ATTENTION: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We are looking for volunteers and need your help! This month, our office will be hosting two Thanksgiving Turkey Drives in District 35 – one in Broward and another in Miami-Dade. We are seeking volunteers to help us distribute turkeys and canned goods to the families of District 35. If you or anyone else you know is interested in volunteering, please click the link below to sign up:
Thanksgiving Turkey Drive with The Fresh Church (Broward)
Date: Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021
Event Time: 2PM – 5PM
Volunteer Shifts: 1:30PM to 5:15 PM
Event Address: 2201 SW 42nd Ave, West Park, FL 33023
Open Season is here! Postal Service retirees who have already elected to participate in a FEHB plan may change their health benefits or enroll in new plans starting Monday, November 8, 2021 through Monday, December 13, 2021.
USPS is offering a nationwide Virtual Benefits Fair with participating Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB) carriers. The fair provides an opportunity to engage with healthcare provider booths, attend webinars, and download health plan materials from your personal computer or mobile device. In addition to the FEHB health plan carriers, representatives from the USPS Health Benefits Plan, Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP), Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, Flexible Spending Accounts, Medicare, Social Security Administration, Thrift Savings Plan, and various educational partners, will be in attendance.
Annuitants can participate in live event days to speak with experts on four dates:
The Postal Service is also offering educational webinars on Zoom specifically for retirees throughout Open Season, during the following dates and times:
Phone Number:
503-336-1236
or 952-229-5070
Meeting ID: 1612375953
Password: 169698
Keeping Posted has additional tools to help you prepare, including FAQs, informational videos, Medicare options, and a link to CHECKBOOK’S Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees. CHECKBOOK enables you to make side-by-side comparisons of FEHB plans, so that you can evaluate services and costs, including premiums, copays, and deductibles.
Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Premiums are changing!
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is announcing changes in premium rates for certain Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) categories. These include changes to premium rates for Employee Basic Insurance, Option A (most age bands), Option B (most age bands), Option C (most age bands), and Post-Retirement Basic Insurance. These rates are effective October 1, 2021 and will be first reflected in your November 1st, 2021 annuity payment.
As a reminder, you can view or print a copy of your annuity payment statement by using the OPM Retirement Services, Services Online platform located at www.servicesonline.opm.gov and entering your claim number and password. If you have forgotten your password, it’s easy to request another one. If you have an email address associated with your Services Online account, simply select the forgot password link from the login page to use our automated password reset system. Please visit www.opm.gov/support/retirement/ for help and more information about your federal retirement benefits.
Grab your lunch and join us on Facebook every Monday at 12 p.m. for a virtual Lunch n Learn.
Get the facts and learn about the risk factors of Breast Cancer.
Federal Benefits Open Season
(Federal Employees Health Benefits and Federal Employees Dental & Vision Insurance Programs) November 8, 2021 through December 13, 2021
This is the only notification you will receive regarding Open Season.
If you are satisfied with your current health plan, you do not need to do anything.
It’s quick and easy to request health benefit changes and plan information.
For information on the Federal Employees Dental & Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) visit the secure enrollment website www.benefeds.com or call 1-877-888-3337, TTY 1-877-889-5680.
For more information on Open Season or health care reform legislation, visit www.opm.gov/insure.
As Florida becomes U.S. epicenter of covid-19, it reports a wrong death count
Florida recorded more coronavirus cases this week than California, Texas, New York and Illinois combined, a Palm Beach Post analysis of state and federal data shows. The state logged 73,199 more infections in this week’s state Department of Health report. That’s the biggest one-week surge since Jan. 27.
California, Texas, New York and Illinois all together logged 73,116 new infections in the seven days leading up to Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The state took hours longer than usual on Friday to publish its weekly update to inform the public about pandemic statistics. And the late report contained an error in its death tally. Read More
The Florida Legislature has declared war on direct democracy
The Legislature has had it with intrusion on its power by the people of Florida.
This past session, lawmakers adopted Senate Bill 1890, sponsored by southwest Florida state Sen. Ray Rodrigues. It is a severe measure designed to shut down citizen petition gathering for constitutional amendments by limiting the financial contributions that are the oxygen of political movements.
This latest restriction imposes a cap of $3,000 on contributions to committees working to place a constitutional amendment before the voters or opposing a proposed amendment, is being challenged in federal court. Read More
Conflicting school mask guidance sparks confusion
Conflicting mask recommendations and orders from all levels of government and advocacy groups have emerged over the past few weeks, flustering the public as back-to-school season approaches.
Confusion is mounting over whether children should wear masks in school and whether their vaccination status should play a role in any guidance ahead of next month, when many schools plan to fully reopen for in-person learning.
President Biden addressed the debate this week, saying during a Wednesday town hall that he expects the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to urge unvaccinated students to wear masks in schools and to continue to advise vaccinated students that they don’t need masks. Read More
Medicare Anniversary events are being planned in several regions around the state. Keep and eye on your inbox for information as announcements are released.
56th Anniversary of Medicare Brings Fight to Lower Drug Prices into High Gear
Americans continue to pay the highest prices in the industrialized world for prescription drugs, and as Medicare’s 56th anniversary approaches on July 30, the pharmaceutical industry is spending millions to protect their sky-high profits.
More than 54 million seniors rely on Medicare for guaranteed, quality health coverage, and while the program is highly regarded, seniors are still struggling to afford their prescription drugs. A new analysis found that women on Medicare spent an average of $6,175 a year on out-of-pocket health care costs while men spent $5,375, much of it on prescription medications.
“Lower drug prices are an essential part of retirement security, and there is no reason for them to be this high. We know that if Medicare were allowed to negotiate lower prices, the way that the Veterans Administration does today, it would save $450 billion over the next ten years,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Seniors are bearing the brunt of these costs and they cannot afford to continue paying these exorbitant prices.”
The Nevada, Ohio and Oregon Alliance chapters have already held Medicare birthday events. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto joined the Nevada Alliance’s event that included the Women of Washoe earlier this month.
Additional Alliance anniversary events are planned during the next week in Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Vermont and Wisconsin, and several more will follow in August and September. Social Security’s 86th anniversary is August 14.
Action Needed:
As Medicare’s anniversary approaches, the Alliance is doubling down on our advocacy in support of lower drug prices.
Senate Holds Hearing on PRO Act, Proponents Drum Up Support
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee held a hearing Thursday morning on H.R. 842, the PRO Act. This bill would protect the rights of workers to unionize in several ways. In her opening statement, Sen. Patty Murray (WA), Committee Chairwoman, railed against the inaction on union protections, saying “[t]he National Labor Relations Act hasn’t been significantly updated since 1947, and the failure to do so has led to serious problems for workers trying to have a voice in their workplaces.”
PRO Act letter delivery at the office of Sen. Ben Sasse (Nebraska) Monday
The legislation will remove barriers that keep workers from forming a union and enable them to bargain for better wages, benefits, and safer workplaces. Workers who form or join a union have greater retirement security. Union workers earn more and can negotiate for benefits such as health care, pensions and employer contributions to retirement plans, which leads to higher income and increased Social Security benefits in retirement. Further, unions often come with negotiated defined benefit pensions, which provide lifelong retirement income.
The hearing fell during the AFL-CIO’s PRO Act Week of Action, with Americans across the country sharing their story and making a case for the bill. Alliance members in several states joined AFL-CIO members at events outside all 100 senators’ offices. The Illinois, Nebraska and Pennsylvania Alliance chapters were among those playing a key role in the events.
PRO Act action in Scranton, PA ThursdayPRO Act action in Whitehall, PA Thursday
“The Senate’s PRO Act hearing made it even more clear that this legislation needs to be passed today,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “Rebuilding our economy has to include ensuring that every worker has the right to join or form a union and negotiate for higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions.”
American Medical Debt Twice as High as Previously Thought, Concentrated in States Without Medicaid Expansion
New research published Tuesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association finds that collection agencies held $140 billion in unpaid medical bills last year – a number that has grown rapidly in just a few years. An earlier study examining debts in 2016 estimated that Americans had $81 billion in medical debt.
The new paper also found that almost 18% of all Americans had medical debt in collections, making medical debt the largest source of American debt owed to collection agencies. The $140 billion figure is not all-inclusive, since it only includes debt sold to collection agencies. The paper used data from before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Medical debt was primarily held in states that have yet to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. In fact, the amount of medical debt held in states that did not accept federal funding to expand Medicaid is now around 20% more than in states that did expand it. In 2020, Americans living in states that did not expand Medicaid owed an average of $375 more than those in states that participated in the expansion.
Medical debts are different than other debts: Failing to pay your utility bills could result in shut-offs, and failing to pay your auto loan could cause your car to be repossessed. Medical debts, in contrast, tend mostly to harm people’s credit reports and peace of mind.
“These numbers are astounding. No person should choose between financial ruin and their health,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “This paper makes it clear that Medicaid expansion can really help people, and we need the twelve remaining holdout states to end their opposition to it.”
KHN: Though Millions Are at Risk for Diabetes, Medicare Struggles to Expand Prevention Program
By Harris Meyer, Kaiser Health News
Damon Diessner tried for years to slim down from his weight of more than 400 pounds, partly because his size embarrassed his wife but even more because his doctors told him he was at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. His hemoglobin A1c level, a blood sugar marker, was 6.3%, just below the diabetes range of 6.5%.
Then, two years ago, one of his doctors helped get him into a YMCA-run Diabetes Prevention Program not far from his home in Redmond, Washington. The group classes, at first held in person and then via Zoom during the covid-19 pandemic, were led by a lifestyle coach. He learned how to eat better, exercise more and maintain a healthier lifestyle overall. He now weighs 205 pounds, with an A1c level of 4.8%, which is in the normal range.
“This has been a life-changing program,” said Diessner, 68, an environmental consultant. “My cardiologist said you have clearly beaten diabetes. I tell everyone who has blood sugar issues or just wants to lose weight that this is the thing to do.”
