THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, July 19, 2019 Page 19 S by Jim Miller Where to Get Help Paying Your Medicare Costs Dear Savvy Senior, Are there any sources you know of that can help me save on my Medicare coverage? I’m 65, and live primarily on my Social Security, and am having a hard time paying my Medicare out-of-pocket costs. Need Some Help Dear Need, There are several financial assistance programs that can help Paul Delios gathers with some of his helpers at the new Kane’s Donuts shop at Essex Landing. In the front row, left to right, are Christine, Delfina, Estelle, Rigo and Trina, holding a small orange dinosaur that Kane’s workers call their mascot. In the rear row, left to right, are Miro, Elizabeth, Jordan and Paul. ASKS | from page 18 over. It befuddles my mind; I just don’t understand it. Q: Tell me about your career as a chef. You are sort of like an Emeril Lagasse of the North Shore. A: I don’t know if I’m an Emeril Lagasse of the North Shore. I had a very successful catering business. I had two very successful restaurants in Charlestown. I cooked for the Italian Institute, which was an honor. Q: So, you are an accomplished chef? A: Yes – self-taught. I have a library at home of cookbooks that I read, just like somebody would read a novel, and I suck it right in, whatever it is. I grew up in this business from the age of four, going into my father’s diner and working on one of the tables with my siblings, so I grew up in the food business. My grandfather on my mother’s side was a grand chef in France; my grandfather on my father’s side had three taverns in Greece – so it’s in the blood, I guess. Q: Any other thoughts that you would like to share about this new location or the business? A: Well, this business is a labor of love. There’s no question about it. It’s long hours. Nothing comes easy to you. Q: How many hours do you put in a day? A: I probably put in excess of 80 hours a week. I don’t go by the day anymore. We employ, now, just about 80 employees in the whole company. Q: Between here and Boston? A: Here, Boston and Lincoln Avenue, and for me, that’s 80 families that I am responsible for, and I try to make sure that we treat everybody as fair as we can. We try to give them as close to a living wage as possible. We all got health benefits, vacation time and sick time here. We try to do it all. Q: I guess you get a lot of Saugus High students? A: We get some Saugus High students. I don’t know what it is – the kids don’t jump out and get a job as much as they used to years ago. They are from a different generation. Q: But you’re still deeply rooted in the town. A: We absolutely are. We try to donate as much as we can, but we set a budget for donations every year so that sometimes people come at us with all kinds of requests, and once we reach our limit, that’s it. Q: So you help out various organizations? A: We try to help out the sports teams. We try to do something for the Veterans Association and things like that – a couple of churches that come in all the time every year. We try to help out as many as we can. It’s so hard; it’s really so hard. The markets for this business aren’t the same as they used to be. I know we’re not the cheapest guys around when it comes to donuts, but we also don’t pay people cheaply either. I think if I opened up my books and payroll, you would be shocked. We pay very well, and that’s the only way we are able to keep consistent help. We have staff that has been with us for over 20 years. You don’t do that if you are nickel and diming your employees; you just don’t do it. My father always believed … and he passed this down to us … “Treat people fairly and you try to give people a decent wage, and people will treat you decently.” And relative to the people we buy food from, we try to buy local. Because if you buy local, they support local and they are going to support you in return, too. The honey comes out of Peabody. The boxes we use, they come out of the old Prince Spaghetti Box Company. The flour comes from up in North Andover. We try to do everything as local as we can. The flour comes out of Bake’n Joy in North Andover, and they have a proprietary blend that they mill for us because we use such a volume of flour. Q: So how has the drive thru been working out? A: The drive thru has been working excellently. We are getting a lot of favorable response – people being able to just swing by and get a coffee and a donut – and a lot of people didn’t realize we do a bunch of sandwiches now, and now they are stopping in. We make a great breakfast sandwich. We use premium stuff. You are not going to go on the highway and find cherry wood–smoked bacon. You will with us. You are not going to find chorizo sausage there or buttermilk fried chicken wrap. And we do a savory coleslaw that’s got a little jalapeno in it, and we got a chipotle chicken sandwich that’s got bacon on there with avocado on there. So people are finding out and they are discovering us, so I’m happy. And the other thing is, it’s nice to see people coming in with their grandparents, or they’re coming here with their kids and they’re coming in with their grandkids – and being able to sit here on the weekend and seeing them sitting outside over there [pointing to the tables outside] – it really is something special, because you are seeing three generations right there. And you put a smile on every one of their faces. How would you feel? Q: I would feel pretty good. A: You would feel pretty darn good, wouldn’t you? Q: Yep. A: That’s how it makes me feel, and it really warms my heart when I see that. lower-income Medicare beneficiaries who are having a difficult time paying their out-of-pocket health care costs. Here’s what’s available, along with the eligibility requirements and how to apply. Medicare Savings Programs Let’s start with a program that helps pay premiums and out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Parts A and B. It’s called the Medicare Savings Program (MSP), and it has several different benefit levels for people based on their income and asset level. At its most generous the program will pay your Part A and B premiums and pretty much all your Medicare deductibles, coinsurance and copayments. At its least generous the program will pay just your Part B premium. To qualify for a MSP, the minimum standard set by Medicare, is an income under 135 percent of the federal poverty level, which at the moment works out to around $1,426 a month for individuals (or $1,923 for married couples). Everything counts towards income, including payouts from 401(k) plans, pensions, Social Security, and help from family members. Medicare also allows states to impose an asset test, which can be as little as $7,730 per individual ($11,600 for married couples), not counting your house or car but counting retirement savings and bank accounts. But some states have made their MSP programs a lot more generous, with much higher income limits and in some cases no asset tests at all. And the program may be called something else in your state. To find out if you qualify or to apply, contact your state Medicaid program. Visit Medicare.gov/contacts or call all 800-633-4227 for contact information. Medication Extra Help For help with Medicare (Part D) prescription drug plan costs, there is another completely separate program called Extra Help. To get it, you’ll need to apply through your local Social Security office. Depending on how low your income is, this program will pay part or all of your Part D prescription drug plan’s monthly premiums, annual deductibles and prescription co-payments. In 2019, individuals with a yearly income below $18,735 ($25,365 for a married couple), and assets under $14,390 ($28,720 for a married couple) can qualify for Extra Help. If you’re eligible to be in a Medicare Savings Program, you will automatically qualify for Extra Help. But because the requirements are slightly different, even if you don’t qualify for a Medicare Savings Program for Part B you might be able to get Extra Help for Part D. For more information or to apply, visit SSA.gov/extrahelp or call Social Security at 800-772-1213. Other Assistance Programs Depending on your income level, needs and location there are many other financial assistance programs that can help like Medicaid, SSI (Supplemental Security Income), PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly), SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), (LIHEAP) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and many others. To help you find out what types of assistance programs you may be eligible for, and learn how to apply for them, go to BenefitsCheckUp.org. This is a free, confidential Web tool designed for people age 55 and older that contains more than 2,500 programs. It’s also possible to get help in person at one of the 87 Benefits Enrollment Centers scattered across the U.S. Call 888268-6706 or visit NCOA.org/centerforbenefits/becs to locate a center in your area. Some centers also offer assistance over the phone. 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.
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