.

I reached out to Robert Quinlan, an independent insurance agent/broker since 1986 in New Windsor, N.Y. to  review any changes and detail what boomers need to know about the Medicare 2013open enrollment season. Here is what he had to say:

Boomer: What is the open enrollment period for Medicare and when does it begin?

Quinlan: Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period is when people who are currently enrolled in Medicare can make certain changes to their plan benefits. The Open Enrollment Period starts on Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7.

Changes that are made during this period become effective Jan. 1, 2013. This period of time was once called the Annual Enrollment Period. Below is a list of changes that can be made during the Open Enrollment Period:

■Switch from Medicare Parts A and B to a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C – see below for more information about Medicare Advantage plans).

■Switch from a Medicare Advantage plan back to Medicare Part A and B

■Switch from one Medicare Advantage Plan to another Medicare Advantage plan

■Make changes in your Medicare Prescription drug plan (i.e. start a drug plan, drop coverage or move from one drug plan to another).

Boomer: What are the new taxes applicable to Medicare beginning in 2013?

Quinlan: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA ) has mandated two new Medicare related taxes that will begin after Dec. 31. The first tax is an additional Medicare tax on payroll for high earners. For single tax filers whose wages and other compensation exceed $200,000 ($250,000 for married filing jointly), there will be an additional Medicare tax of 0.9 percent on wages. Right now, taxpayers are paying 1.45% of wages towards Medicare and an equal percent matched by the employer. The good news (if you can say that) is this new tax will not be matched by the employer.

The second tax is also hits high earners (same income levels as above for the new payroll tax). High-income earners will be taxed more on their unearned income (investment income). The new tax will basically add 3.8% to their capital gains taxes.

Wealthy Americans will be facing double taxes to pay for Medicare – once on their wages and again on their investments’ capital gains. Here’s my tip: Boomers may want to take more capital gains this year by Dec. 31 to avoid the 2013 additional tax. But be sure to check with your tax advisor on these matters.

Boomer: What are the new Medicare services in 2013?

Quinlan: There are new preventive services available next year to include:

■Alcohol misuse counseling

■Cardiovascular disease counseling

■Depression screening

■Obesity screening and counseling

■Sexually transmitted infections screening and counseling

Another important area for change in 2013 is if you reach the ‘donut hole’ in your Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, you only have to pay 47.5% for covered brand-name drugs and 79% of the costs for generic drugs until you reach the end of the coverage gap. Remember that out of pocket expenses like your annual deductible (if you have one) coinsurances, copayments and what you pay in the coverage gap will count toward getting you out of the coverage gap. Your drug plan premium, unfortunately will not help you get out of the coverage gap.

Boomer: What are the Medicare Advantage Plans and what cutbacks are expected in these plans for 2013 and beyond?

Quinlan: Medicare offers consumers a choice of two insurance plans. One plan is called Original Medicare Part A for hospital insurance and Medicare Part B for medical insurance (mainly for doctor services.) The word “original” is here to explain Parts A and B have been in place since Medicare was started in 1965. The later alternative plan is called Medicare Plan C plan (also know as Medicare Advantage or MA plans). These plans are issued and managed by private insurance companies. They offer largely the same coverage of services under Medicare Plans A and B. These plans must also follow Medicare rules. They remain popular plans with seniors. Over 25% of Medicare eligible people today are enrolled in the MA plans.

Boomer: Why be insured under a Medicare Advantage Plan?

Quinlan: These MA plans offer extra services like vision, hearing, dental and wellness programs not found in Medicare Part A and B. Many insurance companies today are offering these plans with low or no premiums. No misprint here on the words ‘low’ or ‘no’ premiums. Medicare/federal government pays the insurance companies a fixed amount each month for your care. If you have a MA plan, you will not need a Medicare supplement plan. However, there may be out of pocket expenses when you need higher amounts of medical coverage. Some of the type of MA plans available today include HMO’s, PPO’s and Special Needs Plans for those who reside in a nursing home today.

Boomer: What are some of the changes in these Medicare Advantage plans?

Quinlan: PPACA has already called for cutbacks in funding to insurance companies for these plans.

Every boomer needs to investigate these plans today in their local area and compare the Medicare Advantage plan features and premiums to the alternative Medicare Parts A and B and a Medicare supplement plan (also called a Medigap plan). Do your homework each year between September and early October and remember that one size does not fit all for all times.

It’s also important for boomers to stay informed on the changes to their health care, follow the presidential and state elections to see how the candidates differ on Medicare today and into the future. We will all get there soon enough. We will want the best and affordable health insurance plans available.

If you are in your early 60s (or later) and you would like to know more about Medicare coverage, a good starting point is to get your copy of the 140-page Medicare publication, “Medicare & You- 2013.” You can get your copy by going here or call Medicare at 1-800-633-4227. People currently receiving Medicare coverage should get a new copy every year. This publication is always close at hand in my office and when I teach my health insurance classes.

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/10/04/boomers-guide-to-medicare-open-enrollement-season/#ixzz28Lwtpuc0

The goal of both campaigns is to accuse the other of weakening Medicare — something independent experts say is inevitable if the program’s unsustainable growth is to be contained.

“The truth is that no one can preserve Medicare as we know it,” says Bob Laszewski, a health care consultant. “There isn’t a prayer that your father’s Medicare will be around in 10 years.”

Here’s what the proposals would really do — and what they would not.

By Jeffrey Phelps

Mitt Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan hold a rally in Waukesha, Wis., on Sunday.

The Romney-Ryan plan

Q:Obama says Romney wants to “end Medicare as we know it.” Is that true?

A: Not really. The original budget plan written by Ryan and passed by House Republicans would turn Medicare into a “premium support” plan. Seniors would have a fixed government subsidy with which to purchase private insurance — but the new version of that plan includes an option to retain traditional Medicare coverage.

Q: Does Ryan’s plan affect people on Medicare today, as the latest online adby the Obama campaign implies by showing seniors in a seated exercise class and referencing “Florida’s massive retirement population”?

A: No. It would not begin until 2023. That means today’s seniors, plus those 55 and older, would be exempted from the new system. And by the time there’s a deal on any plan, a 10-year exemption likely would include people younger than 55 today.

A: Yes, by 2034, but the eligibility age for Social Securityalready is headed to 67. Medicare is in worse financial shape than Social Security. In last year’s deficit-reduction talks, Obama was willing to consider the higher age in exchange for higher taxes on the wealthy.

Q: Would the Ryan plan affect rich and poor alike?

A: No. Like Obama’s plan, the Republican plan includes higher Medicare premiums for wealthier beneficiaries. And it includes extra government subsidies for lower-income beneficiaries.

Q: Would private insurance options be more expensive?

A: Yes, because the money seniors would get to put toward their insurance would be capped, while medical costs would not. But the figure used as recently as Wednesday by Obama while campaigning in Iowa — that seniors would pay an average of $6,400 more annually — is based on the Congressional Budget Office‘s analysis of an older version of Ryan’s plan.

The Obama health care law

Q: Does the Obama plan cut about $716 billion from Medicare, as the Romney campaign argues it does?

A: Not exactly. There are no cuts in benefits, and, in fact, seniors have already seen preventive services, such as annual exams and cancer screenings, with no co-pays. Instead, the savings comes by decreasing provider payments. Ryan’s plan would repeal the health care law but keep the $716 billion in savings in place. Romney says he favors “putting that $716 billion back.”

Q:Does Romney oppose these cuts?

A: He says he does — but Ryan’s budget includes them.

Q:What about Medicare Advantage? Do those benefits decrease, as the Romney campaign has claimed?

A: No. Payments to Medicare Advantage insurers created to encourage participation will shrink to levels of traditional Medicare payments. Insurers must provide all benefits to participate in Medicare Advantage.

Q: Will Medicare Part B average monthly premiums increase under Obama’s plan, more than doubling to $247 by 2014, as claimed in an anonymous chain e-mail circulating again?

A: No. The premium fell in 2012 to $99.90, down $14.50 from 2011. Future premiums have yet to be figured because they’re based on Medicare costs, but Medicare trustees predict average premiums won’t top $200 until 2020.

And most Americans balk at the idea of the government making people carry insurance or pay a penalty on their federal tax returns.

The effects of the nation’s health care law, upheld Thursday by the Supreme Court, are gigantic and growing. Some questions and answers about it:

Q: What does the ruling mean for me?

A: The ruling affects virtually every American. Obama’s health care law tells almost everyone they must be insured and makes sure that coverage will be available to them even if they are already ill or need hugely expensive care. It helps the poor and many middle-class people afford the cost. And it requires insurers to provide certain basic benefits, like preventive care without co-pays from the patient.

Q: What did the Supreme Court say?

A: The court upheld almost all of the law, including the most disputed part: the requirement that virtually all Americans have health insurance or pay a penalty. The court said the penalty is essentially a tax, and that’s why the government has the power to impose it.

The ruling somewhat limits the plan to expand the Medicaid insurance program for the poor, a joint effort of the federal government and states. It says the government may not withhold a state’s entire Medicaid allotment if it doesn’t participate in the expansion.

Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s four liberal justices – Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor – to form the 5-4 majority.

Q: What does the decision mean for the November election?

A: It’s a big win for Obama, dousing accusations that his signature legislation was an unconstitutional power grab. But Republicans hope the court’s ruling will fire up their supporters and inflame popular opposition to the law.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and GOP congressional candidates promise to repeal the law if voters put them in power.

Q: What’s the law done so far?

A: Some parts, like the elimination of co-payments for preventive care, are already in effect. Young adults can stay on their parents’ insurance up to age 26. Insurers can’t deny coverage to children with health problems. Limits on how much policies will pay out to each person over a lifetime are eliminated. And hundreds of older people already are saving money through improved Medicare prescription benefits.

Q: What else is coming?

A: Unless Congress changes the law, starting in 2014 almost everyone will be required to be insured or pay a penalty. Subsidies will help people who can’t afford coverage. Most employers will face fines if they don’t offer coverage for their workers. Newly created insurance markets will make it easier for individuals and small businesses to buy affordable coverage. And Medicaid will be expanded to cover more low-income people.

Insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging those people more. They won’t be able to charge women more than men, either. During the transition to 2014, a special program for people with pre-existing health problems helps these people get coverage.

The law is expected to bring coverage to about 30 million of the estimated 50 million uninsured people in the U.S.

Overall, more than 9 in 10 of the eligible population – citizens and legal residents – will be covered.

Q: Why will some people still go without insurance?

A: It’s estimated that more than 20 million people will still be without coverage, including illegal immigrants, people who don’t sign up and choose to face the penalties instead and those who can’t afford coverage even with the subsidies. That number could be higher, depending on whether any states decline the Medicaid expansion.

Q: Do people like the law?

Not much. Some parts of the law have proven popular. But the individual insurance mandate is widely disliked.

Each time The Associated Press has asked in polls, more than 8 in 10 Americans have said the government should not have the right to require everyone to buy health insurance.

And the public has tilted against the law as a whole over the two years since it was passed. About half opposed it and a third were in favor in an AP-GfK poll shortly before the Supreme Court ruled.

Many elderly Americans are worried about the cuts in reimbursements paid to hospitals and insurers by Medicare, which have already started and will grow deeper.

Q: Does the insurance mandate affect many people?

A: Relatively few, because more than 8 in 10 Americans already have insurance coverage.

Employers face their own mandate. Those with 50 or more workers will be fined if they don’t provide insurance for their employees, and opponents argue that will cost jobs at a time of high unemployment.

Q: Why impose a mandate that’s unpopular and won’t require any action by most people?

A: The mandate is designed to produce extra income from more healthy, paying customers so insurers can to hold down costs for everyone. Without the mandate, insurance companies probably would find it too expensive to comply with requirements to accept customers with pre-existing health problems and not charge them extra. Companies sought to control their costs by cherry-picking the healthy as their customers.

Q: Is the penalty for the uninsured a tax?

A: It will be collected along with income tax each year by the Internal Revenue Service.

But Obama and Democrats have avoided using the dreaded “t-word.” Instead, they referred to it as a penalty for failing to act responsibly and focused publicly on other legal justifications. Before the Supreme Court, however, the Obama administration also argued that the law was constitutional under the federal government’s power to levy taxes.

The court rejected the Obama administration’s other two legal arguments for the law but accepted the tax one.

Still, most of the 20 million or more without insurance will not be docked. By 2016, about 4 million people will pay the penalty, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated. They would pay $695 for each uninsured adult or 2.5 percent of family income, up to $12,500 a year.

The IRS can’t prosecute violators or place liens against them, however. Its only enforcement option may be withholding money from refunds.

Q: What other new taxes are in the law?

A: An assortment, including: Individuals making more than $200,000 a year and couples earning above $250,000 will get new payroll taxes. These people are also hit with a 3.8 percent tax on investment income. Medical-device makers will pay a 2.3 percent excise tax, which probably will get passed along to patients. Taxpayers will have to spend more on unreimbursed medical care before they can claim itemized deductions.

Q: What are Republicans saying?

“Obamacare was bad law yesterday. It’s bad law today,” Romney said.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Obama deceived Americans by denying that the penalty on the uninsured amounts to a tax. The ruling marks “a fresh start on the road to repeal,” he declared.

The Republican-led House already has voted for repeal – and its leaders plan to repeat that vote next month – but repeal is stuck there so long as Obama’s in the White House and Democrats lead the Senate.

Q: What does Obama say?

A: He says the decision upholds the fundamental principle that in the wealthiest nation on earth, no one should be ruined financially by an illness or accident. Obama called it “a victory for people all over this country whose lives will be more secure because of this law.”

Q: If the law survives in Congress, will the health care issue finally be put to rest?

A: No, there’s more to do. Although the law is supposed to help curb costs, the nation’s spending on health care already is enormous and sure to climb as the baby boom generation ages.

Skyrocketing budget deficits will force lawmakers to look for ways to save on the Medicare program for seniors and Medicaid for the low-income and disabled, and that means painful choices ahead.

There update from the website is as follows:

2012-06-07
BREAKING NEWS 2pm, The divers are now down and investigating the circle and reports from the ship say they are really amazed. There is definitely something unusual hiding at the seabed – a Mystery Beneath. More information and pictures will be released next week.

This may be the proof everyone has been waiting for…

Free Cell Phone & Service

This is not a gimmick or a leader to get you to signup for another plan. President Obama passed a bill allowing low income individuals and families to receive a free cell phone and service if you currently participate in medicaid, food stamps or you have been determined to be disabled by social security.

The services is through Safelink Wireless where you can apply online at www.safelinkwireless.com. The phone is a Trac Phone which is a rugged cell phone. You receive 250 minutes each month for free and the phone is free.

The following are the specifications of the service and phone:

SAFELINK WIRELESS® service is a program for Income eligible households provided by TracFone Wireless, Inc. In order to participate in the SAFELINK WIRELESS® service, persons must meet certain eligibility requirements set by each State where the service is to be provided. These requirements are based on a person’s participation in a state or Federal support programs or by meeting the Income Poverty Guidelines as defined by the U.S. Government. SAFELINK WIRELESS® service is limited to one person per household.

TracFone Wireless is America’s largest “No-Contract” cellular service provider in the U.S. with over 18.8 million subscribers. TracFone Wireless is a subsidiary of América Móvil S.A.B. de C.V. (“AMX”) (BMV: AMX; NYSE: AMX; Nasdaq: AMOV; LATIBEX: XAMXL), the 5th largest cell phone company in the world and the largest in all of the Americas with more than 236 million wireless subscribers. América Móvil has been named “Technology Hot 100” company by Business Week for the past two years in a row.

TracFone Wireless’ formula for success is simple – exclusive focus on prepaid cell phones and service. Unlike most prepaid providers, TracFone Wireless does not require its customers to enter into a service contract. TracFone Wireless customers enjoy the freedom TracFone has to offer – No Bills, No Contracts, No Surprises – you are in control. Prepaid is all TracFone Wireless does and with over 18.8 million subscribers, TracFone Wireless does it better than anybody else.

TracFone Wireless believes that cell phone ownership is a right and an important tool for individual success in today’s world. Everyone should have a cell phone without the need for a contract or a high credit rating. People should have the right to always know what their cell phone service will cost and no one should have to pay more than they want or can afford. TracFone Wireless believes in making the cost to own & maintain a cell phone as low as possible and TracFone Wireless never charges extra fees to activate your service.

TracFone Wireless is glad to lead the movement in the U.S. to make cell phone service available to everyone. TracFone Wireless invests hundreds of millions of dollars every year to reduce the prices of our cell phones and make them affordable for all.

Go online and apply today…

The first signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia among older people may be physical rather than mental, new research suggests.

The findings are a strong indicator that physical and mental performance among the elderly are interconnected, researcher Eric B. Larson, MD, tells WebMD.

“If we expect the earliest sign of dementia to be subtle changes in cognition, we are probably going to be wrong,” he says.

Mind-Body Connection

The study by Larson and colleagues at the University of Washington and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System included 2,288 older people followed for six years.

All the participants were members of a Seattle-based managed care cooperative, and all were aged 65 or older at study entry. None was diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease at enrollment in the trial, based on standardized cognitive testing, which was repeated every two years.

Physical function testing was also conducted — evaluating for walking, standing balance, hand grip, and the time needed to stand from being seated in a chair repeated five times.

At the beginning of the study, people with lower baseline physical-performance scores also had lower baseline cognitive test scores. During the six years of follow-up, 319 study participants developed dementia, with 221 of these having a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Each 1-point decline in physical-performance score was associated with an increased risk for developing dementia — with 16 points representing the best physical function and 0 representing the worst. People who scored higher than 10 were far less likely to develop dementia than those with scores of 10 or lower.

Gait slowing and poor balance were more common in people later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or some other dementia. Poor handgrip seemed to be associated with later dementia in people who already showed early signs of mild cognitive decline.

Can Exercise Delay Alzheimer’s?

The new study, supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, is published in the May 22 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. In another study published earlier this year, Larson and colleagues concluded that regular exercisemay reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s among older adults.

Older people in the earlier study who reported exercising three times a week or more developed Alzheimer’s a third less often during the six-year-old study than people who exercised less.

Larson says an older person who does not exercise and is declining physically should be encouraged to become more physically active.

“Many people just sit down and accept the inevitable, and if you accept the inevitable you will get it,” he says.

Dallas Anderson, PhD, of the National Institute on Aging, agrees that regular exercise is important for the elderly for a host of reasons. But he adds that it is not yet clear if delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s is one of them.

Anderson is program director for studies into the epidemiology of dementia with the Dementias of Aging branch of the NIA.

It has been suggested that regular exercise protects against mental decline by improving blood flow to the brain.

That may be true, Anderson tells WebMD. But it may also be true that older people tend to become less physically active with advancing mental decline. So instead of regular exercise being protective against dementia, it may just be a sign that mental function has not been impaired.

“In a sense the dementia process could be causing people to exercise less,” Anderson says.

He also points out that older people who exercise regularly may have other habits that could help reduce their Alzheimer’s risk.

“They are probably more disciplined,” he says. “They may eat a better diet or be more socially engaged. They may be doing any number of things that seem to be positive.”