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1777-A Capitola Road, Santa Cruz 95062 www.seniornetworkservices.org A Nonprofit Community Agency Santa Cruz County's Official Information & Assistance Provider call: 831-462-1433 email: info@seniornetworkservices.org Unbiased, No Cost Medicare Counseling Santa Cruz call: 831-462-5510 San Benito call: 831-637-0630 email: hicap@seniornetworkservices.org Shared Housing I Housing Navigation I Home Help call: 831-462-6788 email: housing@seniornetworkservices.org Respite Registry I Respite Grants call: 831-462-0880 email: respite@seniornetworkservices.org SENIOR NETWORK SERVICES Coping with Grief During the Holidays This season is a time of celebration, joy, and gathering with the peo- ple we love. For those grieving, it's a time that can heighten feelings of loss, inducing dread and sadness as they experience so many firsts without their loved one. Recre- ating the holidays of the past is no longer possible. Grieving people can find themselves in a room full of family and friends but feel alone and disconnect- ed from what's happening around them. These are natural responses to grief but left unacknowledged and unspoken, they can cause additional hurt. For the Grieving Grieving isn't done all at once. Most of us move in and out of grief, alter- nately feeling pain and the reality of the loss one minute and then getting lost in daily life. It's okay to experience pleasure and focus on other things. There's no way around grief. Being kind to ourselves, creating space for feelings, and altering holiday plans can help. Set boundaries. Decide if you can handle past respon- sibilities and set realistic expectations. Are there things you'd like to do differently or not at all? Think about how you want to remember the person you're missing during holiday gatherings or alone. You can honor traditions and/or create new ones. Light a candle and spend time thinking or sharing stories about them. Do something you enjoyed together or donate to a nonprofit in their name. Some set a place at their holiday table for the person who's no longer present. It's okay to skip the holidays, take a trip, or do anything in between. Be open to joy. If this is the first holiday in a long time when you're not a primary caregiver or worried about your loved one's health and well-be- ing, it is perfectly natural to want to experience the season's happiness. Though counter to what you think you're "sup- posed" to do, feel, or think, let yourself cele- brate without guilt. It is all part of the process. There is no "right" way to grieve. Advice for Family and Friends Grieving friends and family members may not want to do what they've always done. They may have trouble committing or expressing what they need as they navigate the holiday season. When planning holiday gather- ings, ask them what they need and how or even if they want to celebrate, and give them the gifts of flexibility and understand- ing. Think about the role the person who died used to play at gatherings -- mom carved the turkey or uncle played Santa -- and find ways to plan for these shifts. Finally, a grieving person might accept an invitation, but their energy and desire to attend may shift. They may arrive at the last minute, stay for a brief while, or not come at all. Our job is to welcome the grieving among us just as they are on their terms. Getting Support Hospice of Santa Cruz County offers specialized grief support that focuses on remembering and hon- oring people's losses and offering services to help people navigate the winter holidays. "This time of year can magnify grief. Whether it's a new or old loss or antic- ipatory grief, some people feel grief acutely during the holidays," says Veronica Vanderstoep, grief counsel- or and group coordinator at Hospice of Santa Cruz County. "Everyone grieves differently, so we offer services that honor those differences." On December 8th, 5-6:30pm, join Hospice of Santa Cruz County for its annual Tree of Lights gath- ering, where you can create a luminaria in memory of a loved one. This free, drop-in event provides an opportunity for reflection and recognition of loved ones. It takes place outside Arts Council Santa Cruz County's offices at 1070 River Street on the Tannery Arts Center campus. On December 13, 6-7:30pm, join a free online screening of the film Speaking Grief, followed by a panel discussion with local grief support coun- selors. The movie validates the experience of grievers and guides those wishing to support them. Register and see the trailer at hospice- santacruz.org/event/mov- ie-speaking-grief/. Attend a drop-in grief support group with Hos- pice of Santa Cruz County every Friday at 12:30pm on Zoom. There, you'll meet others experiencing the loss of a loved one in a nurturing and safe envi- ronment. Participants are encouraged to speak about their grief and learn ways to lessen loss's emotional and physical symptoms. Call (831) 430-3000 or visit hospicesantacruz.org/ grief-support/grief-sup- port-adults/ to learn more. By Sally Green What is Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) By Bill Proulx Senior Network Services Each year Medicare participants have an opportunity to save money! From October 15 through December 7, Medicare participants can enroll in a new Part D or a new Part C plan for the upcoming year. Medicare Part D plans are insurance plans sold through private insur- ance firms that cover prescription drug costs and are annual plans. Part C plans also known as Medicare Advantage Plans, are sold through private insurance firms and are also annual plans. Part C plans contain Part D plans as part of their network of services. So folks will have one or the other, but not both. Each year, three things can change giving bene- ficiaries the opportunity to save money. First, people's prescription list can change from year to year. Perhaps a brand name drug comes out in a generic version, or a better medication becomes available to treat a person's illness. The price for a Part D plan is directly affected by the prescriptions that the plan covers. So, a change to someone's prescription list can change which plan best covers their list. Second, the insurance company can change the formu- lary of the Part D plan from year to year which may affect the cost of prescription drugs cov- ered by that plan. Third, the cost of a plan may change from year to year. For instance, in 2022 one plan costs $7.50 per month and will decrease to $4.50 in 2023 while another plan went from $32.40 in 2022 to $64.30 per month in 2023, a 50% increase! Here at the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) we hear from folks every year who say they did not know their plan was increasing in price. We understand! People receive so much junk mail regarding Medicare insurance they tend to throw a lot of it away without looking at it. We have a solution! Each year, between Oc- tober 15th and December 7th check to see if you have the least expensive plan for your prescrip- tion list for the next year. How do you do that? There are three ways to get unbiased help with new Part D plan pricing. One, someone can call Medicare at 1-800-633- 4227. The challenge with calling Medicare is it can take awhile (hours) to get a live representative. Our recommendation is to call after 5pm from October 15 to Decem- ber 7th. That way most seniors from the East Coast are not calling and the wait time should be shorter. Two, some- one can log onto www. medicare.gov website and use the plan finder tool to research plans in their area for themselves. Each year, HICAP helps about 150 - 200 seniors enroll in the least expensive plan for their prescriptions. It is best to call HICAP in August or September if you would like HICAP to research Part D or C plans to help lower your prescription's costs. As written above for Medicare Part D plans, Part C plans are also sub- ject to change each new year. From October 15th to December 7th folks can change or withdraw from their Medicare Advantage Plans. Sometimes people can find it challenging to change Part C plans because medical services covered by these plans are networked services and to change a plan generally means changing doc- tors. But it is still worth checking to see if future changes to plans still meet someone's medical needs. The Part C plans also contain prescrip- tion drug plans that can change. So, it can still be worth checking to see if someone's current plan is most cost effective for their prescriptions. The ways to research a Part C plan is the same for a Part D plan. You can call Medicare, or you can log onto Medicare. gov and use the plan finder tool, or you can call HICAP in Santa Cruz at 831-462-5510. We can also be contacted through our Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/seniornet- workservices. If someone does not contact their Part C or Part D plan between Oc- tober 15th and December 7th then the insurance company will re-enroll someone into the current plan regardless of price changes, changes to someone's prescription list or changes to the plan's formulary. Last month, HICAP had a client call in complaining of the cost of their Part D plan. They were paying $85 a month premium. This person had the same plan for about the last 8 years and had never checked to see if there was a less expensive plan for their prescriptions. HICAP compared this person's prescriptions to current Part D plans offered and this person could have been pay- ing $7.50 per month through 2022 with the same copay. This person could have saved $930 in 2022 by switching to a plan that better served their prescription needs. HICAP services are free to the public, but we can run out of time, so please contact HICAP in August or September if you would like to save money next year on your Part D prescription plans. You can also visit https:// seniornetworkservices. org/ to see upcoming community education presentations on Medicare including how to use the plan finder on the Medi- care.gov website. Contributed photo Peggy Pollard, Teacher www.PeggyDance.weebly.com Join the funnest social dancing in Santa Cruz! Santa Cruz Waltz & Swing In-Person & Online Dances & Lessons Meet cool & sophisticated new friends!

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