Each year, from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, the 64 million Americans enrolled in Medicare can change their Part D Drug plans, as well as their Medicare Advantage plans without penalty. While this can save them hundreds or even thousands of dollars, only 10 to 15 percent choose to do so. To read the entire article, go to:  https://www.wral.com/are-you-overpaying-on-your-medicare-part-d-plan-/17105173/  

“I need a break,” the woman said when Dee Dee Harris picked up the phone. The woman was calling from a rural county in eastern North Carolina. “Tell me what’s going on,” Harris, who has been answering the Alzheimer's NC Hotline for 18 years, said. It was one of the 600+ calls per year that Alzheimer's North Carolina receives from across the state. Additionally, Harris and her team run support groups, lead an annual walk for Alzheimer's, and [...]

Not long ago, I started working with a client who was becoming increasingly forgetful. Her children, who lived in another state, hired me after a recent trip home to celebrate Mom’s 80th birthday. As often happens when there are long separations, certain changes (or declines) can seem more pronounced. One daughter noticed that Mom was no longer balancing her checkbook. The other noticed that there was no food in the fridge and that mom had [...]

“I turn 77 next week, and I’ll be wearing go-go boots and a tiara,” said Sabra Taylor, who was wearing an elegant, diamond-rimmed, blue evening gown. A curtain rod slid out of Barbara Wishy’s fairy wing and clanged onto Lee Ann Walsh’s brick patio. Wishy, 84, said, “It’s never too late to start.” I was sitting with Oakwood neighbors aged 54-84 who make up a majorette group called the “Awesomettes.” Jackie Twisdale, the founder, started [...]

According to a 2015 survey conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 34 percent of Americans assumed Medicare would cover ongoing nursing home care, while another 27 percent were unsure. That’s simply not true. “There’s a big disconnect between what resources people think they will need financially during their last years and what they actually do,” said Hans Scheil, founder of Cardinal Advisors and author of The Complete Cardinal Guide to Planning For And Living [...]

Six weeks ago, our dear 77-year-old neighbor Dee fell while going out to water her yard. It was a fluke accident, simply a misstep, while she was trying to loosen a hose. Her hip hurt, but Dee was more worried about her elbow – until she tried to stand up. The pain was excruciating. An unfortunate factor was that both her children were out of the country at the time. We, her neighbors, were also [...]

Many years ago, when I was in graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I’d drive over to visit my grandmother in Smithfield. I’d plant annuals in her garden. We’d go out to lunch at K&W. I’d take her to the doctor. She always insisted I drive her car, a 1975 green Fleetwood Cadillac. One day, soon after we pulled onto Route 210, the dashboard lit up with five red warning [...]