Once in donut hole, seniors buy less

About 12 percent of people receiving the Medicare prescription drug benefit in 2009 fell into the gap in coverage — the much maligned “doughnut hole” — according to a study released today.

While in the doughnut hole beneficiaries bought fewer drugs, including about 11 percent fewer monthly prescriptions in 2009, compared to when they’re still getting prescriptions subsidized, said the study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Other studies have shown a similar effect.

Excluding low-income Medicare enrollees who qualify for financial assistance and are not subject to the doughnut hole, there were 19 percent of beneficiaries in the coverage gap in 2009, the study said. That percentage has been shrinking, most likely due to the increase in cheaper generic drugs being offered, the study said.

The doughnut hole in 2009, the latest data in this study, started after the plan and the beneficiary paid a total of $2,700. Then, an individual was responsible for all of their medication costs until he or she had paid $4,350 in out-of-pocket costs.

After they come out of the “hole,” Medicare picks up about 95 percent of the costs. Less than 3 percent of Medicare drug beneficiaries, excluding low-income beneficiaries, reach that catastrophic-coverage level, the study found.

This year, because of the federal health law, beneficiaries are getting a 50 percent discount off brand name drugs while in the doughnut hole. The benefit is important because few Medicare drug plans provide any gap coverage, and those who do charge much higher rates, according to a separate study released by the Kaiser Foundation. This year, beneficiaries also get a 7 percent discount off generic drugs.

In 2012, the 50 percent brand discount remains and the generic drug discount doubles from 7 percent to 14 percent.

For many, emotional well being deepens with age.

Think you are happy now? According to the Gallup-Healthways well-being index, best emotional times come later in life. I would certainly agree with this finding.

The oldest group outscored the other three age groups in emotions, which was one of six categories measured in a massive study on well-being. Out of a possible score of 100, the 65-and-older age group scored 83. Those 45-64 had the lowest score, 76.

Credit experience, says Kay McCurdy, 72, of Springfield, Va. “You shift your idea of what a good life is into what you can have as a good life,” says McCurdy. “You get realistic. "

Elisabeth Burnett, 73, a neighbor of McCurdy’s at the Greenspring retirement home in the Washington, D.C. metro area, says that having a strong emotional life takes a hefty dose of true grit. Burnett has a daughter going through a divorce and has had to bury another grown child, yet she says she looks ahead with hope and joy.

“Today is the gift,” says Burnett. “I think that’s a kind of wisdom that comes with age that I may have had as a young person but I didn’t exercise as much as I do now.” Randy Weadon, 84, says honesty and discipline turned his sad life around. After going into diabetic shock one night and nearly dying, he started walking, lost 50 pounds and eventually got off insulin. He walks 7 miles a day to keep his weight down.

“I’m happier,” says Weadon, also a Greenspring resident. “I have a better opinion of myself, and just all in all I’m a new person.”

Low property values still plague seniors

A new report from Smart Money shows that after almost five years of falling home pries, many retirees must consider what to do with their homes should prices continue to collapse.

Many who are approaching retirement have been counting on their home equity as a way to finance their golden years, but the real estate downturn has made it more difficult.

In the past, Americans hoped to age in place and viewed the equity in their home as the break-in-case-of-emergency asset, the one asset they would use to pay for long-term care or nursing homes.

Today, however, aging in place isn’t the option it once was, especially given the possibility that the equity in one’s home might be falling in value, while the cost of keeping a home real estate taxes, property insurance premiums and utilities is rising.

“The vast majority of people are looking to age in place,” said Kenn Tacchino, a professor at Widener University as well as the director the New York Life Center for Retirement Income at the American College. Unfortunately, keeping a home a person used to raise his or her family “may not be the most cost-effective or accommodating place for retirement living,” he said.

The Gracious Mindset of Seasoned Citizens
by Garry Harper, author & theologian

There’s nothing like a lifetime when it comes to putting mistakes into context. Who among us can’t recall a poor decision here or there that seemed to change the vector of our lives? And yet, when one reaches the age of “real” enlightenment – say 55 – looking back brings far more smiles than frowns of disappointment.

Could it be that grace moves like an arc over the span of our lives? While we’re traveling on the straight line of time, grace moves over and above us at a somewhat quicker pace. It is most distant from us – almost out of our reach – when we’re raising our own children. In our late 20’s and early 30’s we’re tempted to indulge ourselves in sophomoric self-righteousness. Somehow, the mistakes we made in our youth seem so large that we try to extinguish the fires of “creativity” out of our own similarly exuberant children.

Is there a grandparent among us who doesn’t secretly smile at the predictable naughtiness of our grandchildren or even laugh (behind the door of the guest room) at Christmas?

It would seem that the arc of grace finally reconnects with all of us in our golden years. We see things so clearly because we have finally learned that God has a way of teaching everyone what they really need to know just in time to enjoy the human condition. Then, graciously, we’re allowed to graduate into his presence. Theologians define “grace” as unmerited favor. It is only when we reach our full maturity that we finally give in and admit there is such a thing as “the human condition.” Imperfections quietly become evidence of character and we learn to appreciate the characters in our lives. We forgive because we have experienced forgiveness.

I recall my own grandfather. He had a funny way of looking up and off to the right, shaking his head, smiling and making a shhh sound whenever I was caught in the act of some mild misbehavior. Now I know why. I think he was, as I do now, merely having a silent conversation with God as both he and the Supreme Father of us all mused over the predictability of juvenile behavior.

Now that we’re older – and clearly wiser – let’s enjoy the full power of grace. We’re living in a time of uncertainty and we’re watching the next generation struggle through a poor economy and a crisis of confidence in our government. Emotions are high and anger seems to emerge far more often than necessary. From our vantage point the “children” of our nation are fighting over what they believe are limited resources. If they only knew what we know – that God has always provided exactly what we need when we need it – they might relax for just a moment and look upward. There, just out of their reach but still visible, they would see the arc of grace.