Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
For the week of December 17
Note: the Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s Senior Friendship Centers and Home Delivered Meals programs will not be in operation on December 24th and 25th, and on December 31st and January 1st.
The Office for the Aging headquarters will be OPEN for regular hours (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) on Monday, December 24th, but closed for the Christmas holiday on Tuesday, December 25th. We’ll also be OPEN regular hours on Monday, December 31st but closed for New Year’s Day on January 1st.
Golden Living . . . News for Seniors, Their Families and Caregivers
Todd N. Tancredi, Director
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
EPIC AND MEDICARE PART D
The open enrollment period for Medicare closed earlier this month, but for seniors with Medicare Part D there is another way to save money on prescription drug coverage. EPIC (Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage), is a New York State program that provides supplementary drug coverage and premium assistance for seniors with Medicare Part D. As an added benefit, EPIC enrollees are able to change their Part D plan outside of the open enrollment period once, any time during the year.
EPIC is open to any New York State resident who is age 65 or older and has an annual income up to $75,000 if single or $100,000 if married. To receive EPIC benefits, you must be enrolled in a Part D plan. EPIC may even help pay the Medicare Part D drug plan premiums for members with income up to $23,000 if single or $29,000 if married. Members with a higher income are required to pay their own Part D premiums, but EPIC provides premium assistance by lowering their EPIC deductible.
Seniors who are not eligible to join a Medicare Part D drug plan cannot join EPIC. Examples of ineligible seniors include those with a union/retiree drug subsidy program that is not a Part D plan, and seniors without Medicare Part A or Medicare Part B. Seniors with Medicare Advantage health insurance can only join EPIC if they have Part D drug coverage with their HMO.
It is very important to show both your EPIC ID card and the Medicare Part D plan card at your pharmacy to receive the maximum prescription benefits.
Two other important things to know:
· A senior who receives full Medicaid benefits is not eligible for EPIC;
· If your Part D drug plan has an annual deductible, you must pay the deductible before EPIC coverage will begin.
You can find the application (in eight languages), as well as more information about the program, online athttps://go.usa.gov/xPzkT or by calling EPIC toll free at 1-800-332-3742.
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Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) Program Application and Contact Information
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No documentation is required. EPIC verifies information with the Social Security Administration and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
HOLIDAY REMINDERS
The Office for the Aging’s Senior Friendship Centers and Home Delivered Meals (HDM) programs will not be in operation on December 24th and 25th, and on December 31st and January 1st. Shelf-stable meals will be provided for HDM clients in advance.
The Office for the Aging headquarters will be open for regular hours (9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) on Monday, December 24th, but closed for the Christmas holiday on Tuesday, December 25th. We’ll also be open regular hours on Monday, December 31st, but closed for New Year’s Day on January 1st.
Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 27 High Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone (845) 486-2555, email: ofa@dutchessny.gov website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging
Office for the Aging upcoming events
Unless otherwise indicated, call (845) 486-2555 for more information
All events subject to unannounced schedule changes
Tue 12/18, 2:15 p.m. – OFA Services presentation
With OFA Outreach Coordinator Brian Jones
The Landing of Poughkeepsie, 251 Boardman Rd.
Wed 12/19, 11 a.m. – “Nutrition and Cancer Prevention”
With OFA Nutrition Services coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
Millerton Senior Friendship Center, 21 Dutchess Ave.
Sat 3/16/19, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. – LaGrange Association Library volunteering event
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
488 Freedom Plains Rd. (Route 55) #109
www.laglib.org or (845) 452-3141 for information
To request an Office for the Aging presentation for your senior, social and/or civic group, get in touch with outreach coordinator Brian Jones at (845) 486-2555 or bjones@dutchessny.gov. All your group needs to provide is a venue that’s wheelchair-accessible and open to the public, with space to set up a projector and screen. We have our own projector and screen – but if you have those, let us know.
We feature presentations on Successful Aging, Office for the Aging services, Medicare/Medicaid, scam prevention, senior housing, a wide range of topics related to nutrition, and more!
VOLUNTEER HOME DELIVERED MEALS DRIVERS WANTED
With the Office for the Aging set to improve its Home Delivered Meals offerings for homebound seniors in 2019 thanks to a move to new facilities in January, we’re expecting an increase the need for volunteers to help deliver meals.
Currently, there’s particular need for volunteers to help deliver meals in the Towns of East Fishkill, LaGrange, Pleasant Valley, Poughkeepsie and Union Vale, along with the City of Beacon – but if you’re available anywhere else in Dutchess County, we’d love to have you.
If you’re familiar with rural areas of Dutchess County, or you just like to go for drives in our scenic countryside, so much the better – our most serious need for drivers is in the rural Union Vale area, especially from the Verbank area south through the Clove area to Tymor Park.
For more information on all aspects of volunteering with the Office for the Aging, you can click this link on the Dutchess County website for a volunteering brochure and sign-up form: https://www.dutchessny.gov/
If you’ve got questions about the Home Delivered Meals program specifically, email OFA’s Nutrition Services Coordinator, Nimesh Bhargava, at nbhargava@dutchessny.gov, or call (845) 486-2555.
DECEMBER ONLY – PATHSTONE ACCEPTING SECTION 8 WAITING LIST APPLICATIONS
PathStone’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program this month is accepting applications for placement on the program’s waiting list.
The PathStone Section 8 program administers vouchers subsidizing low income individuals and families in Dutchess County. Applications will be available until December 31, 2018, only at
PathStone
29 Marshall Rd Suite F
Wappingers Falls NY 12590
Applications will only be available between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Completed applications must be returned by mail via the US Postal Service to the above address.
No walk-in applications will be accepted.
The head of household for the person or family requesting an application must be at least 18 years old at the time of application. Only one application per family will be accepted. There is a limit of one application per envelope. Individuals submitting more than one application per family will be disqualified. All Dutchess County residents must provide proof of address.
Applications postmarked after December 31, 2018 will not be accepted. Incomplete or illegible applications will be returned to sender and logged as ineligible.
Phone calls requesting an application will not be accepted.
Preliminary eligibility will be based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 Voucher program income guidelines. Applications must have annual household incomes no greater than the following limits by family size:
|
Household size |
Income limit |
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1 |
$33,150 |
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2 |
$37,850 |
|
3 |
$42,600 |
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4 |
$47,300 |
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5 |
$51,100 |
|
6 |
$54,900 |
|
7 |
$58,700 |
|
8 |
$62,450 |
(subject to HUD revisions)
Upon receipt of a completed application, you will receive notification via U.S. mail of your acceptance to the waitlist.
Being placed on the waiting list is neither a guarantee of a Section 8 voucher, nor a final determination of eligibility for a voucher.
PathStone Corporation promotes fair housing and equal opportunity. Reasonable accommodations may be available to disabled families upon request. PathStone Corporation does not discriminate against creed, race, religion, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, family status or disability.
MILERTON SENIOR FRIENDSHIP CENTER MOVES JANUARY 2ND
The Village of Millerton and Town of North East are in the early stages of a Community Development Block Grant-funded effort to improve access to village and town government offices in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Because the OFA Millerton Senior Friendship Center is located in the same building as village offices, the Friendship Center will be relocating in advance of expected renovations, around the corner to the Millerton/North East Library Annex at 28 Century Blvd., effective January 2, 2019.
The historic Library Annex is used for many other community activities, so seniors who use the Friendship Center at the new location will be able to find out about more things to do in the community…and as its name indicates, it’s within a few feet of the library.
For more information, call the Office for the Aging at (845) 486-2555. Outside the 845 area code, including in the 518/838 area codes, call toll free (866) 486-2555.
THE ‘DEED SCAM’ REAPPEARS
Dutchess County homeowners may have received an official-looking letter lately, from a company offering to mail you a copy of the deed to your property for $86 or thereabouts.
It’s an official-looking letter, but it is decidedly NOT official.
The office of County Clerk Brad Kendall wants you to know that there’s no need to pay that kind of money to a third party, in the event you don’t already have your deed and really do need a certified copy. The County Clerk’s office will track down your deed for a much lower cost – as low as $6 if you request it in person at their offices in the County Office Building at 22 Market St. in Poughkeepsie
For more information, call the County Clerk’s office at (845) 486-2125 or go to www.dutchessny.gov/countyclerk
Other aging news online:
More help for you in telling the difference between honest news on dementia research and “clickbait” that doesn’t deliver on what the headline promises: https://www.healthnewsreview.
The two Voyager probes that were launched back in the 1970’s are senior citizens, sort of – and still doing their work even though they’re moving out of the solar system and into interstellar space: https://www.space.com/42686-
This week in senior birthdays:
12/17: Pope Francis (82)
12/18: Chef/author Jacques Pépin (83)
12/19: Actress Cicely Tyson (94)
12/20: Motown singer Kim Weston (79)
12/21: Talk show host Phil Donahue (83)
12/22: Mets pitcher Jerry Koosman (76)
12/23: Actor/voice artist Harry Shearer (75)
And the Bad Joke to wrap things up for the week:
Q: Why was Mozart annoyed with his chickens?
A: Because he asked them who the greatest composer ever was and they all said “Bach, Bach, Bach…”
Brian Jones
Outreach Coordinator
Dutchess County Office For the Aging
27 High Street
Poughkeepsie NY 12601
Phone: (845) 486-2555 Fax: (845) 486-2571
Email: bjones@dutchessny.gov
Website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging
