Page 4 - Reedley Exponent 11-22-18 E-edition

The Reedley Exponent A4 Thursday, November 22, 2018 Editorial & Opinions
Serving “The World’s Fruit Basket” since 1891
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION
Let me begin this week with a “happy thought” by wishing all you a Happy Thanks- giving!
Jon Earnest — Editor / Sports Juanita Adame — Panorama Editor Budd Brockett — Editor Emeritus
QUOTE
“Last night somebody broke into my apartment and replaced everything with exact duplicates... When I pointed it out to my roommate, he said, ‘Do I know you?’”
Steven Wright (1955 - )
Here are a few things in Reedley to give thanks for in 2018 and beyond
Thanksgiving is a national holiday cele-
brated on various dates in the United States,
Canada, some of the Caribbean islands and
Liberia. Although it has become essentially
a secular celebration, it began from religious
roots when celebrants offered thanks for the
blessing of a successful harvest and of the
preceding year. Perhaps this would be an
excellent time, when offering your pre-meal
prayer, to offer condolences and prayerful
thoughts for those so impacted by the fires in California. Remem- ber, as well, our nation which is so divided along petty political lines and issues exacerbated by political infighting..
Sad to say, religion is far less predominant in younger genera- tions and has essentially “fallen out of fashion.” It serves to remind me of the old military saying that “one will never find an atheist under fire in a foxhole.” Funny how that has a way of focusing one’s mind on what’s truly important. Even the most cynical among us are not above asking for divine intervention when faced with a specific need or eminent threat.
Being free to break bread with friends and family on this day of thanksgiving should not be taken lightly in the world’s great- est country where freedom, food and the comforts of life are so plentiful. Wherever possible and practical, we urge you to reach out and share life’s blessings with those who find themselves in unfortunate, and often dire, circumstances. Charity by individuals has always been one of America’s attributes. Trying to supplement or replace individual giving with the bumbling attempts by our government is a fool’s errand. Guiding the distribution of goods is an area where bureaucrats are particularly inept and truthfully is not their charge! We should never comfort ourselves by declaring that the government already “steals” enough from us to care for the less fortunate. At least we know that our investment, made personally, goes directly and totally to the recipient.
If you will bear with me for a moment, I would like to shift gears for a moment and talk about some of the turmoil which sur- rounded recently completed elections.
It seems to me—remembering that I am only one man — that much of the questionable occurrences had their genesis during the days in which we removed much of the voting from polling places. There actually was a time when voting was a personal responsibility. Increasingly absentee ballots are being used with problematic results.
I can see it continuing with the elderly, handicapped or the military but for the individual who is just too lazy to drive down to the local school, church or government building, not so much. Those, it seems, are always the ones which tend to turn the results of an election. They just present too great of an opportunity for malfeasance in their counting and handling to carry such weight in results. We’ve pushed “motor voter” and all sorts of voter reg- istration schemes until there is no real way of determining who is a legitimate citizen voter and who is not.
Before you start, there should be no way anyone would be dis- enfranchised.
I bring that up because there is a segment of our society who feels there is no need for any sort of identification being required to cast a ballot. What utter nonsense. Everything else we do in life requires I.D. of some sort and yet the central point of our democratic republic requires nothing. Basically, one can simply show up and vote without challenge. It’s time that we began to take this fundamental right more seriously.
If you feel that I am being overly dramatic, I would call to your attention that there is a city in this area where it has become a standing joke about one of their local politicians having a pocket full of absentees and your absentee ballot ballot can be sold for $20. The funny thing about that is you probably won’t even have to guess which city that we’re discussing. Such urban legends are usually grown from at least a germ of self-evident truth.
That’s just “food” for thought!
This Thanksgiving enjoy your family, your friends and your meal but never lose sight of the fact that we have been divinely gifted and, as caretakers, have a huge, overarching, responsibility to preserve and protect this great
Republic. May God bless each and every one of you and see you safely through this holiday with a common goal of attempting to make life better for everyone so blessed as to be an American.
But, as always, that’s only one man’s opinion.
Another Thanksgiving Day has arrived. Despite the troubles in our state, country and world, there are many things for Reedley residents to be thankful for. Here are a few:
• Starting with the obvious, the opportunity to live in a smaller com- munity that has a river within its city boundaries. That includes all the rec- reational opportunities that go with it — that is, when we’re blessed to have a few months of steady water flow. Not to mention the convenience of the Sierra Nevada a few scant miles to the east.
• Those foothills to the northeast also include Campbell Mountain, home to another great tradition of the white R and S (Reedley and Sanger). And the community continue to take great care and pride and keeping the R as freshly painted as possible.
• Like many smaller Central Val- ley cities, a sense of tradition and community. We have not just one, but two, annual parades with decades of tradition and strong turnouts each year. The Reedley Fiesta has gone on for more than a half-century, and the Electrical Farm Equipment Parade has become a Christmas season tra- dition with colorful floats lighting up downtown’s main street on a chilly December evening.
• Sure, the air has been crappy
with that smoky smell from the wild- fires and the heat can be oppressive for five to six months, but for the most part you can’t beat California climate. There’s no shoveling snow, unless you choose to visit the high Sierra in the dead of winter, and there is the ocean and lakes galore within a handful of hours of driving.
•••
• Then there’s Reedley govern-
ment itself. Compared to surrounding county cities (few guesses are need- ed) that seem to be in a steady state of dysfunction, this city’s governing policy usually is one of cooperation and teamwork. You won’t be finding grand jury visits, state investigations or the like.
• When there is controversy, it usually finds a way of working itself out for the best. There was resistance to the Faith House emergency shelter house — formerly the local Marjaree Mason Center house — but the facil- ity appears to be primed to become an asset to the city.
• There are many people with giving hearts and service. We have a rare volunteer fire department that is ready to step up at a moment’s no- tice, even with wildfires ravaging the state. The Reedley Police Department and Chief Joe Garza also has stepped up to help others; the latest example
being assisting in search and recov- ery of victims from the deadly Paradise Fire.
•••
• In education,
Fred Hall
we’re that rare
small city that has
a community col-
lege at our disposal.
And it’s one with nearly a century of history, and a continuing growth in programs and facilities. And Reedley College is joining the city as part of the exciting launch and growth of a state-of-the-art electric plane instruc- tion program. It’s becoming common- place when officials from an aeronau- tic giant like Boeing come to Reedley for business purposes.
• We have a school district with a solid reputation for education, along with a thriving private education insti- tution in Immanuel Schools. And there are many successful extracurricular programs from Reedley Schools — including Reedley High School’s “Big Green Marching Machine.” That speaks for itself.
Yes, we have a lot to be thankful for here in Reedley. Enjoy that bless- ing, and a Happy Thanksgiving.
Jon Earnest
Here’s what your Medicare costs will be in 2019
By Greg Dill
Guest columnist
As we head into the holi- day season, I wanted to let you know how much your Medicare will cost in 2019.
Most people with Medi- care will pay the standard monthly premium for Medi- care Part B, which will be $135.50 next year, an in- crease of $1.50 over 2018.
Part B covers physician services, outpatient hospital services, some home health services, durable medi- cal equipment, and certain other medical and health services not covered by Medicare Part A.
Your Part B premium is based on your income. People whose tax returns show income equal to or higher than $85,000 pay higher premiums. These income-adjusted premiums apply to about 5 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries.
The premiums for high- er-income beneficiaries for 2019 can be found here: https://www.cms.gov/news- room/fact-sheets/2019-medi- care-parts-b-premiums-and- deductibles.
The annual deductible for Part B is $185 in 2019, an increase of $2 from 2018.
Medicare Part A covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing, and some home health services. The vast majority of Medicare ben- eficiaries don’t have to pay
Part A premiums since they or their spouses paid Medi- care payroll taxes for at least 40 quarters (10 years).
The Part A inpatient hospital deductible that beneficiaries pay when ad- mitted to the hospital will be $1,364 in 2019, a $24 in- crease over 2018.
There are two ways to get your Medicare bene- fits: Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
With Original Medicare, you can choose any doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider you want, as long as they accept Medicare. When you receive medical services or goods, Medi- care pays the provider di- rectly. About 70 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries have Original Medicare.
The other way to get your benefits is Medicare Advan- tage, which is a form of man- aged care, like an HMO or PPO. Medicare Advantage is provided by private insur- ance companies approved by Medicare. If you’re in Medi- care Advantage, you gener- ally must go to doctors and other providers in the com- pany’s network.
If you go outside the network, you may have to pay more.
On the other hand, Medicare Advantage plans may offer some services — such as dental, hearing, vi- sion, and prescription drug coverage — that Original
Medicare doesn’t.
Most people with Origi-
nal Medicare pay a monthly Part B premium. If you’re in Medicare Advantage, you may have to pay an ad- ditional monthly premium to the private insurer that covers you.
With Original Medicare, you or your supplemental insurance must pay deduct- ibles, co-pays, and coinsur- ance.
To cover these “gaps” in Medicare, some people buy supplemental insurance called Medigap. If you have a Medigap policy, Medicare pays its share of covered costs, and then your Me- digap policy pays its share.
Original Medicare doesn’t cover prescription drugs. If you want drug cov- erage, you can buy a sepa- rate Medicare Part D plan. Such plans are sold through private insurers approved by Medicare. You have to pay an additional monthly premium for Part D.
On average, Medicare Advantage premiums in 2019 are projected to de- crease by six percent to $28, from an average of $29.81 in 2018.
Some plans are provid- ing new types of benefits in 2019, including:
• Adult day care ser- vices, in-home support ser- vices, caregiver support services, home-based pal- liative care and therapeutic
massage; and
• Reduced cost sharing
and additional benefits for enrollees with certain condi- tions, such as diabetes and congestive heart failure.
The average monthly basic premium for Part D prescription drug plans is expected to fall from $33.59 this year to $32.50 next year. This is the second year in a row that average Part D premiums have declined.
And while we’re talking about costs, don’t forget that Medicare Open Enrollment season is here, and lasts un- til Friday, Dec. 7.
This is the time each year when you can shop around for a new Medicare Advantage health plan or Part D drug plan that bet- ter meets your health needs and pocketbook.
To help you, we’ve de- veloped an online calculator that can give you an idea of how much you’ll pay out-of- pocket for a Medicare Ad- vantage plan versus Origi- nal Medicare plus a Part D plan and a Medigap plan.
You can access the cal- culator at https://www.medi- care.gov/oopc/.
Greg Dill is Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Territories. You can always get answers to your Medi- care questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800- 633-4227).
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