Senior info: A couple callers needed further information
regarding a recent letter to the editor about prescription
drugs.
”
I am reading your letter to the editor column written by
Michelle Plasari, Vice President of RetireSafe.
Senior info: A couple callers needed further information regarding a recent letter to the editor about prescription drugs.
“I am reading your letter to the editor column written by Michelle Plasari, Vice President of RetireSafe. I’ll read from the letter: ‘Seniors can get a breakdown of the cards available where they live, what drugs each card will cover, and which discounts are available.’ She’s talking about prescription drug cards. But she doesn’t say where to get that breakdown. I’m in the process of looking into things like that and that would be valuable information. Thank you.”
The Red Phone agrees that is valuable information some people just might need. So we contacted Michelle Plasari, of RetireSafe, and this is what she had to say: “Your readers who have access to the Internet can visit www.Medicare.gov to comparison shop. For those that don’t use the Internet, they can call 1-800-Medicare and speak with a customer service representative. The average wait time on the 800 number is less than two minutes and most callers find that they spend about 20 minutes total on the line to get the information they need.
“Before beginning the process, seniors (or their caregivers) should have a list of all the medicines they take (including dosage), how much they are currently paying, a list of pharmacies they use, and some basic income information to see if they qualify for the $600 credit available on the discount cards.”
Complements and confusion: Opinions and questions about the new Dispatch continue to flow in.
• “I was just calling to let you know how much I like the new format of the paper. I think the new columns that you’ve chosen are great. The Chris Madden decorating column is fun to read and I also really liked the feature about girls tennis. It’s just really fun to have it in the morning and feel like you’ve gotten the news of the day before you go to work.”
• “I want to file a complaint about your funny pages. You’ve taken Beetle Bailey out of the paper, Marmaduke, Dennis the Menace and Dagwood. My friends are complaining too, but I don’t know if it’ll do any good.”
• “I was just wondering, it’s Monday evening and I just bought a paper from Saturday. It’s really hard now to see the date. I guess this isn’t a daily paper? I mean, how are you supposed to know what days it actually comes out?”
For those of you who haven’t quite caught on yet, The Dispatch is now a morning paper, published Tuesday through Saturday. And if you take a look at an older issue vs. the new design, you’ll see that the date is actually larger than it used to be – though in a different place on the front page. As far as the comics go, the Red Phone will reiterate that changing times need changing comics as well. We figured we’d change out some of the older comics in an attempt to bring in more amusing, modern ones. Keep those comments and suggestions coming.
Checking facts: This caller must not have believed the Red Phone when we recently said when it comes to right turns, a red arrow means stop, red light means stop and go when clear.
“Regarding the person who called in about the red light by the Costco shopping center. I went down to the Highway Patrol to check that because I also have a problem there. The lady at the Highway Patrol office said that when it’s a red light, you stop normally and then you proceed through the red light to make your right turn. You stop and then when it’s clear you go. Unless there is a red arrow light. But a regular right hand turn at any stop light, you stop and proceed, you do not wait, unless it’s the red arrow light. She said it’s very confusing to everybody and they’re still trying to fix it so it’s not so confusing.”
Thanks caller, for double-checking. It keeps us in check and the community aware of the rules.
