14

Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2021 Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen By Bob Katzen A note from Bob Katzen, Publisher of Beacon Hill Roll Call: Join me this Sunday night and every Sunday night between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. for my talk show “The Bob Katzen Baby Boomer and Gen X Show.” Jump in my time capsule and come back to the simpler days of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. My guest on Sunday, February 21st on my WMEX 1510 AM Radio and online show will be two icons of Boston television—Bob Lobel and Susan Wornick. Bob is synonymous with Boston sports and Susan is synonymous with Boston news and consumer reporting. Don’t miss it! There are many ways you can listen to the show from anywhere in the world: If you have a smart speaker, simply say, “Play WMEX on RADIO. COM” Download the free RADIO.COM app on your phone or tablet Listen online at: www.radio. com/1510wmex/listen Tune into 1510 AM if you still have an AM radio Visit us at www.bobkatzenshow. com THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of February 8-12. There were no roll calls in the House last week. All roll calls are on proposed amendments to the rules by which the Senate operates. Senators proposed a total of 50 amendments to the rules but only seven were approved while 43 were rejected. Sponsors and proponents of the defeated amendments said that the amendments were needed in order to ensure more transparency and to make the rules fairer to both parties. “The Senate did important work by passing a rules package with changes that will promote the vital values of diversity, transparency, safety and training,” said Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem) who headed the task of drafting new rules for the 2021-2022 session. “A majority of senators rejected inserting a third check-in to continue doing business at 10 p.m. in addition to the ones at 8 p.m. and midnight; mandating immediate anti-harassment and bystander intervention training because development of online trainings, given COVID-19 are still underway; setting standards for hearings in the Senate and joint rules because they are more appropriately included in the emergency rules; and tripling the representation of the minority party on the Redistricting Committee because we [already] passed [an] amendment doubling this representation. I am proud of the amendments that did pass that made an already strong package of rules even stronger.” REQUIRE UNANIMOUS VOTE TO GO BEYOND MIDNIGHT (S 10) Senate 6-34, rejected an amendment that would require a unanimous vote for the Senate to continue any session beyond midnight. Current Senate rules require a twothirds vote to go beyond midnight. Amendment supporters said sessions after midnight when taxpayers are sleeping, and some members are barely awake, are irresponsible and should only be held if 100 percent of the senators agree there is a major emergency. Amendment opponents said going beyond midnight currently is only done when there is a dire emergency. They said it is often impossible to get a unanimous vote on anything and argued it is not wise to give a single member the power to adjourn the Senate. (A “Yes” vote is for requiring a unanimous vote to go beyond midnight. A “No” vote is against requiring it.) Sen. Brendan Crighton No REQUIRE TWO-THIRDS VOTE TO GO BEYOND 10 P.M. (S 10) Senate 6-34, rejected an amendment that would require a twothirds vote for the Senate to continue any session beyond 10 p.m. Current rules require a two-thirds vote to continue beyond 8 p.m. and a separate two-thirds vote to continue beyond midnight but do not require any vote at all to continue from 10 p.m. to midnight. Amendment supporters said this is another useful opportunity for members to control late night BEACON | SEE PAGE 17 2021-2022 Senate Committee Assignments Majority Leadership President Majority Leader President Pro Tempore President Emerita Assistant Majority Leader Assistant Majority Leader Assistant Majority Leader Majority Whip Assistant Majority Whip Ways and Means Rodrigues - CHAIR Friedman - VICE Lewis - ASST VICE Barrett Boncore Brady Feeney Finegold Gobi Hinds Jehlen Lesser Keenan Moore Rush Spilka Creem Brownsberger Chandler Lovely Barrett DiDomenico Rush Cyr Senate Standing Committees Bills in Third Reading DiDomenico - CHAIR Lovely - VICE Brownsberger Rodrigues Lesser - CHAIR Creem - VICE Boncore Friedman Lewis Intergovernmental Affairs Rush - CHAIR Hinds - VICE Montigny Crighton Moore Personnel and Administration Boncore - CHAIR Crighton - VICE DiDomenico Feeney Friedman Ethics Global Warming and Climate Change Creem - CHAIR Barrett - VICE Brady Lovely Pacheco Post Audit and Oversight Moore - CHAIR Eldridge - VICE Chandler Finegold Jehlen Keenan Redistricting Brownsberger - CHAIR Gobi - VICE Chang-Díaz Cyr Gomez Hinds Steering and Policy Montigny - CHAIR Rodrigues - VICE DiDomenico Lovely Reimagining Massachusetts: PostPandemic Resliency Hinds - CHAIR Lewis - VICE Chang-Díaz Jehlen Keenan Lovely Lovely- CHAIR Boncore - VICE Hinds Brownsberger Friedman Sa enir Sa y Senior Senio BY JIM MILLER Do I Need to Sign-Up for D I N d t SiU f Medicare If I’m Still Working? Dear Savvy Senior, I will turn 65 in a few months and plan to keep working for several more years. I have good health insurance from my employer now. Do I have to sign up for Medicare when I reach 65? Looking Ahead Dear Looking, Whether you need to enroll in Medicare at 65 if you continue to work and have health insurance through your job depends on how large your employer is. The same rules apply if your health insurance comes from your spouse’s job. But fi rst, let’s review the basics. Remember that original Medicare has two parts: Part A, which provides hospital coverage and is free for most people. And Part B, which covers doctor’s bills, lab tests and outpatient care. Part B also has a monthly premium, which is $148.50 for most benefi ciaries in 2021, but is higher for individuals earning above $88,000. If you’re already receiving Social Security, you’ll automatically be enrolled in parts A and B when you turn 65, and you’ll receive your Medicare card in the mail. It will include instructions to return it if you have work coverage that qualifi es you for late enrollment. If you aren’t yet receiving Social Security, you will have to apply, which you can do online at SSA.gov/medicare. If you plan to continue working past the age of 65 and have health insurance from your job, your fi rst step is to ask your benefits manager or human resources department how your employer insurance works with Medicare. In most cases, you should at least take Medicare Part A because it’s free. (Note: If you’re funding a health savings account you may not want to take Part A because you can’t make contributions after you enroll). But to decide whether to take Part B or not will depend on the size of your employer. Small Employer If your current employer has Rules fewer than 20 employees, Medicare will be your primary insurer and you should enroll in Medicare Part B during your initial enrollment period. This is a seven-month period that includes the three months before, the month of, and the three months after your 65th birthday. If you miss the seven-month sign-up window, you’ll have to wait until the next general enrollment period, which runs from Jan. 1 to March 31 with benefi ts beginning the following July 1. You’ll also incur a 10 percent penalty for each year you wait beyond your initial enrollment period, which will be tacked on to your monthly Part B premium. Large Employer If your employer has 20 or more employees, your employer’s group health plan will be your primary insurer as long as you remain an active employee. If this is the case, you don’t need to enroll in Part B when you turn 65 if you’re satisfi ed with the coverage you are getting through your job. But if you do decide to enroll in Medicare, it will supplement your employer insurance by paying secondary on all of your claims. Once your employment or group health coverage ends, you will then have eight months to sign up for Part B without a penalty. This is known as the Special Enrollment Period. Check Drug Coverage You also need to verify your prescription drug coverage. Call your benefi ts manager or insurance company to fi nd out if your employer’s prescription drug coverage is considered “creditable.” If it is, you don’t need to enroll in a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. If it isn’t, you should purchase a plan (see Medicare.gov/ plan-compare) during your initial enrollment period or you’ll incur a premium penalty (1 percent of the average national premium for every month you don’t have coverage) if you enroll later. If you have more questions or need help, contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (see ShiptaCenter. org), which off ers free Medicare counseling. Or call the Medicare Rights Center helpline at 800333-4114. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. nior ior

15 Publizr Home