September 2011
AN ARTIST’S RESPONSE TO 9/11, P. 3
Mobile, Alabama
Belle of the South
S E P T E M B 2011 ER
PAGE 2
STOP FOOT PAIN FAST!! At Gramercy Park Podiatry, we help people with foot pain or deformity. GET BETTER FAST! If you have tried everything else or have seen other doctors and have found no relief... We have the best trained podiatrists available to help you get fast and lasting relief from any and all foot and ankle conditions!
Letter From The Editor Dear Readers,
T
his month, as we all well know and have heard so much in recent weeks, marks the 10 anniversary of the greatest tragedy to hit our city. The attacks on the World Trade Center will continue to live with us every day. Our sincerest thoughts go to those who lost loved ones and to the first responders who work so tirelessly so that we can live here safely and in peace.
Call Today for a FREE Consultation
646-755-3501
www.gramercyparkpodiatry.com 380 2nd Ave. (at 23rd St.), Suite 303
111 Broadway (near Wall St.)
80 Fifth Ave. (at 14th St.), Suite 1601
165 West 46th St. (at 7th Ave.)
Stuyvesant Eye Care Roman Dworecki, M.D. P.C. Maria F. Arnett, M.D. P.C.
Art is an expression, of deep emotions, joyous and painful. We met with an old friend recently to talk with him about his decade-long project. Artist Ejay Weiss began painting days after he watched the World Trade Center towers come down and completed his series of 12 paintings last month. The 9/11 Elegies Series: 2001 – 2011 draws on those horrible memories and eloquently travels through to a more hopeful spirit. You should try to get to see them in person while the exhibit hangs at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in the Citicorp Building. Weiss is now negotiating to have the paintings on permanent display at the 9/11 memorial. Over the summer I took a trip to Mobile, AL, and had to share it with you. Who knew that this little gem of art, history, and environment thrived between Tallahassee and New Orleans? Most New Yorkers don’t, I would guess. Smaller and more userfriendly, this port city is actually in a revival of sorts, bouncing back from Hurricane Katrina and the economic downturn. It’s affordable and worth a visit. On another note, aid to seniors has been under the hammer in Washington as well as New York State. Once again the future of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security becomes a heated debate topic when a 12-member subcommittee of Congress decides how to cut $2.4 trillion in spending by Thanksgiving. It’s expected that Medicare will get hit hardest and take the deepest cuts. This especially concerns baby boomers who are reaching retirement age and planned on these government programs to live. To keep up with the latest proposals to change Medicare and Medicaid, visit the Medicare Rights web site at www.medicarerights.org. The Commonwealth Fund, a national, private foundation based in New York City that supports independent research on health care issues and makes grants to improve health care practice and policy, has issued a series of briefs and white papers. To read them, go to www. medicaidalseries.org. Also, The National Senior Citizens Law Center, a non-profit whose principal mission is to protect the rights of low-income older adults posts frequent updates and news about changes in health care legislation at its web site, www.NSCLC.org. Enjoy the fall! Janel Bladow Editor, ThriveNYC
409 East 14th Street, Suite A Attending NEW YORK EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY COMPREHENSIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY CONTACT LENSES APPOINTMENTS ONLINE: ZOCDOC.COM
APPOINTMENTS BY PHONE 212.677.3200
Published by COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC 515 Canal St., Unit 1C, New York, NY 10013 PHONE: (212) 229-1890 ADVERTISING: (646) 452-2465 © 2011 Community Media, LLC
John W. Sutter PUBLISHER Janel Bladow EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jerry Tallmer MANAGING EDITOR Mark Hasselberger ART DIRECTOR Francesco Regini SR. V.P. OF SALES AND MARKETING
PAGE 3
nyc
Art from the Ashes Ten years after he watched the twin towers fall, painter Ejay Weiss completes The 9/11 Elegies Series BY JANEL BLADOW
T
ragedy in the eyes of an artist becomes something both disturbing and enlightening. And overwhelming.
The current exhibit of a chronological series of 12 works by painter Ejay Weiss at Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in the Citicorp Building poetically illustrates what every New Yorker, most Americans and people throughout the world experienced over the last decade since the World Trade Center towers were attacked and fell, tragically killing thousands. Weiss’s works are at once groundbreaking, passionate, compelling, disturbing and uplifting. For the painter the decade-long project was painful, cathartic and comforting. For the viewer, experiencing these dozen canvases is sorrowful and healing and hopeful. Weiss was in his Chelsea studio when he heard the first thunderous crash. He looked out a window and saw the smoke billowing into that September’s strikingly clear blue sky. He grabbed a pair of binoculars and race into the street. “My hands were shaking,� he remembers, “I could hardly focus.� Continued on page 7
1RWLFH WR 6HQLRUV 9HWHUDQV DQG WKH 'LVDEOHG :KDW ZRXOG \RX VD\ LI ZH WROG \RX WKDW \RX GRQœW KDYH WR SD\ \RXU FUHGLW FDUG RU PHGLFDO ELOOV" 0RVW RI RXU FOLHQWV VD\ ³7KDQN \RX ´ ,I \RXœUH OLYLQJ RQ 6RFLDO 6HFXULW\ GLVDELOLW\ SHQVLRQV RU YHWHUDQœV EHQ H¿WV IHGHUDO ODZ VWDWHV WKDW \RXU LQFRPH FDQQRW EH WDNHQ DZD\ WR UHSD\ GHEWV <RX GRQœW KDYH WR HQGXUH IUXVWUDWLQJ FDOOV DQG OHWWHUV IURP FROOHFWLRQ DJHQWV <RX FDQ OLYH ZRUU\ IUHH DV WKRXVDQGV RI RXU FOLHQWV GR
'&6' VKHOWHUV \RX IURP KDUDVVPHQW SURWHFWV \RXU LQFRPH LV QRW D EDQNUXSWF\ 6WRS FUHGLWRUV IURP EUHDNLQJ WKH ODZ E\ WU\LQJ WR FROOHFW RQ GHEWV \RX FDQÂśW SD\ 7KHUH LV DQ DIIRUGDEOH DOWHUQDWLYH WR EDQNUXSWF\ )RU DV OLWWOH DV SHU PRQWK \RX FDQ HPSOR\ D '&6' DWWRUQH\ WR GHDO ZLWK \RXU GHEWV
&DOO 'HEW &RXQVHO IRU 6HQLRUV DQG WKH 'LVDEOHG IRU D )5(( FRQVXOWDWLRQ
H[W
-HURPH 6 /DPHW )RXQGHU DQG 6XSHUYLVLQJ $WWRUQH\ )RUPHU %DQNUXSWF\ 7UXVWHH
LQIR#ODZ\HUV XQLWHG FRP ZZZ 'HEW&RXQVHO QHW
S E P T E M B 2011 ER
PAGE 4
Belle of the Bayou
Think again when heading south this winter – Mobile, Alabama is a place to see BY JANEL BLADOW
W
hen we think of a Gulf Coast town with great history, food and fun, we almost always think New Orleans. But east of The Big Easy is a Southern Belle with miles of charm, Mobile, Alabama. From sandy beaches and marshy waterways, from nature trails to plantation gardens, from antique boutiques to art galleries, from the African American Heritage Trail to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (21 courses with 378 holes in eight locations!), the often overlooked Mobile Bay is an American treasure worthy of a visit by even the most seasoned traveler. Like locals like to say, whatever floats your boat, they got it.
BACKGROUND: Founded in 1702 as the capital of colonial French Louisiana, Mobile was an ideal shipping port with its deep waters and protected harbor. And everyone wanted a piece of her. War played a big part in her history. The coastal town spent decades under French, British, Spanish, American, Confederate States
of America, then back to U.S. hands. Not only is its history rich with occupation, but during the two World Wars, the port city became an immigration boomtown with people from all over the world pouring in to work the ship building industry. Today, they’re still coming, but by car, plane, private yachts and cruise liners.
VISIT: Kick off your visit with an information gathering visit to The Museum of Mobile (www.museumofmobile.com) in the Southern Market/Old City Hall landmark district. Exhibits highlight the area’s diverse 300 years of history, including the mystic societies of Mardi Gras to shantytowns of the Great Depression. Home of the first Mardi Gras celebration in 1703 (before New Orleans laid claim), Mobile has a rich history in revelry. Tour the Mobile Carnival Museum (mobilecarnivalmuseum.com) and see gorgeous gowns and lavish robes for carnival celebrants and learn why Mobile maskers throw moon pies. For even a more stellar lunar experi-
ence, explore the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center (www.exploreum.com) with its amazing virtual journeys and hands-on explorations, tackling scientific topics as far reaching your inter-body workings to Black Holes. If beauty here on earth is more to your taste, visit Bellingrath Gardens and Home (www.bellingrath.org), the 65-acre estate of Walter and Bessie Bellingrath. The year-round lush gardens are stroll-worthy but also must see are her extensive porcelain and china collections and how the couple lived.
EXPLORE: If adventures in the great outdoors are more your speed, there are the beaches of Dauphin Island, hiking trails and riverboat cruises. Become one with nature on a guided kayak tour of the 250,000 acres of marshlands at Five Rivers Delta Resource Center (www. Alabamafiverivers.com), where you can spot dozens of bird species unique to the area or have a close encounter with an alligator Speaking of gators, a trip to Alligator
Alley (www.gatoralleyfarm.com) at feeding time is, well…a treat. Watch owner Wes Moore who turned his family farm into a gator sanctuary line up rascals like Mad Max for a dinner of raw meat. Walk the elevated wooden walkways over nesting grounds and isolation pens for the bad boys.
DINE: For a mouthwatering feast of your own, breakfast or lunch at downtown’s Spot of Tea (www.spotoftea.net). C.J.’s Cayenne Crab Bisque to Blackened Shrimp salad to Banana’s Foster French Toast top the local flavors menu. No trip is complete without a stop at a local hangout. Callaghan’s Irish Social Club (www.callaghansirishsocialclub. com) is in a quaint residential neighborhood with family style indoor and outdoor tables. Feast on their bacon cheeseburger which was listed as one of the “100 things to Eat in Alabama Before you Die.” The super burger might help things along with it’s worth it, washed Continued on page 5
PAGE 5
nyc
The Old southern Market, a National Historic Landmark, is home to the Museum of Mobile (above), filled with artifacts and legends about the Alabama Coastal city. Bellingrath Gardens (above right) is the former 65-acre estate of the area Coca Cola distributor and now is a four-seasons floral wonderland of gardens, waterways and winding paths. Mad Max (below) is just one of the 200 rescued American gators who call Alligator Alley home.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Continued from page 4
down with a pint of Guinness. Oysters are a must on a visit to the Gulf Coast. The original Wintzell’s Oyster House (www.wintzellsoysterhouse.com) in downtown is the place to keep on ‘shuckin.’ Founded in 1938 as a 6-stool raw bar, the seafood grub house is known for seven ways of serving the sexy shellfish, along with gumbo and poboys.
STAY: Like eating, sleeping isn’t taken lightly in Mobile. Following a $200-million restoration four years ago, The Battle House Hotel (www.rsabattlehouse.com) downtown recaptures the city’s elegance and majesty. The historic four-star hotel, established in 1851by the Battle brothers, is a little then and a little now. A new addition, the Renaissance tower, houses a 21st Century spa and the stylish Harbor Room overlooks Mobile Bay, serving Gulf Coast cuisine. For the less urban vacation, try its sister property, The Grand Hotel Marriott Resort (www.marriottgrand. com), which reopened in 2006 following $50-million renovations, including repairs from Hurricane Katrina damages. Built in 1847, this “old school” style vacation stop bursts with southern hospitality. With two golf courses, a European spa and waterside dining, there’s no reason to leave the campus.
We will dedicate the monument honoring the 343 FDNY firefighters lost at the WTC on 9/11
ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND!
Sat., Sept. 24, 2011•2 P.M. Come And Offer Y our Suppor t
ory In Memo Of Th tse Los
Memorial Service Honoring
The 9/11 FDNY, PAPD & NYPD Officers and their families
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Bible, 2 Timothy IV.7 72-02 Astoria Boulevard East Elmhurst, NY 11370 718.278.3240 Supported By Gus Antonopoulos of Farenga & Sons Funeral Home, Tom Golden of Gleason’s Funeral Home, Kevin Mack of Thomas Quinn & Sons Funeral Home & George Stamatiades of David’s Funeral Home. Made possible by the financial support of the Christopher Santora Family!
S E P T E M B 2011 ER
PAGE 6
Marci’s Medicare Answers
Prostate cancer… foreign travel… dental care… vaccines and immunizations… Dear Marci,
Does Medicare cover prostate cancer screenings? — Abraham Dear Abraham,
Prostate cancer screenings can detect early prostate cancer. Medicare covers one prostate screening a year (every 12 months) for men age 50 and older. This includes a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test and a digital rectal exam. Medicare will cover these services more than once a year if your doctor says you need them for diagnostic purposes. Medicare covers 80 percent of the cost of the digital rectal exam (after you pay your annual Part B deductible), and 100 percent of the cost of the PSA test (with no Part B deductible required). You will have no copay or deductible for the PSA test if you see doctors who accept assignment. Doctors who accept assignment cannot charge you more than the Medicare approved amount. If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan (private health plan) you should call your plan to see what costs and rules apply.
Starting in 2012, your Medicare Advantage plan will not be able to charge you for preventive care services that are free for people with Original Medicare, as long as you see in-network providers. If you see providers that are not in your plan’s network, charges will typically apply. — Marci
Dear Marci,
How do I get a list of Medigap companies in my state? — Darlene Dear Darlene,
It is a good idea to start researching Medigaps in your area well before you enroll in Medicare or lose other supplemental coverage so that you will not have any gaps in coverage. Under national law, persons age 65 and older have rights to buy a Medigap policy only at certain times. During these times, Medigap companies cannot refuse to sell you a policy based on your age or health status. Depending on your circumstances, you may be subject to a waiting period before pre-existing
conditions are covered by your Medigap policy. National law does not give the same protections to persons under age 65. State law may give more protections to persons both over and under 65. Generally, you can call your State Department of Insurance or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for a list of Medigap companies in your state and for help choosing a plan. Visit www.shiptalk.org to find your SHIP. You can also visit www.medicare.gov to see what plans are offered in your area. If your physician, provider or supplier accepts assignment, they should automatically receive Part B claims from Medicare so that you do not have to submit the claims to the insurer yourself. Some Medigap insurers also choose to receive Part A claims directly from Medicare. Before you sign up for a Medigap policy, be sure to ask the insurer if it will receive bills for your care from Medicare automatically or whether you will need to do this yourself. —Marci
Dear Marci,
If I have Extra Help this year, will I still have it next year?
“Social Security Administration Review Of Your Eligibility For Extra Help.”) If you and your spouse applied for Extra Help on the same application, you will receive only one letter. Not everyone who applied for Extra Help will receive a letter, but if you do, you must complete the form enclosed with the letter and send it back to Social Security within 30 days. Social Security will use your answers to decide if you are still qualified for Extra Help and how much Extra Help you should get (for example, if your income had dropped you may be eligible for more assistance). If you need more time to fill out the form, call your local Social Security office and ask for an extension; you may receive an extra 30 days to fill out the form. Any changes to your Extra Help assistance will go into effect on January 1. If you do not return the “Review of Your Eligibility” form, Medicare will assume that you no longer qualify for Extra Help and your assistance will end on December 31. Once you send in the necessary forms, you will receive a notice telling you whether your Extra Help has stayed the same, increased, decreased or ended. If Medicare ends your Extra Help, you can reapply. —Marci
—Akachi Dear Akachi,
Dear Marci,
It depends on how you got Extra Help this year and whether your situation has changed. If you got Extra Help automatically because you were already enrolled in Medicaid, a Medicare Savings Program (MSP), or were receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and in the fall you are still enrolled in Medicaid or an MSP or receiving SSI, you do not have to do anything. Your state should tell Medicare that you are still enrolled in one of these programs. You should not receive any notice unless your copayments are changing for next year. If your income changed enough to affect your copayments, you should receive a notice telling you this in early October. If you got Extra Help automatically but are no longer enrolled in Medicaid or an MSP or receiving SSI at the end of the year, you should apply for Extra Help. Otherwise, your Extra Help ends on December 31. You should receive a letter in the fall telling you that you will lose Extra Help. You should also receive an Extra Help application and postage-paid envelope with your notification letter. If you applied for Extra Help, Social Security may send you a letter in August or September with a form outlining the financial and personal information you provided when you applied and asking if any of it has changed. (The letter is titled
Does Medicare cover me when I travel to another country? —Carlos Dear Carlos,
If you will be traveling to a foreign country, Medicare will not usually cover your medical care. However, Original Medicare and Medicare private health plans must cover medical care you get outside of the U.S. in the following limited cases: Medicare will pay for emergency services in Canada if you are traveling a direct route between Alaska and another state, and the closest hospital that can treat you is in Canada. Medicare will pay for medical care you get on a cruise ship if: The ship is registered to the U.S.; The doctor is registered with the Coast Guard; and You get the care while the ship is in U.S. territorial waters. This means the ship is in a U.S. port or within six hours of arrival at or departure from a U.S. port. Medicare may pay for non-emergency inpatient services in a foreign hospital (and connected physician and ambulance costs) if the hospital is closer to your residence than the nearest U.S. hospital that is availContinued on page 8
PAGE 7
nyc
Art from the Ashes Continued from page 3
But what he saw drew him down toward Ground Zero over the next few weeks. He picked up hands full of ash and gravel. He started painting, incorporating the debris into his painting. The results are startling and riveting. “I started painting in part from horror, in response to what happened,” says Weiss. Virtually no imagery was used. No photos. The paintings spring from Weiss’s first-hand experience and memory. “The power of this series is cathartic,” he says. “It’s the element of events so overwhelming, so out of our control. How do we fit in this picture?” The first three panels portray the initial destruction of the Twin Towers, with red, white and blue undercoat and a scorched grid of black and gray lines. The first two are five-foot square, “Footprint Panels”, and the third, “Redemption Panel”, is rectangular. First painting has red on bottom like fire and brimstone, then colors go around the square window on the world in the second and, in the last, the the red, white and blue color lines are vertical. All include the street grit and have the sightlines of the trade towers subtly etched in, drawing your eye up and out, as the towers themselves once did. A window-like square of blue sky and white clouds sits slightly askew in the middle. The metaphorical window is not at the center. Viewer makes a choice: is he seeing himself inside looking out or outside looking in? “That’s something painting can do as no other art form can,” says Weiss, who studied architecture and painting at Pratt Institute and now lectures at Rutgers University and The New School University and the School of Visual Arts, among others. The next six “Ghost City” panels, painted between December 2001 and September 2002, are suspended in a shroud of haze, with color rising from gray. Reflecting the uncertainty of the times, these paintings reflect a year of clean up and the city’s raw emotions at the time. “Number seven has an indication of downtown skyline, empty space and the indication of the beam of light,” says Weiss. While lighter, more pastel shades of color creep into the paintings, “only an inkling of cityscape, shrouded in smoke and haze remain.” For this native New Yorker, watching smoke rising for six months, smoldering and the smell, the atmosphere of the city, is what he hopes to evoke. By panels eight and nine, the grid, structures are gone, they are in memory. No physical 9/11 debris is in either painting. “You are left hanging in the gloom, not knowing where this is going,” Weiss says.
Photos by Janel Bladow
Artist Ejay Weiss painted the 12-panel series, “The 9/11 Elegies: 2001 - 2011”, over the decade between 9/11 and August. He says he started painting in horror but ended with hope.
Weiss returned to the series in February 2011when he began painting the studies for the final three larger, 4’ X 8’ canvases, “The Resolution Triptych”. This trio, of pinks, blues and lavenders, represents the beginning of the 21st Century, a more constructive, hopeful time. They were finished in August. “The Resolution panels are a study in relationship,” says Weiss. “I thought to make them larger, with two panels evoking the original towers in shape. The middle painting is the last, a step between the towers. Bottoms are in relief, the last incorporates a projection of a tower, meant to be seen up close. “Basically, it’s the rebuilt skyline. An enormous span of sky, less than onetwelfth of the painting is city skyline. “The center panel is the last and an intense panel grid still there. It represents the dawn of a new day. Sure it’s a cliché but what is a cliché except what is true? It’s the reality,” says Weiss with a smile. The exhibit space is equally as moving and inspirational. Two large Dale Chihuly glass bowls sit on pedestals near the panels, absorbing and reflecting the colors and light. The famed white and light oak chapel designed by sculptor Louise Nevelson is next door. And Weiss’s own “Golden Eden” hangs in the Sanctuary, next to the door leading to the exhibit. This painting inspired the Elegies series. “I began that painting in the late Eighties as a metaphorical window, evoking a sense of space, a grasp of space with the understanding of place. They are two
different things. It becomes a place, but what kind of space is it? “The Eden painting is heaven. The Elegies series is hell. It’s a 180-degree flip.” The 9/11 ELEGIES: 2001 – 2011, on exhibit through September 25, in the Narthex Gallery, Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church, Citicorp Plaza, Lexington Ave. at 54th St. 9 am – 7pm. On September 17, at 7pm, Weiss conducts a gallery tour of his exhibit, followed at 8pm by the first concert of the season by the Chelsea Symphony, “Tribute to New York.” Co-conducted by Matthew Aubin and Yaniv Segal, The Chelsea Symphony, together with the Saint Peter’s Choir under the direction of Thomas Schmidt, will perform works by American composers ranging from Samuel Barber to Billy Strayhorn. With a particular focus on New York and the events of 9/11, the program will also include the world premiere of Aaron Dai’s To a Ten Year Old, largely inspired by Weiss’ Elegies, and the world premiere of Golden Sky, a work by Israeli composer Yishai Shefi, whose brother was killed in the Twin Towers on 9/11. The concert will be recorded, to be included as part of the 9/11 National Memorial Museum’s aural archives, and a portion of the net proceeds from the event will benefit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
MORANO REHABILITATION "HELPING SENIORS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS"
PHONE: 877-644-8090
FAX: 646-839-2598
Do you or a loved one use a cane or walker? Do you feel off balance, or have you fallen recently ? Do you have pain? Are you finding it difficult to walk up stairs or standing up from a couch? Are you feeling weak and lethargic? If you answered yes to any of these questions you can benefit from physical and or occupational therapy * Morano rehab offers physical and occupational therapy in your HOME and we accept MEDICARE * Call us today and a well-trained therapist will come directly to you. This service is completely covered by medicare. WHY NOT START TODAY?
www.moranorehab.com
S E P T E M B 2011 ER
PAGE 8
Marci’s Medicare Answers
Does Medicare cover vaccines and immunizations?
Pneumonia and Hepatitis B: (if you are at medium to high risk). Part B will cover other immunizations only if you have been exposed to a disease or condition. For example, if you step on a rusty nail, Medicare will cover a tetanus shot; if you are bitten by a dog, Medicare will cover your rabies shots. If you have a Medicare prescription drug plan (Part D), you may be able to get coverage for other types of vaccines, such as the vaccine for shingles (herpes zoster). Any commercially-available vaccine that is not covered by Part B should be covered by your Medicare prescription drug plan. Before you get a vaccination, you should check coverage rules with your Part D plan and see where you should get your shot so that it will be covered for you at the lowest cost.
—Enide
—Marci
Dear Enide,
Dear Marci,
Medicare covers some vaccines and immunizations. The way Medicare covers them depends on which vaccine you need. Your Medicare health coverage (Part B) will cover vaccines to prevent:
If Medicare will not pay for my dental care, what other resources could help me pay?
Influenza (the flu): Currently, the seasonal flu shot includes both a seasonal flu shot and an H1N1 (swine flu) vaccination.
Dear Phyllis,
Continued from page 6
able and equipped to treat your medical condition. This may happen if, for example, you live near the border of Mexico or Canada. Some supplemental insurance, such as Medigap plans, provide coverage for foreign travel. Some Medicare private health plans also cover emergency care when you travel outside the United States. Check with your plan to see what costs and rules apply when you travel outside of the United States. —Marci Dear Marci,
—Phyllis
To pay for dental care, you can look into additional or alternative forms of coverage.
RICHARD BRYAN ATTORNEY, P.C. Wills Living Trusts Advanced Directives Probate and Estate Tax Reduction Strategies Probate and Administration of Decedent’s Estates
Elder Law & Guardianships
212 979-2868 237 1st Ave., Suite 201 New York, NY 10003
These options include: Medicaid. In some states, Medicaid covers some dental services. You may qualify for Medicaid if you have very low income. Check with your local Medicaid office to see what dental services are covered in your area. Medicare private health plans. Some Medicare private health plans offer routine dental coverage as part of their benefits package. If you are in a private health plan (such as an HMO or PPO), call your plan to find out what dental services, if any, it covers. If you are considering joining a Medicare private health plan, make sure it covers the doctors and hospitals you prefer to use and the medications you take at a cost you can afford. You could also look into free or reducedcost clinics. Such clinics are available in many states. There are a number of places to search for a clinic in your area: Local hospitals. Call the hospitals in your area to ask if they offer dental clinics, how you can become a patient there, what services they offer, what the fees are and if payment plans are available. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), also known as Primary Health Care Service Delivery Sites, sometimes offer dental care. Community Health Centers across the country provide free or reduced-cost health
services, including dental care. Donated Dental Service Programs operate in some states. Dentists in these programs offer free dental services if you have limited income. Dental Schools sometimes provide quality, low-cost dental care. Dental students work with patients under the supervision of experienced, licensed dentists. Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is a program available in some states to people with Medicare and Medicaid who need a nursing home level of care. If you qualify, PACE will cover all the medical, social and rehabilitative services you need. PACE also will cover some dental services. If you do not qualify for Medicaid, you can still participate in PACE, but will need to pay additional costs. —Marci
Marci’s Medicare Answers is a service of the Medicare Rights Center (www.medicarerights.org), the nation’s largest independent source of information and assistance for people with Medicare. To speak with a counselor, call (800) 333-4114. To learn more about the services that Medicare will cover and how to change plans, log on to Medicare Interactive Counselor at the Medicare Rights Center’s website at www. medicareinteractive.org.