Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1510246
6 UCW October 25 - 31, 2023 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM For effective advertising contact us today! 910•484•6200 OCT. 19 - NOV. 05 BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW! CFRT.ORG or 910.323.4233 About the show: Storm clouds are gathering over the Addams family's mansion as Gomez faces every father's nightmare: his daughter, Wednesday, the ultimate princess of darkness, has fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man. And if that wasn't upsetting enough, Gomez must keep the secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday's "normal" boyfriend and his parents. One thing is certain: the Addams family will never be the same! Book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa Based on Characters Created by Charles Addams Directed by Mary Catherine Burke Choreographed by Tyce Diorio Rated PG for parental guidance. This play contains some mild adult themes and is recommended for ages 12+. THEY'RE CREEPY, KOOKY, MYSTERIOUS, & SPOOKY! OPINION Medicare charges, coverage can be confusing by JOSEPH DOWLESS For 64 years your insurance works one way, then suddenly, you turn 65 and everything you thought you knew goes out the window. You gaze into the laby- rinth of Medicare and hope you get eseus and not the Minotaur. Allow me to make like Ariadne and spin a yarn to help navigate these corridors. For this purpose, dollar amounts given apply to 2024 and can be confirmed at medicare.gov e biggest take away that people need to understand with original Medicare is that, unlike employer-provided insurance or an individual policy, there is no Maximum Out of Pocket. Generally, Medicare charges a whole lot less than commercial for practically every procedure as the government sets the prices; however, there is no cap on annu- al charges. e Max OOP in under 65 insurance limits your loss. If the Max OOP is $6,500, then that means only $6,500 total can be charged in one year not includ- ing premiums. Original Medicare does not have this limit. Original Medicare has two parts: A and B. Part A is free-ish. If you or your spouse paid taxes for 10 years, it is premium free. Oth- erwise, it costs between $278 and $505 monthly. So, if you didn't pay taxes, go marry someone that did. Part B has a monthly premi- um beginning at $174.70. Part B is subject to income and can scale up to $594 monthly. Part A is usually referred to as "hospital insurance" but I prefer to think of it as "room and board" insurance. "Hospital insurance" confuses people because that implies that everything in the hos- pital is covered. It isn't. Broadly, Part A covers the room, the bed, general nursing, meals and it also helps cover skilled nursing facilities, hospice — mostly places involving a room and a bed. Part A has a resetting deduct- ible of $1,632. e first 60 days in the hospital are covered by this deductible, then days 61-90 cost $408 dollars daily, 91–150 cost $816 a day while using the 60 life- time reserve days, and afterwards it is all out of pocket. After 60 days without hospital services, the deductible resets and must be paid again if used. Skilled nursing facilities have the first 20 days covered at no cost, then 80 days at $200 and afterwards everything is out of pocket. Remember how I said Part A doesn't cover everything in a hos- pital? Doctors are in hospitals and Part B is what pays them as well as anything considered to be "du- rable medical equipment." If you don't have Part B, then everything the doctor does is out of pocket which is why it is often referred to as "Medical Insurance." It has a one time $240 deductible that resets annually like traditional insurance. In general, there is a 20% copay on most of the services covered by Part B. So how do we solve the problem of no Max OOP? Medicare Advantage plans or Medicare Supplements both provide an answer. In the Nov. 1 issue, I'll compare the two. JOSEPH DOWLESS, CLC Financial. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly. com. 910-484-6200