Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

Travel is always an adventure and no more so than on a cruise where you are definitely not in control, as that is the responsibility of the ship’s Captain. With a Blount Small Ship Adventure you are sure to have an adventurous nature as their relatively small ships (80 passengers) traverse less traveled waterways and dock at destinations where only small ships can go. My trip aboard the Grande Caribe took me from Montreal (see Part One of this sojourn) up to Quebec, then back through the Saint Lawrence Seaway, along the trail of the Erie Canal via the New York Canal System, down the Hudson River and docking in little old New York City, after a farewell cruise by the skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan while pausing at the Statue of Liberty.
This being my first time with Blount (it has about a 50% return booking of previous passengers) I have to commend the cruise staff from Captain John Hunnewell , to the all-important Cruise director, Lisa Pontarelli, down through all the seventeen support staff of housekeeping, galley servers and the deck hands who were all cheerful and helpful day after day of my twelve day cruise. A cruise ship company can have little control over weather, or tides, but when they pay special attention to passenger service, you know you have a good company and see why Blount has such a good return booking.
Blount is not so much about luxury accommodations as they are about informative and enjoyable destinations where many other cruise ships cannot go. Among other destinations my favorites (I have several favorites) include historic Hyde Park, home of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; the Impressive West Point academy; Cooperstown with its charming main street shops, the Baseball Hall of Fame, and nearby Fenimore Art Museum preserved in an historic house. The Grande Caribe also stopped off at the Wooden Boat Museum, the towns of Troy and Quebec, the Fredric Remington Art Museum and a tour of the Singer Castle. But most enjoyable was progressing at a leisurely pace along the waterway with its water side homes and mansions of the Thousand Islands and all along the fabled Hudson river valley. Traveling on the water gives you a tangible concept of the country’s geography and how it influenced the area’s history.
For true marine lovers the over thirty canal locks encountered from Montreal to NYC, is illuminating. Passengers continued to marvel at these engineering mechanisms and how adept the crew and captain was at navigating through them. These relatively short pauses gives one time to reflect on the communities they bolster as well as a glimpse into American culture.
A Blount Small Ship Adventure nurtures a leisurely pace of travel. While the day is structured with a 7:30 a.m. bell to call you to breakfast, and the following lunch and dinner, you never feel rushed, even though everyone on my cruise was eager for the delicious meal times. Breakfast offers a cold buffet of fruit, yogurt cereals, as the crew serves the specialty of the morning which might be eggs Benedict, fresh scrambles eggs, hot pancakes, muffins or waffles. If there is a special egg order it is gladly taken. Lunch usually consists of a soup of the day and a variety of sandwiches throughout the cruise. After a BYOB cocktail hour, dinner may start off with a salad, followed by an entre of the day, maybe a steak, Mahi Mahi, pasta or Game Hen. Complementary wines are served by the glass during lunch and more extensively at dinner. Of course a desert of ice cream or cake or pie tops off the meal. All meals are open seating and it’s fun to mix up your dining partners, or cling to the congenial folks you like the most. The hit of any of our meals was the variety fresh baked of breads.
As a single traveler I relished having one of the few cabins with an outside door to the walk around deck. While the sliding door often would not stay shut, when it was open during day cruising it was a joy to relax on the opposite bed with views out the door of the shoreline accented with a variety of homes and landscapes dotted with colorful autumn trees. My cabin was designed for two, and I might suggest for my tastes two persons might be one too many in any of the cabins, as elbow room in the cabins is at a premium. But such is the design of small ships. I did hear some first time passengers comment on the noise in the cabins of the individually controlled air system , the engine noise, and the challenge in taking a brief compact shower, but that has to be chalked up to part of the small ship adventure. Again, the Blount cruise is about destinations not accommodations.
The evenings offered a formal cultural lecture in the common area, by Frederick Stonehouse, author of thirty books which made him an expert on the maritime history we were experiencing. A personable gentleman who was just as interesting when joining him during the informal family styled meals. Other evenings there was on board entertainment. The best perhaps was the jazz trio of Skip Parsons who brought a Dixieland style to this ultimate river boat. As my trip was in the fall, when children would be in school, my cruise was made up almost entirely of senior citizens. I found all the fellow travelers well informed and well-traveled. Getting to know a portion of their knowledge was an added Blount Small Ship Adventures treat.
For your special interests sign up for email alerts and explore a variety of 2015 cruise destinations at: www.blountsmallshipadventures.com

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
3110 N.W. 15 Street – Oklahoma City, OK 73107
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Dear Savvy Senior, Does Social Security offer any special help to beneficiaries who struggle managing their benefits? My aunt, who has no children, has dementia and struggles keeping up with her bills and other financial duties. Inquiring Niece

Dear Inquiring,
Yes, Social Security actually has a little-known program known as the “representative payee program” that helps beneficiaries who need help managing their Social Security benefit payments. Here’s what you should know.
Representative Payee Program
Authorized by congress back in 1939, the Social Security representative payee program provides money management help to beneficiaries who are incapable of managing their Social Security income. Beneficiaries in need of this help are often seniors suffering from dementia, or minor children who are collecting Social Security survivors’ benefits.
Currently more than 5 million Social Security beneficiaries have representative payees.
Representative payees also handle benefits for nearly 3 million recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a Social Security administered benefit program for low-income people who are over 65, blind or disabled.
Who Are Payees?
A representative payee is typically a relative or close friend of the beneficiary needing assistance, but Social Security can also name an organization or institution for the role – like a nursing homes or social-service agency.
Some of duties of a representative payee include:
* Using the beneficiary’s Social Security or SSI payments to meet their essential needs, such as food, shelter, household bills and medical care. The money can also be used for personal needs like clothing and recreation.
* Keeping any remaining money from benefit payments in an interest-bearing bank account or savings bonds for the beneficiary’s future needs.
* Keeping records of benefit payments received and how the money was spent or saved.
* Reporting to Social Security any changes or events that could affect the beneficiary’s payments (for example, a move, marriage, divorce or death).
* Reporting any circumstances that affect the payee’s ability to serve in the role.
As a representative payee, you cannot combine the beneficiary’s Social Security payments with your own money or use them for your own needs. The bank account into which benefits are deposited should be fully owned by the beneficiary, with the payee listed as financial agent.
Some payees, generally those who do not live with the beneficiary, are required to submit annual reports to Social Security accounting for how benefits are used. For more information on the responsibilities and restrictions that come with the role, see the Social Security publication “A Guide for Representative Payees” at SSA.gov/pubs/EN-05-10076.pdf.
How to Get Help
If you believe your aunt may need a representative payee, call Social Security at 800-772-1213 and make an appointment to discuss the matter at her local office. Applying to serve as a payee usually requires a face-to-face interview.
Social Security may consider other evidence in deciding if a beneficiary needs a payee and selecting the person to fill the role, including doctors’ assessments and statements from relatives, friends and others in a position to give an informed opinion about the beneficiary’s situation.
You should also know that if you become your aunt’s representative payee you cannot collect a fee for doing it. However, some organizations that serve in the role do receive fees, paid out of the beneficiary’s Social Security or SSI payments.
For more information on the program visit SSA.gov/payee.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

*Includes 64 pediatric hospitalizations
**Focus, Rehabilitation and Tribal Facilities numbers are not assigned to a specific region as their patient populations reside across the state. Information provided through survey of Oklahoma hospitals as reported to HHS as of the time of this report. Response rate affects data. Facilities may update previously reported information as necessary.
Data Source: Acute Disease Service, Oklahoma State Department of Health. *As of 2021-08-26 at 7:00 a.m.

In an effort to provide transparency regarding the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma, four Oklahoma City health systems are joining together to provide regular updates on COVID-19 case counts and bed availability.
The health systems will provide a joint update every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until our health care community begins to see relief from this current surge.
As a reminder, these numbers are constantly changing as our teams work to discharge, transfer, and admit patients throughout the day.
INTEGRIS Health: INTEGRIS Health currently has 210 COVID-19 patients in our hospitals, with 173 of those patients in the metro. INTEGRIS Health has no available ICU beds.
Mercy: Mercy currently has 118 inpatients with COVID-19 in Mercy hospitals across Oklahoma, with 66 of those patients at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. Mercy has no available ICU beds and three patients waiting in the ER for an ICU bed.
OU Health: OU Health hospitals (all three, including Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health): 42 inpatients with COVID-19. OU Health has no available beds for COVID-19 patients.
SSM Health St. Anthony: 140 inpatients with COVID-19 in SSM Health St. Anthony hospitals. No ICU beds are available.
Information as of Aug. 27, 2021.

New exhibition explores the history of tattooing in North America

Dark parlors, loud music and buzzing needles may come to mind when you think “tattooing,” but The Cowboy’s newest exhibition pushes past the tattooing stereotype to highlight the long-standing traditions of tattooing in North America.
Tattoos: Religion, Reality and Regret, opened August 27, 2021, at The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, explores the cultural traditions of tattooing in Native American cultures and tattooing traditions that are practiced globally today.
“Tattooing is a form of expression often undervalued in historical research,” said Dr. Eric Singleton, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Curator of Ethnology. “Tattoos were used to express tribal affiliation and war honors, connections to divine beings, maturity rites, and social or religious affiliation so meaningful to some cultures that they could carry on with a person into the afterlife.”
Now a part of modern, main-stream culture, this exhibition aims to highlight the history, legacy and traditions of Native American tattooing and the modern meanings and customs of tattooing through items and images from the Museum’s permanent collections and the Dickinson Research Center.
“Our mission is to explore the evolving history of the American West and this exhibition cuts to the core of that idea,” said Natalie Shirley, Museum President & CEO. “The West is more than just a saddle or a story about a cowboy, it’s many things to many people and in this exhibition, we get to explore what tattooing means to our shared history.”
For up-to-date information on the exhibition and associated programming and events, visit nationalcowboymuseum.org.

Join the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) and Oklahoma Humanities (OH) on Wednesday, September 22, at 6 p.m. at the Oklahoma History Center for a live podcast crossover event. OHS Executive Director Trait Thompson and Dr. Bob Blackburn of the OHS’s “A Very OK Podcast” and Dr. Sunu Kodumthara of OH’s “Brain Box” will lead a conversation about growing up in Oklahoma from multiple cultural perspectives, featuring guests Kelli Brooke Haney and Javier Hernandez. This crossover event will be recorded in front of a live audience.
Prior to the program, DJ Tangerine will perform and a bar will be available with complimentary beer and wine, sponsored by Coop Ale Works. Registration is $15 for OHS members and $25 for non-members. A charcuterie box can be purchased for an additional $7. The panelists will be available before the recording, as will related OHS resources. Registration is required, and attendees must be 21 years old or older. Please visit www.okhistory.org/crossover to register.
On the Oklahoma Humanities “Brainbox” podcast, Dr. Sunu Kodumthara and her cohost, Dr. Ben Alpers, use the humanities to discuss issues affecting American society and culture. On the OHS “A Very OK Podcast” Trait Thompson and Bob Blackburn explore the interesting stories and fascinating personalities that make up Oklahoma’s unique history.
Kelli Brooke Haney is the sixth child out of seven siblings. She was raised in Seminole and later Tahlequah. Haney graduated from the School of Fine Arts at the University of Oklahoma. In the 2000s she toured regionally with her Rockabilly band the “Oh Johnny! Girls” and worked in the photography, video and art industries. Haney is the daughter of retired Choctaw Native American tribal attorney L. Susan Work, who worked diligently on the McGirt v. Oklahoma case. Her father is Enoch Kelly Haney, the first full-blood Seminole and Creek Native American state legislator in Oklahoma and an artist of monumental sculptures such as “The Guardian,” which sits atop the Oklahoma State Capitol.
Born in Mexico City, Javier Hernandez’s mother moved the family to Oklahoma when he was two years old. Hernandez earned his bachelor’s degree from Mid-America Christian University and graduated from Oklahoma City University School of Law. He has been part of the US Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and practices law with the firm Dunn and Hernandez. He has served as president of the Hispanic Law Student Association, president of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Group and vice president of the Immigration Legal Society.
Danny Eagle (DJ Tangerine) is an Oklahoma City open format DJ who performs regularly at Fassler Hall. He has been a mainstay in the area since 2016. He also performs in direct support of touring artists.
Oklahoma Humanities is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to strengthen communities by helping Oklahomans learn about the human experience, understand new perspectives, and participate knowledgeably in civic life through humanities disciplines such as history, literature, film studies, art criticism and philosophy. As the state partner for the National Endowment for the Humanities, OH provides a free educational magazine, Smithsonian Institution exhibits, reading and discussion groups, and other cultural opportunities for Oklahomans of all ages. OH engages people in their own communities, stimulating discussion and helping them explore the wider world of human experience.
The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.

INTEGRIS Health has made it our mission to partner with people to live healthier lives, and in keeping with that promise we are excited to announce the construction of a state-of-the-art Heart and ICU Hospital expansion at the INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, Northwest Expressway campus.
INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center has long been known as Oklahoma’s leader in caring for the most complicated medical needs—from the state’s only burn center to the hospital that performs the most solid organ transplants.
The new 209,000 square foot building will have 64 ICU beds, multiple cardiac catheterization labs, cardiovascular operating rooms, hybrid operating rooms, electrophysiology heart labs and convenient cardiac diagnostic testing areas. The new space is designed with the patient in mind, making navigating the hospital and clinics as easy as it has ever been in one convenient location.
Construction begins immediately and will be completed in 2024. “INTEGRIS Health is a not-for-profit, community health system, which means it is governed by Oklahomans for the benefit of Oklahomans,” said Timothy Pehrson, president and chief executive officer of INTEGRIS Health. Pehrson continued, “when the project was presented to the board, they were delighted with the concept of continuing INTEGRIS Health’s legacy of being the most trusted partner for health in Oklahoma. The new Heart and ICU Hospital expansion at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center will help Oklahomans for many generations to come.”

Story by Darl Devault, Contributing Editor

In the afterglow of the Tokyo Olympics their canoe/kayak medalists and world champions will compete under the lights Saturday at the 2021 ICF Canoe Sprint Super Cup August 21 at Riversport on the Oklahoma River. The free event’s world-class paddlers will be competing for both medals and prize money in the first internationally televised night event being beamed to Europe and China.
“To host this international competition right after the Olympics is a huge honor for Oklahoma City and an exciting opportunity for Oklahomans,” said David Holt, Oklahoma City Mayor.
The free entry ICF Super Cup is 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, with prime seating at the Boathouse District’s Finish Line Tower terrace as the centerpiece of a multi-day race event. It will be a fast-paced event designed to fit the 90-minute TV format.
The Oklahoma Paddlesport Festival will include a World Party, the American Canoe Association (ACA) 2021 Slalom and Sprint National Championships. The weekend also features the USO Experience, a three-day expo event expected to attract thousands of military members and their families from across the region.
“Oklahoma City is known for our hospitality and for all Riversport offers in the Boathouse District,” said Mike Knopp, Riversport executive director. “It’s unique in the world for a city to have both flatwater sprint and whitewater slalom in the same venue. We’re looking forward to sharing this with paddling enthusiasts around the globe.” (story continues below)

The invitational event will be held at Riversport, a $100M outdoor sports and recreation venue in the city’s Boathouse District. In its 15th year of making sports history, the venue is the only permanently lit flatwater course in the world. Completed in 2013, the permanent racecourse lighting along the river was another integral part of the MAPS 3 Oklahoma River improvements,
Spectators’ participation is encouraged to help bolster the new sport of Xtreme Slalom which, will debut at the Paris Olympics in 2024. The ICF Canoe Slalom Ranking Race features top slalom athletes in three boats at a time dropping 12 feet into whitewater, then paddling head-to-head in completing turns, combat rolls and other maneuvers in racing to the finish
“The ICF is extremely excited and proud that Oklahoma City will host the ICF’s Canoe Sprint Super Cup in 2021,” said Simon Toulson, ICF secretary general. “This event brings together only the best athletes in our sport to fight for cash prizes in the amazing river setting of Oklahoma. The night finals are going to be quite unique with a large audience which adds to the important role Oklahoma plays in the sport of Canoe on a world stage. We are indebted to Riversport and the supporters of this event to persevere through the pandemic to host this event”
The 350m sprint distance allows sprint paddlers to take on endurance athletes in the sport. Riversport’s rare course lighting gives these elite athletes an opportunity to race at night. The event, so soon after the Olympics, promises to help keep them in world-class fitness as they prepare for this year’s ICF canoe sprint world championships in September in Copenhagen.
“This event will feature the world’s greatest athletes in canoe/kayak competing under the lights on television around the world at one of the world’s greatest venues for canoe/kayak,” said Mayor Holt. “Let me also add, these Olympians will not have had crowds at the Olympics due to the COVID situation in Japan, so we want to show up and give them the cheers they deserve to hear.”
The weekend will also include an Extreme Slalom demonstration event and the ICF Super Cup Sprint Portage race. The Extreme Slalom whitewater demonstration event will be Friday, August 20 at 7 p.m., in Riversport’s whitewater center rapids. The Super Cup Sprint Portage race will be held Saturday at 10:00 a.m. on the Oklahoma River. The 800m race involves racers paddling a short distance, docking, running with their boats and then re-entering the water to finish the race.
Riversport is working in partnership with the International Canoe Federation, the State of Oklahoma, the Chickasaw Nation and First Americans Museum, Inasmuch Foundation and the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau to host the event. The public is invited to attend the World Party honoring international athletes and coaches. It will be held Friday, August 20, 7 to 10 p.m., in the McClendon Whitewater Center and will feature the Extreme Slalom demonstration event. Tickets are $35 and may be bought online at ICF World Party – Riversport OKC
“We encourage everyone to come out for the ICF Super Cup,” Knopp said. “This is a unique opportunity to see Olympic and World Champions in some of the most exciting races ever staged.”
Riversport is known as an innovator is both Olympic sports and outdoor recreation. The nonprofit Riversport Foundation has developed Oklahoma City’s Boathouse District. It has evolved into one of the world’s premier urban outdoor adventure and water sports venues. It regularly hosts national and international races in both rowing and canoe/kayak. Located at America’s crossroads, the Boathouse District features iconic architecture, world-class adventure sports and recreation, and powerful programming for all ages.
It is an official US Olympic and Paralympic Training Site and a model for other communities to embrace bold ideas and bolster outdoor culture.
The International Canoe Federation is the umbrella organization for all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide.
The full schedule for the weekend events is available online at: Oklahoma PaddleSports Festival – Riversport OKC

By James Coburn, Staff Writer

If you told Ryan Bell when he attended nursing school that he would be a hospice nurse, he would have thought you were “off your rocker”.
Today, Bell is more than content and gratefully enriched by serving as the Regional Director of Operations at Kindful Hospice in Oklahoma City.
“Once I got into it, I fell in love with it,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to do anything different. I don’t foresee myself ever going into any other line of nursing.”
Bell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism before switching careers. He has primarily worked in hospice for nine years since graduating from nursing school from Metro Technology Center in Oklahoma City.
“We started Kindful about three years ago,” Bell said of what was once a small mom-and-pop, pre-existing hospice in Norman and Ada with 11 patients.
Now Kindful Hospice has grown to serve nearly 300 hospice patients with comfort and compassion. Nobody is treated as a number at Kindful Hospice. Patients are treated like family. (story continues below)

“We are one of the ones that actually do,” he emphasized.
His staff are among the most compassionate people he has ever worked with. They give of themselves until one would think they have surpassed their energy level. But they give some more.
“They just pour into our patients an incredible amount of love and compassion towards them,” Bell explained.
Hospice nurses work with what is perhaps the most vulnerable of patient populations. Case manager Vanessa Rodriguez, RN, keeps her spirit strong by having a good foundation with God. To give of oneself as a hospice nurse is totally fulfilling, she said.
“From my experience, we can help them get their wings. They get to meet Jesus — it’s helping them up through the journey,” Rodriguez said. “Taking care of them is really kind of self-care in itself because you get to spend that time with them, connecting with them, and making sure they’re comfortable in the process.”
She also makes sure to invest in activities that fulfill her soul such as hiking with her children. Recently, she has re-established exercise goals as key to stamina. And she is mindful of the need to be empathetic with family members and their loved ones in hospice. COVID-19 was a challenge for family members visiting loved ones outside a window of a long-term care facility. The nursing staff gave kindness so not to be a stranger sitting beside somebody taking their last breath, she said.
“For me it’s having a strong faith and that’s what helps me,” Rodriguez said. “It’s different for everyone, but I thank God every day for the opportunities to help his children.”
Her grandma is what brought her to hospice. She had been working in intensive care units and cardiac. Rodriguez lost both her parents at a young age, so her grandmother was part of her core strength of inspiration. She was 99.
“When she got sick it was hard for me, and she had a hospice nurse — she had a light over her — and I thought that would be the most amazing thing to ever do,” Rodriguez said. “And so, I jumped in — for me it was my grandma. She just touched my life.”
What she reveres the most about Kindful Hospice is knowing patients and family members who open the door of acceptance for her to be part of their lives. Just walking along beside them in their journey is an opportunity to fortify faith.
“Some of them aren’t believers, and that’s fine. So just to help them with were they’re comfortable is to learn something different about each one of them,” she said. “It’s something that helped me grow in just meeting them where they’re at.”
There are different variations among families. Not everyone is able to be with their dying family members when the final second comes. Every experience is different, and Kindful Hospice embraces the opportunity for the staff to give what is needed.
She is available to help educate the probable timeline when asked the toughest question: How long does mom have?
Rodriguez always tries to prepare family members to expect the unexpected, she said.
“We have a trajectory of knowing the signs and symptoms of what we are watching for. I always try to over prepare versus under prepare. Sometimes you miss it, but you do your best.”
Rodriguez tries not to compare patient to one another but individualizes their care plans to meet their needs.
It’s helping each individual patient reach their end-of-life goal. Bereavement coordinators follow the patients’ families for at least 13 months after their loved on passes away. No one is left alone.
An entire interdisciplinary team offers a circle of care, including doctors, nurses, CNAs, chaplains, social workers, and volunteers have one goal in mind.
“That is to provide the best care we possibly can to the people who are put in our path to care for,” Bell said.
For more information about Kindful Hospice and Palliative and Virtual Care visit:
https://kindfulhospice.com.

By Steven Sibley, MBA/Healthcare Administration

On August 1st, 2021 I turned 65. Like every American, I needed to make a decision about Medicare. Timeline for that decision is 3 months before the month of your 65th birthday, through the 3 months after your birth month. Fortunately, my wife and I are Medicare agents, so I was well prepared for this decision. Unfortunately, most veterans, whether on Tricare, VA care or both are not. It’s training we never really received. I know, I was in the military for 36 years, 15 Active and 21 Reserve and served in both the Air Force and Army. I retired from the Active Reserve at age 61. During my last two years of service, I attended multiple Transition Assistance courses on retiring from Active Duty and the Reserve. You can leave the service and still not know how the healthcare really works, whether you only did 4 years or 20, and you certainly won’t remember by the time you turn 65.
You see, they really don’t teach you enough about this process while you are in the service. For me, the education came after I retired and decided on a career as a Medicare agent. Now, I want to share that information with every veteran I know who has Tricare, VA care or both, who is qualified for Medicare. In my case, I have the ultimate in health care coverage. I retired in September of 2017 with Tricare Prime and eventually a 100% VA disability rating. In addition, I am married to a healthcare provider. That being said, at age 65, Tricare changes. (story continues below)

If you are a retired veteran, under the age of 65, you typically have Tricare, the health care program for uniformed service members, retirees, and their families around the world. It provides comprehensive coverage to all beneficiaries, including: Health plans, Prescriptions and Dental plans and it’s managed by the Defense Health Agency. When you turn 65, this changes to Tricare for Life (TFL). TFL combines Original Medicare Part A, Hospitalization (inpatient) coverage, Medicare Part B, Primary Care (outpatient) coverage which essentially only covers about 80% of the cost of your care, with TFL provided as a zero premium “wrap around” coverage for the 20% of non-covered Medicare benefits plus Prescription Drug coverage. Also, TFL is administered by Wisconsin Physicians Service (WPS) not the government.
Here is the point of my message, Veterans can miss out on additional benefits because they are unaware of their eligibility for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans or Medicare Part C. These plans work with TFL to provide even more benefits than Original Medicare, which may include vision and dental, that TFL clients must pay for in addition to their TFL plan. These MA plans may also include Medicare Part B premium reductions, and additional wellness benefits like gym memberships and over-the-counter (OTC) benefits. If you are on or going to become eligible for TFL, you need to learn about these plans, so please call me.
If you have VA care, regardless of your rating, you too can benefit from a Part C plan because of the additional benefits they may offer which are not covered by Original Medicare or the VA.
Call us at Sibley Insures and get the training and information you need to make a better more affordable decision about your healthcare when you get on Medicare. Sibleyinsures.com, 405-850-1569.