Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/500736
WhenIpulledoutmy American Automobile As- sociation membership card to get a discount for tickets to Sea World this past weekend, I locked eye- balls with "YEARS AS MEMBER: 40" printed on the card and nearly passed out. That seemed absolutely impossible, un- til I did a little mental cal- culation. It's true. AAA has been an important part of my life for a very long time, and I don't plan on changing that any time soon. If you are a member of AAA, like most of us, you depend on it to get you out of an automotive bind with a roadside jumpstart, a gallon of gas or a tow. Just so you know, they also come to the rescue should you ever lock your keys — or a baby with the en- gine running — in the car. Let's just say that AAA has saved my bacon on more than one occasion. But AAA membership has so many other bene- fits than just roadside as- sistance — some I've taken advantage of in the past, but many others I didn't even know about. If you're a member, perhaps you'll be surprised, too, by all of the hidden benefits in your membership. AAA is a non-profit organiza- tion with branches in all states. Not all branches of- fer the same benefits, so be sure to check with yours. Many AAA branches offer the following benefits with membership: Prescription drug dis- counts. If you don't have prescription drug cover- age that meets your needs, check your AAA member- ship. You can save up to 50 percent on the cost of meds and diabetic sup- plies, and it's free with your AAA membership. Discounts on travel. We're talking hotels, res- taurants, auto repair shops, cruises, airfare and train travel, too. AAA has its own travel agency, of- fering all kinds of travel discounts for it's members. International travel. You can get your passport pic- ture taken at almost all AAA branches, and the first two sets of photos are typically free. You can get your international driver's license at your local AAA office, as well. Discounts on enter- tainment. AAA has part- nerships with nearly ev- ery amusement park, such as Sea World, Dis- ney Parks and Six Flags, to name only a few. I've got- ten in the habit of inquir- ing whenever I purchase admission to any kind of entertainment to simply ask if they offer a AAA dis- count. Usually the answer is yes. You can expect your AAA membership to get you a discount at sporting events, performance and movie theaters, museums and zoos. Discounts on local ser- vices. Make sure you have set up your account on- line, then simply log in and click on "Discounts" to see all of the current discounts available to you in your local area. At this writing I can get 35 per- cent off at my local florist, a 10 percent discount on appliances at Home De- pot, discounted car wash, driver training, parking and bike services. Rental cars. I frequently depend on my AAA mem- bership to get significant discounts when I rent cars from Hertz as well as other agencies. If you're 25 or younger, you know that most car rentals ei- ther refuse to rent to you or add a big surcharge due to your youthfulness, but with your AAA member- ship, most car rental agen- cies will waive that re- quirement. Discounts on services. Many services you may be using right now offer AAA discounts: ADT Home Se- curity, The UPS Store, Sprint, Sears Commercial, DIRECTV Satellite TV and more. Department of Motor Vehicles. Some states let you do some DMV tasks right at the AAA office, such as auto registration and driver's license re- newal. Car buying. There are many AAA-authorized car dealers who will give you a AAA discount through their fleet pricing. Many AAA offices will give you a free or discounted CAR- FAX report on a used ve- hicle you are interested in purchasing. As for the baby, it was a very hot day when I went to pick her up to care for her over the weekend. I knew that I wanted the car to be cool, so I left the engine running with the air conditioning set to 72 F. So far so good. I loaded up all of her necessary equipment and then carefully strapped the baby seat and sleeping baby into the back seat. Ever so gently, I hit the lock button out of sheer habit and shut the door. My blood ran cold as I re- alized my keys were in the ignition. Fifteen very long min- utes later, AAA showed up and all was well. Thank- fully, I didn't get arrested for child endangerment. Several weeks ago I had the occasion to meet up with that baby, after all these years. She's now a beautiful, fully functional, adult woman — without a single sign of childhood trauma. We shared a good laugh, and for me a big sigh of relief. AAA membership has its benefits. Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Hidden benefits in your AAA membership Monica Osorio Amador, Alma Sosa, Maria Ama- dor and Rubi Carios are all training to be Women's Wellness & Empowerment Instructors at the PAL Mar- tial Arts Program. They were each awarded a Kubotan — a small dowel that is used as a key chain but can be used for self de- fense — and certificate of participation in the on- going WWE instructor's course. Paula Cherveny wasn't present but has earned her instructor's cer- tificate and Kubotan. Other strategies are also taught for women and girls to be able to defend them- selves and to be able to es- cape dangerous situations. WWE classes will re- sume May 14 with the re- maining schedule to be each second, third and fourth Thursday through September. WWE started in 2013 from a request by Alterna- tives to Violence ATV. Sev- eral dozen women and girls have attended training ses- sions since the beginning. WWE was the first specifi- cally designed self defense class for women in Tehama County. All PAL and WWE classes are free. Call the instructor at 840-0345 or the PAL Board of Directors at 529-7950 or visit www.tehamaso.org/ PAL, for more information. Also visit Tehama County PAL Martial Arts on Face- book. Tehama County PAL is a 501 (c) (3) non profit youth drug demand reduc- tion and anti-bullying non profit partially funded by the United Way of North- ern California and by other charitable donations. PAL MARTIAL ARTS Womentrainforselfdefense,empowerment COURTESYPHOTO Monica Osorio Amador, Alma Sosa, Maria Amador and Rubi Carios. Most doctors, pharmacists, and other health care providers who work with Medi- care are honest. Un for t u nat ely, some aren't. One common form of Medi- care fraud is when Medicare is billed for health care services or benefits that you never received. Some- one could have gotten access to your Medicare number and submitted a false claim. In some cases fraudsters pay Medicare beneficiaries to use their Medicare numbers. To prevent this from taking place, never share your Medicare number with anyone you don't know and trust. Medicare fraud costs taxpayers and people with Medicare lots of money each year. So what can you do to help stop it? When you get health care services, write down the dates on your calen- dar and save the receipts and statements you get from your doctors and other providers to check for mistakes. If you think you see an error, or you were billed for services you didn't get, take these steps: • If you are in the Original Medicare pro- gram (where the federal govern- ment pays health care claims for you), check your monthly "Medi- care Summary Notice" (MSN) to see if the applicable services were billed correctly to Medi- care. The services and claims should match, like checks on a bank statement. If there are services, doc- tors, or suppliers that you don't know and can't rec- oncile, there may be a problem. • If you're in a Medi- care Advantage private health plan, check the statements you get from your plan. • If you're unsure what services were billed, call and ask the doctor or other supplier for an itemized statement. They should give this to you within 30 days. In any case, the sooner you see and report errors in your health care billing, the sooner we can help ad- dress and stop fraud. How do you report sus- pected fraud? If you've contacted the health care provider or supplier, and you suspect that Medicare is being charged for a service, de- vice, or other supplies that you didn't receive, or if you don't recognize the doctor or other providers listed on the claim, here's what to do: • Call the fraud hotline of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser- vices Office of the Inspec- tor General at 1-800-HHS- TIPS (1-800-447-8477). TTY users should call 1-800-377- 4950. • Alert Medicare's cus- tomer service team at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800- 633-4227) that you have concerns or questions about information appear- ing on your MSN. Did you know that there's a program that works with Medicare ben- eficiaries around the coun- try to fight fraud? It's called the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Program. The SMP Program edu- cates and empowers people with Medicare and their families to take an active role in detecting and pre- venting health care fraud and abuse. SMP not only protects people with Medi- care, it also helps preserve Medicare. There's an SMP Program in every state, the District of Columbia, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. You can contact your local SMP Program to get personalized counseling, find out about commu- nity events in your area, or volunteer. For more in- formation or to find your local SMP Program, visit smpresource.org, or call 1-877-808-2468. You can also call 1-800-MEDI- CARE. Keep in mind that every tip counts. Medicare takes all reports of suspected fraud seriously. When you report fraud, you may not hear of an out- come right away. It takes time to investigate and build a case. Be assured that your information is helping us protect Medi- care and you. David Sayen is Medicare's regional administrator for Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800- 633-4227). DAVID SAYEN How you can help stop Medicare fraud David Sayen Mary Hunt PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thank you! Providing Essentials for Tehama Shelter — PETS — and the Tehama County Animal Care Center will be celebrating National Adopts A Shelter Pet Day with an adoption event during which cats can be adopted for $20 and dogs for $45. The center is at 1830 Wal- nut St. in Red Bluff. Hours are 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. Monday through Fri- day and 10 a.m. to noon and 1-4:30 p.m. Saturday. Adoption hours are 10 a.m. to noon and 1-4:30 p.m. If you would like more infor- mation regarding adopt- ing, fostering or becoming a Care Center volunteer, call 527-3439 or send an email to cmcclintock52@ ANIMAL CARE CENTER Sh el te r to h ol d ad op ti on e ve nt S at ur da y IGO Redding Veterans Home residents and Pa- cific Gas and Electric Co. are scheduled to plant trees starting at 10:15 a.m. Friday at the North- ern California Veter- ans Cemetery, 11800 Gas Point Road. The event is free and open to the public. VETERANS CEMETERY Trees to be planted for Arbor Day today FARMBUILDINGS•ARENAS BULK STORAGE WAREHOUSES • OFFICES SELF STORAGE RV STORAGE AIRCRAFT HANGARS PROCESSING FACILITIES COMPLETE CONCRETE AND BUILDING SERVICE License #812173 #30SevilleCt. Chico, CA 95928 (530) 345-7296 www.northvalleybuilding.com BUILDINGS SterilizationTech/FT Red Bluff: Maintainesdentalinstruments in strict accordance with sterilization & disinfection protocols. X-ray certification preferred. A complete application is required. Apply at nvih.org email: jobs@nvih.org fax 530-342-7507 or mail resume to: Northern Valley Indian Health Attn: HR, 845 W. East Ave Chico, CA 95926 Closing Date: May 8, 2015 REDBLUFF MEADOWS 850KIMBALLRD. RED BLUFF AcceptingApplications Spacious 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apts. featuring fully equipped kitchen, laundry facilities, energy efficient design. Rental assistance, is available. For further information and application, Call: 530-527-9196 TDD 1-800-735-2929 This institution is an Equal Opportunity provider, and employer Monday-Friday9am-6pm RUNNINGS ROOFING SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Ownerisonsiteoneveryjob ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 No Money Down! "NoJobTooSteep" " No Job Too Flat" FREE ESTIMATES CA. LIC#829089 STOVEJUNCTION The TheNorthState'spremiersupplierofstoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat9am-5pm• ClosedSun&Mon Now Carrying! GreenMountainGrills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties Servicingyourdisposalneedsin Tehama County, and the City of Red Bluff including Residential, Commercial, and Temporary bin services. GREENWASTEOFTEHAMA A WASTE CONNECTIONS COMPANY 530-528-8500 1805 AIRPORT BLVD. RED BLUFF, CA GreenWasteisaproud supporter of local events. LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, April 24, 2015 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A5