The Sabbatical Sentinel
and
Tired-Again Times
POIGNANT QUOTES
"When an old man dies, a library burns." An African proverb from Stephen King, "Mr. Harrington's Phone," in If It Bleeds, (New York: Scribner, 2020), p. 80.
"I'd love to know how Dad saw me when I was 6. I'd love to know a hundred things. When a parent dies, a filing cabinet full of all the fascinating stuff also ceases to exist. I never imagined how hungry I'd be one day to look inside it." David Mitchell, The Bone Clocks, 2014
"The human brain is finite— no more than a sponge of tissue inside a cage of bone— but the mind within the brain is infinite. Its storage capacity is colossal, its imaginative reach beyond our ability to comprehend. I think when a man or woman dies, a whole world falls to ruin— the world that person knew and believed in. Think of that, kiddo— billions of people on earth, and each one of those billions with a world inside. The earth their minds have conceived." Stephen King, "The Life of Church," in If It Bleeds, (New York: Scribner, 2020), p. 111-112.
2020 RETIREE ANNUAL ENROLLMENT: NOW THROUGH DECEMBER 7, 2020
You are receiving this Newsletter in the early days of our annual enrollment, and so it's a good time to remind you about an extraordinary feature of our Medical Benefits—
You can upgrade your current plan if you know your medical or dental expenses will be higher during the new year because, for example,
a) you will be having surgery and anticipate recovering in the hospital for some days
b) you have new and expensive prescriptions
c) you will need one or two hearing aids BREAKING NEWS: see below!
d) you will need major dental work
Although you will pay higher premiums up front, by year's end you will have paid less overall.
You can decide whether upgrading your medical or dental plan for the new year makes sense by using the information in the Plan Document Handbook, including the "Summary of Benefits and Coverage" beginning on page 85, and the Medical Expenses Worksheets beginning on page 98.
You can download the 2021 Plan Document Handbook by clicking here.
We highlighted the word extraordinary because Bill's first career was in group insurance, and one of the key underwriting principles is guarding against "adverse selection"— that is, preventing those who are insured from cherry-picking their coverage based on how much they are likely to use it.
But wait! There's more! If you have a spouse, you don't have to be on the same plan(s)— if only one of you needs to upgrade your coverage in anticipation of higher expenses, that's all right.
This extraordinary feature is another sign of how much CPG cares for us ahead of insurance niceties!
Finally, if you need additional help in deciding your coverage for 2020, there are many useful resources in the Annual Enrollment packet you received in the mail.
BREAKING NEWS
"Do You Hear What I Hear?"
Enhanced Medical Trust Medicare Supplement Plan Hearing Benefit for 2021
For Comprehensive and Plus Medicare Supplement Plans
Current Benefit:
Maximum of $1,000 per year every 5 years, plus hearing aid device discount
2021 Benefit:
Maximum of $1,500 per year every 3 years, plus hearing aid device discount
For Premium Medicare Supplement Plan
Current Benefit:
Maximum of $2,000 per year every 5 years, plus hearing aid device discount
2021 Benefit:
Maximum of $2,000 per year every 3 years, plus hearing aid device discount
And on the topic of hearing and hearing aids:
CAN HEARING AIDS HELP PREVENT DEMENTIA?
By Kim Tingley
For the entire article, please click here.
"What's unclear is how hearing loss affects the structure and function of the brain over the long term. There are hints, though. fMRI scans have shown that if the ear sends a garbled signal to the brain— whether a result of poor hearing or background noise that interferes with good hearing— regions in the frontal cortex related to reasoning, decision making and memory, as opposed to speech comprehension, are activated, 'overloading' them and making them work harder in order for the listener to comprehend what is being said in the moment.
"Hearing loss has also been associated with an atrophy of brain tissue in auditory regions, potentially from lack of use. People who can't hear well tend to be less likely to go out and engage with others socially too, which is another known risk factor for dementia."
FLU SHOT AND PNEUMONIA VACCINE MIGHT REDUCE ALZHEIMER'S RISK
By Jon Hamilton
For the entire article, please click here.
"People who got at least one flu shot had a 17% reduction in risk. . . . And people who got regular vaccinations saw their risk drop another 13%." . . .
"Those who received a pneumonia vaccine before age 75 were at least 25% less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's. . . ."
Editors' Note: And have you received your Shingles vaccine?!
"I WAS UNPREPARED":
LOUISE GLÜCK ON POETRY, AGING, AND A SURPRISE NOBEL PRIZE
By Alexander Alter
For the entire article, please click here.
"I'm not interested [in] my particular life, but instead on the struggles and joys of humans, who are born and then forced to exit. I think I write about mortality because it was a terrible shock to me to discover in childhood that you don't get this forever."
"One of the few good things to say about old age is that you have a new experience. Diminishment is not everybody's most anticipated joy, but there is news in this situation."