Caribbean American Passport News Magazine - Sept/Oct 2022 by caribbeanamericanpassport

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Sept/Oct 2022

Miami Carnival goes on despite rain celebrates 38 years

MAKE TIME TO VOTE: MIDTERMS 2022 Florida's State General Election will be Tuesday, November 8, 2022. The deadline to register to vote in the general election is Tuesday, October 11.  Deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot to be mailed to you is 5 p.m. on October 29th  Early Voting starts from October 24th through November 6th 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., daily  Election Day is November 8th 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

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Congresswoman Demings a key supporter of the Orlando Carnival in Central Florida, joined the parade with her campaign bus, and had a tent in the festival posted the following on her social media; "Happy to experience Carnival yesterday and celebrate Caribbean culture. Thank you @miabrocarnival for presenting me with this beautiful carnival headdress!"

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L I F E S T Y L E

Samuel J. Roberts

Work Hard, Play Harder

Guenet Gittens-Roberts Owner/Publisher/Editor

Miami Carnival Moments

Owner/Publisher/Editor

Recently, I have been giving a lot of thought to showing up We don't have as much money as we think we should have, but truly we are rich in our friendships. We are rich in our "Actively" in your life. experiences. We are rich in the fun we have. What does that mean...even I am not sure if people use the word in the way that I have used it. But it's something that I Miami Carnival moments are in this editorial, because it is keep yelling at the kids or anyone who seems to feel that life family time for me - we take our annual vacation and have a wonderful time of catching up with people and things that I happens to them and not by them. love. This year I was able to work on producing the first I feel that you are an active participant in your life - that Carnival reality show - Road Ready TV Miami while still means that you are actively creating it. If you want hanging out with friends and family. something to happen that doesn't this year - then you need to plan for it to happen, not woefully regret that it didn't happen I was able to meet with Machel at the book launch of King of Soca, the book written by his mom Lady Montano. OUr when you did not plan for it. life isn't perfect but it's perfectly ours and that is by Too often I hear people describe a life that is happening to intention. Live yours actively! them. Life doesn't happen to you consistently and continually, your decisions create the life you end up receiving. The faster and earlier we all learn that and realize that no one is responsible for saving us or is coming to rescue you, the more you can analyze the life you want to create and get to doing it. I don't think there are right and wrong goals in life- some prioritize experiences and people, others money and security. I feel that you have to know what is right for you. My concern is if you're being a passenger in your own life's journey. Are you bored? Feeling aimless? Looking on as others seem to have fun or live life? 1969 Alafaya Trail • Orlando, FL 32828 Office: 407-427-1800 Fax: 407-386-7925 Toll Free: 877-220-8315 For Media Information email: Publisher: sroberts@caribbeanamericanpassport.com Info: .Info@caribbeanamericanpassport.com

Should you desire to review past copies of the publication go to http:// caribbeanamericanpassport.com and click on the 'Print Archive'. Publisher & Editor................................................................................... Sam Roberts Publisher ............................................................................. Guenet Gittens-Roberts Editor & Contributing Writer................................................................Aleia Roberts Contributing Writers: ................................................................................ Tony Dyal Contributing Photographers ............ .......................................................King Visual ....................................................................................................................Dillia Castillo Central Florida Distribution......................................................... .Danielle Browne South Florida Distribution .............................................................Norman Williams North Florida Distribution ...............................................................Kadeem Roberts Tampa Distribution ...................................................................................Julian Pina Copyright (C) 2016 GGR Marketing & Public Relations. All rights reserved.

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New board leadership and focus on Greater Miami and Miami Beach 2023 tourism outlook among meeting highlights

Marlon Hill Caribbean-American attorney and community organizer Marlon Hill is among 15 professionals to join the board of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB). Hill, who received a 2019 Leadership Award from the Caribbean Media Exchange (CMEx), is an attorney with Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman and represents businesses, entrepreneurs and local and international governments in corporate, intellectual property, and government matters. “I am honored to serve in this leadership role to elevate our Miami destination brand locally and internationally and to open new doors of opportunity and inclusion,” said Hill. “Greater Miami and the Beaches and the Caribbean region share a mutual interest in nurturing a vibrant ecosystem for hospitality and tourism. We both endeavor to create similar authentic experiences for our visitors and to stimulate economic opportunities for our industry stakeholders,” he added. Also joining the board is Michael Hooper, who has Bahamian roots and currently serves as the general manager of Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon; and Felecia Hatcher, CEO of Black Ambition Opportunity Fund, who is of Jamaican heritage. The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau is the official accredited destination sales and marketing organization for Greater Miami and Miami Beach.

Felecia Hatcher “It is incumbent that we continuously recruit and develop a board that is representative of the sectors and constituents we promote and serve,” said GMCVB Chairman of the Board of Directors Bruce Orosz. “This group joins an already outstanding team of board members and I look forward to collaborating with them as we strive to maintain the outstanding momentum our organization and our Michael Hooper industry is experiencing,” he added. "A successful and accountable non-profit organization is first led and supported by an outstanding board of directors,” said GMCVB President & CEO David Whitaker. “The voices and expertise we gather around our table need to be harnessed and engaged in order to elevate our effectiveness and to help add fuel to the impact of our organization. I could not be more excited to have this collection of outstanding leaders.”

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Biden Administration Guts Most of Public Charge Rule, But Immigrants Still Fearful BySunita Sohrabji The Biden Administration recently gutted the signature Trump-era policy known as public charge, which effectively imposed a wealth tax on people seeking to gain permanent residency in the US. The new rule will go into effect on Dec. 23. It has already undergone a 60-day public comment period, and thus needs no further adjudication before it takes effect. The rule greatly narrows the definition of public charge to just two criteria: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and institutionalization for long-term care. The Trump administration had broadened the definition of the seldom-used 1999 rule to include immigrants receiving Medicaid, public housing, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as part of the public charge inadmissibility determination, even if they were applying for those benefits on behalf of their US born children. The rule — which gave immigration officers the discretion to determine if an individual applying for a green card might become dependent on the government — would also have been imposed on people attempting to permanently enter the US. Lawsuits and injunctions kept Trump’s policy from ever being imposed, except for a brief window in 2020. The US Supreme Court killed Trump’s rule in 2021, shortly after President Joe Biden took office.

Zenobia Lai, executive director of the Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative, said: “The Department of Homeland Security has realized the chilling effects of the public charge rule on immigrant families, especially those with US born children. We must move from that chill to a thaw.” She noted that benefits received by children or other family members would not count when an immigration officer determines whether an applicant is deemed a public charge. She clarified that only government assistance would count and — under the new rule — would be limited to TANF and long-term medical institutionalization. Lai expressed her hope that those two categories would be removed in the future. Lai also clarified that benefits received during the Covid-19 pandemic would not be considered for inadmissibility under the public charge rule.

But despite non-implementation, the rule had a chilling effect on immigrant communities. Millions of people disenrolled themselves and family members from federal benefits to which they were entitled, for fear of invoking public charge inadmissibility when they applied for permanent residency. “This action (today) ensures fair and humane treatment of legal immigrants and their U.S. citizen family members,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in a Sept. 8 press statement. “Consistent with America’s bedrock values, we will not penalize individuals for choosing to access the health benefits and other supplemental government services available to them.” The public charge test potentially impacts approximately 10 million immigrants and 12 million children, many of whom are US citizens, but born into mixed-status families. “We welcome this long-awaited change in policy. It will have a beneficial impact on millions of immigrants, primarily women and children,” said Essey Workie, director of the Migration Policy Institute Human Services Initiative. “But while the rule is moving in the right direction, immigrant communities are still fearful of what might happen in the future. A change in administration might bring back the restrictive rules, impacting immigration status,” said Workie in an interview with Ethnic Media Services. Lawsuits and injunctions are definitely expected, but those must be based on technical or procedural issues. “I don’t see that applying to this situation,” said Workie.

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FUSION FEST is ...International foods, music, dance, fashion, artisans, spoken word, games, puppets, and so much more! You won’t want to miss the chance to celebrate and learn about the incredible cultural diversity in Central Florida.

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Voters to Decide on Orange County Transportation Sales Tax Referendum Vote YES on a 1% sales tax dedicated exclusively to transportation improvements to benefit Orange County residents and businesses In the November 2022 General Election, Orange County voters have the opportunity to vote on a new 1% sales tax dedicated to transportation and transit investments. If approved, the sales tax will generate $600 million each year for Orange County, roads, bridges, transit, pedestrian and bicycle improvement projects. The tax is specifically designed to limit the impact on area residents, by maximizing funding from those who visit the region and contribute to congestion all while ensuring accountability and transparency for local residents.

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MACHEL MONTANO AND ELIZABETH “LADY” MONTANO LAUNCH KING OF SOCA BIOGRAPHY AT MIAMI’S HARD ROCK CAFÉ Miami Launch Follows Sold Out Discussion at the Grammy Museum Experience in Newark, NJ and Book Launches in Trinidad and Brooklyn, N.Y. By Patricia Meschino

Following the discussion, Lady and Machel signed copies of King of Soca

Machel Montano, 47, is celebrating his 40th anniversary in music. King of Soca, the debut publication from Lady’s EESM Publishers imprint, comprehensively traces his transformation from precocious child star to revered soca icon. The ultimate insider, Lady managed her son’s career for over 30 years and her book provides an in depth, uniquely familial and professional perspective; Machel’s journey, including the many challenges he has faced along the road to superstardom, says Lady, is not well known, so she wanted to tell his story with the intention of motivating the youth, especially in Machel’s native Trinidad and Tobago, to aspire to greatness.

An acapella performance between Machel Montano and Farmer Nappy In her book, Lady documents the various phases of Machel’s illustrious career including how they met Farmer Nappy and goes on to chronicle his days as a 20-something year old sex symbol, the “Winer Boi” era (1997–2006), to his attaining a higher resolution, physically, mentally and spiritually during his HD (High Definition) period (2007–2014) to the introspective enlightenment that characterizes the Monk Evolution, beginning with the Movement of New Knowledge (2015–2018), which has elevated to the Movement of Now Knowing (2019–2022.)

An educator by training, Lady based King of Soca on her 2018 Master of Philosophy dissertation titled “The Making of Monk Monte: Creativity and Commodification in Trinidad and Tobago Popular Culture.” Lady initially planned to build on her dissertation and work towards a PhD but decided against the academic route because she wanted her writing to be accessible to anyone interested in knowing more about the soca titan. “I am very conscious of Machel’s continuous transformation and the extent to which he has opened my mind about inclusion,” she explained. “While it is said that you must work with a set target audience, or a specific niche or population in mind for your product, I am satisfied that this work will deliver an authentic, revelatory, impactful account of my son’s life in music to anyone open to receiving it.”

@kw.com

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Fake News Kicks Into High Gear By Peter White

People who are addicted to fake news get it from sources they trust. Trouble is, people who produce it know they are lying. “This information has always existed,” says Vanessa Cárdenas, deputy director of America’s Voice and a policy expert on political disinformation. During an Ethnic Media Services press call last week, Cárdenas said that there’s a lot more fake news out there and it spreads quickly. “What’s different is the way in which we are consuming information has changed, and that has created this monster that we are not able to control, and many times the platforms are not able to control,” she said. News that misleads reaches millions via Facebook and Twitter. When Fox News peddles conspiracy theories, they play to an audience that wants to believe the message regardless of whether it is true or not. Cárdenas said false narratives about immigration, crime, and the economy are flourishing on Fox News and its viewers see them repeated constantly as the midterm elections approach. She said the Right has created an echo chamber that reinforces and amplifies negative stereotypes about immigrants or repeats the “big lie” that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. “We see that candidates, Republican candidates, are taking a lot of these themes and are using them in their ads. America’s Voice has been tracking TV ads for campaigns across the country and we see hundreds and hundreds of ads. We see hundreds and hundreds of emails that come from these campaigns touching on these themes,” Cárdenas said. Disinformation creates a feedback loop that amplifies false messages to voters and politicians use them to win elections. "It’s a political tactic. There’s no policy substance. It’s not a factual conversation. It’s not a solution-oriented

conversation. It’s all about giving red meat to their base,” she said. Added to the slew of misinformation are a raft of newly enacted restrictive voting laws. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, after the 2020 election 21 states passed 42 restrictive voting laws. Mekela Panditharatne with the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program noted these laws “target or disproportionately impact Latino and Black voters. And we found that newly registered voters are most likely to be Latino,” she said. Many of these new voters are being bombarded with misinformation on Spanish-language platforms. Spanish radio is the news media of choice for Latinos in states like Florida and Texas. Factchequeado, a Spanish fact-checking platform, calls out fake news in Spanish language news media by using WhatsApp, a crossplatform instant messaging service popular among Latino/a communities. Factchequeado started in April with support from the Google News Initiative and is modeled after two similar operations, Maldita.es in Spain and Chequeado in Argentina. It has 30 large and small media partners who collaborate as fake news watchdogs. “We are seeing a lot of disinformation similar to the past election,” says Factchequeado Managing Editor Tamoa Calzadilla, former director of fact checking at Univision, the largest Spanish language TV network in the U.S. Allegations of fraud in the 2020 election are common, along with other false narratives directed at Latino/a

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Biden Administration Guts Most of Public Charge Rule, But Immigrants Still Fearful BySunita Sohrabji She noted that immigration officers are mandated to weigh in on the totality of an applicant’s financial resources and future income prospects. Almost 60 percent of people applying for adjustment of status will be asked to provide an affidavit of support from a family member or other individual. “This will be highly considered for the approval of the application to adjust status,” said Lai. “Parents no longer need to fear enrolling their eligible family members in public benefits. It will not affect their own immigration status,” she said. There has been so much misinformation about the public charge rule, which has deterred people from enrolling themselves for benefits to which they are entitled, said Jennifer Duarte of Texas-based Project Vida. “Families are still fearful, based on misinformation. The new public charge is a small win in an ongoing battle,” she said. “Politicians have stoked fear in the immigrant community, and will continue to do so,” said Esther Reyes Martinez, director of immigration policy and advocacy at the Children’s Defense Fund in Texas. She noted that the new rule has been written in a way to make it much more difficult for future administrations to attempt to change it.

Several organizations hailed the new rule. Asian Americans Advancing Justice released a statement, noting that the previous public charge rule was “cruel by design.” “It was not only meant to favor white and wealthy immigrants applying for admission or a green card, but also aimed to create fear and confusion about the use of critical, life-saving programs within low-income communities of color.” “Tragically, the issuance of the last rule caused many immigrants of color, including Asian Americans, to withdraw from health care, nutrition programs, housing services, and other benefits,” said the organization, noting that the new rule greatly simplifies the public charge test. Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, said in a press statement: “The Biden administration’s public charge rule aligns with longstanding principles in immigration law and provides helpful clarifications to pre-existing guidance.” “This policy is an important step in advancing the Biden administration’s priority of addressing socioeconomic and racial inequities that have been exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

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Get the Vote Out — We Won’t Black Down By Roger Caldwell

On Saturday, October 22, 2022, there was a mobile canvassing bus tour taken place, to educate the Black community on the significance of early voting, and bring yourself and five other registered voters to the polls. With about 2 weeks left until Election Day, it is important that the Black community is reminded that their vote is their voice. With the collaboration of Shaniqua “Shan”, Rose, President of Change For the Community, Jae Fortune, Pine Hills Partnership, and Black Voters Matters came together to do something different in the community. “Our goal is to remind the Black community, no matter what you do, you are not forgotten and your vote matters. I want everyone, especially young people to see someone who looks like them out here talking to the community, ” says Shan Rose.

Without a doubt this plan will increase voter turnout and build capacity, and force elected officials to provide more resources in our community. With more funding this is a plan that should be executed throughout the entire state of Florida. To join the movement text Florida to 25225. To participate in future Get Out The Vote initiatives or if you need more information, please contact Shan Rose (407-603-1602 or changeforthecommunity@gmail.com.

There were stops made in Pine Hills, Richmond Heights, Orange County, and Parramore for 4 hours, and engaged roughly 1,000 people on Saturday. The future plan is to knock on 20,000 doors until Election Day November 8th. While many of the riders traveled around West Orange, they also were texting. The bus tour and canvassing was a brilliant concept and idea. “It is our goal to educate the voters that our needs are on the ballot, and voter turnout wins elections. We Won’t Black Down (or folks who may not understand this new speech-We Won’t Back Down) is educating the Black community in Orange County.

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Fake News Kicks Into High Gear By Peter White

communities. Calzadilla cited one fake story circulating on Xiaoqing said, adding a lot of these discussions happen in radio stations in Florida that claimed the Internal Revenue private groups, making them difficult to trace. Service bought ammunition to attack people in their homes and steal their money. While the Chinese government censors WeChat, its intrusion into messaging around COVID was Two other false narratives circulating widely in Spanish- “relatively clean,” Xiaoqing explained. “It’s in the speaking communities are “the border crisis” and race Chinese government’s interest to vaccinate people and to replacement theory that says U.S. immigration authorities fight against COVID-19.” are letting “illegals” come into the country to replace whites. Calzadilla said that both parties spin the news but the tidal Misinformation related to U.S. politics is another story. “Its wave of disinformation about crime and especially running rampant on WeChat because it is in the immigration, comes from conservatives. When radio Chinese government’s interest to portray that the US announcers call undocumented immigrants “illegals” they and its democracy has been collapsing,” she said. are making a political statement and spreading a false narrative, too. There is also overlap on WeChat with narratives being pedaled in Spanish. The hard truth is that the country is polarized and hungry for news that both influences their opinions and reinforces what they already believe. Immigration is a top issue with “The Biden administration is issuing a temporary green card Latinos right now and ideologues are exploiting it. to illegal immigrants. That’s their exact words, illegal immigrants,” Xiaoqing noted. “What they are actually referring to is an ID card that Immigration Customs Some Latinos see Dreamers and new asylum seekers as Enforcement (ICE) plans to issue to immigrants immigrants just like themselves. Others with legal status, or coming to the border in order to help them quickly waiting for it, see new arrivals as cheaters trying to jump the access their file and book immigration related hearings.” queue. While both parties are responsible for the current dysfunction in our immigration system, Republicans are putting all the blame on President Biden and the Democrats, a strategy that appears to be working as reporting shows GOP gains among Latino/a voters since 2020.

For those Chinese immigrants applying for green cards via the official process, it’s a message that can resonate. “When they see that… someone is getting it before me via a shortcut, they will not be happy.” Earlier this year the non-profit Chinese for Affirmative Action launched the fact checking website Piyaoba.

Disinformation is also prevalent within the Chinesespeaking community, says Rong Xiaoqing, a reporter for “They do index fact checking in Chinese. Not only will they the Chinese-language Sing Tao Daily in New York who tell you ‘Oh, here’s a piece of misinformation that’s monitors Chinese social networks. circulating on Chinese language social media platforms’, but they also dig into the arrangement of the message and its evolution through the years,” Xiaoqing said. “The most popular one among Chinese is WeChat,”

THE CARNIVAL BRAND "People look at the Caribbean island-models - Trinidad, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Barbados, to name a few, and see “Free” Carnival; and many do not understand that it is sponsored by the local Governments who invest a lot of money upfront, in order to create a tourism and cultural destination for the Carnival brand and their nations. In South Florida, as we celebrate 38 years of Miami Carnival, we hope to expand our Government Support in areas of city and street permitting and security, as well as investment infrastructure. It is one of our Goals; and we know that developing the Carnival brand and the reputation will aid in this relationship." Miami Carnival

Panorama Winners: 1st PLACE, Lauderhill Steel Ensemble, Anjeli Samai, MASH UP, 276

Lateisha aka "Carnival Bae" Cast Member, Road Ready TV

WAIWAI STEEL BAND Made a Guest Appearance at Miami Carnival2022 Panorama, all the way from Japan

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Medicare Open Enrollment: Everything You Need to Know COURTESY MEDICARE.GOV

Once a year, Medicare gives its more than 60 million beneficiaries a chance to step back, review their coverage and make any changes that will help them get the best out of the federal government’s health insurance program for adults age 65 and over and people with disabilities. But experts say too many enrollees overlook this annual opportunity to possibly save money and improve their coverage. “Most people don’t pay much attention to the open enrollment period and that can come at a cost,” says Tricia Neuman, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation and executive director of its Program on Medicare Policy. Neuman says beneficiaries can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars by, for example, finding a prescription drug or Medicare Advantage plan that better meets their needs. When is Medicare open enrollment? Medicare open enrollment starts each year on October 15 and ends December 7. You can make changes that will go into effect the following year. There are other important Medicare enrollment periods, including the initial enrollment period (IEP) around the time you turn 65 and a special enrollment period (SEP) if you lose employer-based health coverage after age 65. Knowing when Medicare open enrollment starts is the easy part — how to start the process can be more daunting. Here’s practical advice on what to review about your coverage and what changes you can make. Your options are different depending on whether you are enrolled in original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage (MA) private insurance plan.

Original Medicare open enrollment basics Original Medicare consists of Part A (hospital coverage) and Part B (doctor and outpatient services). You’ll also want to consider a stand-alone Part D drug plan that helps pay for prescription medications. There are monthly premiums for Part B and Part D; most people don’t pay a premium for Part A. Doctors and drugs. Since Part A and Part B are standard for all Medicare beneficiaries, there’s nothing for you to change with this coverage. You can go to any doctor or facility that accepts Medicare. Part D plans vary, however, so this is an opportune time to review your drug coverage and change plans, or add a Part D plan if you don’t have one yet. You can even switch from original Medicare to a private Medicare Advantage plan during open enrollment if you choose. It’s also an opportune time to confirm that your preferred doctors and medical facilities will continue to accept Medicare in the new year. Odds are they will — experts estimate that more than 90 percent of doctors participate in the program and the vast majority of hospitals do as well — but it never hurts to ask. Supplemental insurance. Original Medicare doesn’t pay for everything. Under Part B, for example, you are responsible for 20 percent of the cost of a doctor visit or lab test. Medicare supplemental insurance, also known as Medigap insurance, helps pay for uncovered expenses, including some copays and coinsurance. Supplemental insurance is optional and not subject to the open enrollment period. You can buy a Medigap policy at any time during the year. And you can change your Medigap coverage at any time during the year. Cont'd on page 17

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Medicare Open Enrollment: Everything You Need to Know COURTESY MEDICARE.GOV

However, there’s something critically important to know about changing your Medigap policy: Insurers handling this coverage can’t turn you down for a policy within six months of your being eligible for Medicare, even if you have a chronic medical condition, are overweight, are a smoker or have any other illness. That’s called a guaranteed issue rule. But once that initial sign-up period is over, these companies can either refuse to sell you a policy or charge you a much higher premium. And that goes for your ability to change policies once you have one. There are four states — Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New York — with laws that require insurers to sell you a Medigap policy all the time or at least once a year. Neuman points out that if you do not have any preexisting conditions, you probably can change Medigap policies without paying more. It’s worth checking out if you aren’t satisfied with your current supplemental plan. Also, if you left your job or retired you may have enrolled in COBRA (the stopgap coverage for people who lose their coverage due to job loss) or a retiree health plan through your employer or labor union. If your COBRA coverage ends or your retiree coverage goes away, you’ll have 63 days to buy a Medigap policy under the government’s guaranteed issue rule. Medicare Advantage open enrollment basics Medicare Advantage, also known as Part C, is a private insurance alternative to original Medicare that bundles together Parts A, B and (usually) D. Think of it as a onestop-shop option, unlike original Medicare, which requires you to shop around for separate drug coverage and supplemental insurance. Read your letter. Every September, Medicare Advantage plans are required to send their members a letter called the Annual Notice of Change. This letter will detail changes the plan is making starting in January, such as to benefits, costs or the geographical area the plan covers. You’ll want to use this information as you decide whether to stay with your current MA plan, change to a different MA plan or switch instead to original Medicare. Special open enrollment period for MA plans. If you are already in an MA plan, you’ll have some extra time to decide what to do. The special open enrollment period runs from January 1 through March 31. During this window you can switch from one MA plan to another or to original Medicare. If you switch to original Medicare, you’ll also be able to get a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan. This special period only applies to people who already have an MA plan. Going to the doctor or hospital. Pay careful attention during open enrollment if you have a Medicare Advantage plan. Most MA plans are organized around networks of physicians and other medical providers, including hospitals. If you use in-network practitioners, you’ll pay less than if you see providers outside of your plan’s network. During open enrollment, you need to check the provider directories of your MA plan to make sure that your doctors are still in the plan. If not, you might want to consider changing plans, depending on how important it is to you that you continue to see specific medical professionals. If you’ve had a significant change to your health status, such as a serious illness like cancer, you’ll want to confirm

whether the physicians and medical centers you need to help you through this illness are available to you in network under your current plan. Otherwise, you run the risk of facing big out-of-network bills. Medicare open enrollment and prescription drugs Medicare beneficiaries get their prescription drugs in one of two ways: through a stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan or as part of their Medicare Advantage plan. A common check for both options during open enrollment should be whether the medications you take are still covered under your current plan — and at what cost. Beneficiaries should also look at what pharmacies are preferred by your current plan and whether those still are most convenient for you. You should also look at whether you can save money by getting your drugs through the mail and whether your plan offers that. “People may take time to choose a drug plan when they first go on Medicare and stick with it then for years to come,” says Neuman. “But sticking with a plan can come at a cost because drug plans do change from one year to the next, and people’s drug needs change over time. We’ve seen people save hundreds if not thousands of dollars by comparing plans.” How much Medicare beneficiaries will have to pay out of pocket for prescriptions will be changing thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Currently, people who reach a certain level of out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs — the threshold is $7,050 for 2022 — enter what’s referred to as “catastrophic” coverage and owe 5 percent of the costs above that level. Beginning in 2024, people with catastrophic Rx costs will not have any additional out-of-pocket costs once they’ve reached the threshold level. Then, starting in 2025, out-of-pocket prescription drug costs will be capped at $2,000 year. People who get their medications as part of their Medicare Advantage plan aren’t able to choose a standalone drug plan, Neuman cautions. “They get whatever drug coverage that plan provides.” Financial assistance if you can’t afford Medicare If you are having trouble affording your Medicare premiums, copays and other out-of-pocket costs, the federal government has four Medicare Savings Programs that provide help for people with limited incomes. There is also a program called Extra Help that assists beneficiaries with their out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. Even if you haven’t qualified for these programs before, the open enrollment period is a good time to check to see if your financial circumstances now allow you to qualify. The Inflation Reduction Act also may soon come into play. Beginning in 2024, Medicare beneficiaries with annual incomes of up to 150 percent of the federal poverty limit ($20,385 for an individual in 2022) who also meet the program’s resources limit can qualify for full benefits under the Extra Help program. The income threshold for full benefits currently is 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines ($18,347 for an individual in 2022).

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Ship Town Back in Town By TONY DEYAL

“What can’t be shipped in these containers and is therefore missing from the lives of these children, is emotional nurturance. ”Waiting in the hot sun for my name to be called, I could have done with some nurturing myself. I tried to get some information from my phone. Nowhere could I find how many barrels are shipped to the Caribbean every year. While one New York company says it ships 500 per day Do you remember those little tongue-twister games we played, like, “Robinson Crusoe shaved his beard with a rusty, rusty razor blade”, “She sells seashells by the seashore”, and my favourite, “Mr Smith ship sink.”? My USbased friend, Keith, asked me to collect a package from customs in Trinidad. It was being brought by the Laparkan Shipping Company which many consumers have given a one-star rating for unreliability. I didn’t tell Keith that, when we were leaving Antigua to come back home to Trinidad, we got a cost estimate for transport that was clearly padded by the company’s representative, most likely for his own financial benefit. We dealt directly with the shipper and saved ourselves a lot of time and money. Keith assured me that Laparkan assured him that the package would be delivered in a week. When three weeks passed and there was no sign of arrival, I knew that ship talk was back in town with a vengeance. Not just kids but most Caribbean politicians and people in authority talk a tonload of ship. A few years ago, the Trinidad health minister, perhaps tired of ship talk, invented “sit” talk. He preached, “We have to start to introduce into the national conversation a new disease called the sitting disease … . We drive to work, sit down whole day … . The fact is, we sit too much.” If he were an American Indian and not a Trini, his comment would have earned him the name Sitting Bull. Which was what happened to me when I was told by Laparkan to come and collect. You have heard about crabs in a barrel but what about crabs out of the barrel and in charge? Waiting for hours in the Government’s ‘Barrel Shop’, I was like fish in a barrel. Worse, not knowing my way around, I was also a fish out of water surrounded by sharks. Keith had sent the package to ‘Tony Deyal’. Unfortunately, my name is Anthony, but my friends call me ‘Tony’ for short and have been doing this for a long time. I had to go to the nearest town and find a commissioner of affidavits to confirm that ‘Anthony Deyal’ and ‘Tony Deyal’ were the same person. I was told it should cost about TT$70. When the document was completed, I asked the commissioner, what it cost, he first said “A 100” but then quickly changed it to “200”, which I had to place on a sofa loaded with $100 bills. PAID HUGE SUM I went back to the warehouse, paid a relatively huge sum to Laparkan, and then had to sit outside in a ‘government’ tent in really scorching sun for hours. I asked myself what it was like in other Caribbean countries where we barrel people have no choice but either to line up or sit with others in the same boat. In Barbados, there was a flurry of complaints of missing items from the thousands of sealed barrels and boxes that were shipped. In Guyana, there are constant reports of goods missing in barrels, and cries for help to stop the ‘advantage’ that is being taken of the many who receive barrels. In Jamaica, the problem is the same. Stolen barrels, high costs and the same long or longer waits. There is also the plight of the ‘barrel’ children whose family, generally mothers who are in the US, send them stuff but, as child welfare consultant Dr Claudette Crawford-Brown says,

during the pre-Christmas period, the total brought here by Laparkan and others has to be astronomical. By that time, waiting in the sun, I was getting gastronomical. There was no water available and I suppose that justified not having a washroom either. I wondered whether this kind of treatment was the same my other ‘barrel people’ got in their countries. Then, called into the air-conditioned ‘sanctum sanctorum’ to get my stuff, I had to marvel about the difference and wonder whether it was a trap set by Dr Strange to pounce on me. In the air-conditioned area waiting and paying different sums for bits and pieces of the process, I was in deep sit once more. I had nothing to do but wait and so I tried to quench my thirst with my favourite drink, coffee. The coffee machine in the air-conditioned area was selling what my father used to call “Nest Coffee” and it boasted “Relaxation sold here”. My eyesight was so bad from the long time in the sun and coming into the cold that I read it as, “Real laxative sold here”. Then the boredom made me pull out an old coffee shop joke. Two women drinking ‘Nest Coffee’ in a café were talking about the men in their lives. One said, “Men are all alike.” The other replied, “I agree with you. Men are all I like, too.” Slick talk to pass the time and make the trip to pay at three different points and stand waiting to open the boxes Keith sent to satisfy the Customs that, instead of real weapons, all I had was gun talk. NICE AND HELPFUL The customs people were really nice and helpful. Also the men bringing the boxes and barrels out for the customers to open and place on the table to be examined. What was not acceptable, and I had to take it in my stride, was the system and the lack of concern for people. Again, I felt the pain of people in the other Caribbean countries, the grandmothers taking care of the barrel children and the many who believe that, either on the ship or in the bond, their goods were stolen. Then there are people like me who have experienced this approach and attitude from all the governments in Trinidad and the rest of the Caribbean where I lived and worked for so long. Should I just grin and bear it, keep my mouth and computer shut, or, like the poet Dylan Thomas, rage against the dying of the light? Unfortunately, to go back to a ship story, people like us are all dinghies in this armada. The captain of a ship looked into the dark night and saw a light in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message, “Alter your course ten degrees south.” The reply was, “You alter your course 10 degrees north.” The furious captain responded, “Alter your course 10 degrees south. I am a captain!” The reply was, “Alter your course 10 degrees north. I am seaman third class Jones.” The captain boasted, “You better alter your course 10 degrees south. I am a battleship.” The reply was, “Alter your course 10 degrees north. I am a lighthouse.” Tony Deyal was last seen asking, “What do you call a boat full of politicians and government bureaucrats?” A dicktatorship.