THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 Page 15 Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on the percentage of times local representatives voted with their party’s leadership in the 2021 session through August 27. The votes of the 2021 membership of 29 Republicans were compared with those of GOP House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading). The votes of the 2021 membership of 128 Democrats were compared to House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy). Beacon Hill Roll Call uses 66 votes from the 2021 House session as the basis for this report. This includes all roll calls that were not quorum calls or votes on local issues. THE DEMOCRATS: A total of 101 (78.9 percent) of the 128 Democrats voted with Mariano 100 percent of the time. That means that nearly four-fi fths of the Democrats always voted with Mariano. Another 13 Democrats (10.1 percent) voted against Mariano only once. Only fi ve Democrats (3.9 percent) voted with Mariano less than 90 percent of the time. The Democratic representative who voted the lowest percentage of times with Mariano is Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven (D-Somerville) who voted with Mariano only 78.4 percent of the time. She is followed by Reps. Mike Connolly (D-Cambridge) 80.3 percent; Rep. Colleen Garry (D-Dracut) 83.3 percent; Tami Gouveia (D-Acton) 86.3 percent; and Nika Elugardo (D-Jamaica Plain) 89.3 percent. THE REPUBLICANS: None of the 29 GOP members voted with Jones 100 percent of the time. Sixteen Republicans (55.2 percent) voted with Jones at least 90 percent of the time. Thirteen Republicans (44.8 percent) voted with Jones less than 90 percent of the time. The Republican representative who voted the lowest percentage of times with Jones was Rep. Joseph McKenna (R-Webster) who voted with Jones only 81.8 percent of the time. He is followed by Reps. Alyson Sullivan (R-Abington) 83.0 percent; Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) 83.3 percent; Nick Boldyga (R-Southwick) 84.8 percent; and David DeCoste (R-Norwell) 86.1 percent. REPRESENTATIVES’ SUPPORT OF THEIR PARTY’S LEADERSHIP IN 2021 The percentage next to the representative’s name represents the percentage of times the representative supported his or her party’s leadership in 2021 through August 27. The number in parentheses represents the number of times the representative opposed his or her party’s leadership. Some representatives voted on all 66 roll call votes. Others missed one or more roll calls. The percentage for each representative is calculated based on the number of roll calls on which he or she voted and does not count the roll calls for which he or she was absent. Rep. Jessica Giannino 100 percent (0) Rep. Donald Wong 95.3 percent (3) HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of August 2327, the House met for a total of 35 minutes while the Senate met for a total of seven minutes. Mon. Aug. 23 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:03 a.m. Senate 11:17 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. Tues. Aug. 24 No House session No Senate session Wed. Aug. 25 No House session No Senate session Thurs. Aug 26 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:34 a.m. Senate 11:04 a.m. to 11:08 a.m. Fri. Aug. 27 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Florence & Chafetz expands assisted living memory care with 12 new apartments Assisted living now taking reservations for renovated homes F lorence & Chafetz Home, a specialized memory support residence operated by Chelsea Jewish Lifecare (CJL), is pleased to announce the expansion of its assisted living memory care residences on September 1, 2021. The 12 newly open private studio apartments, each with a private bathroom, showcase bright and airy common spaces that foster resident interaction in a secure environment. “When we embarked upon the expansion, our goal was to create memory care apartments with an open concept setting,” said Executive Director Kristen Donnelly of Florence & Chafetz Home and Cohen Florence Levine Estates Assisted Living. “Most importantly, these new living spaces enable our residents with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia to walk about freely yet safely.” Interior design elements were specially selected to enhance the warm and comforting environment. The apartments feature individual heat and air-conditioning control, handicap accessible bathrooms, and showers with seats. Many of the new spaces overlook the expansive grounds and courtyard. Common spaces include a living room, a café with fresh baked goods, a library, a courtyard, a dining room, a salon and a huge activity room. “We have been receiving so many requests for memory care assisted living,” said CJL Director of Marketing Jennifer Fazekas. APARTMENTS | SEE PAGE 17 Sa Sen i r Sa a y Senior Senio BY JIM MILLER H t Hdl Y Dear Savvy Senior, My husband and I are moving to a diff erent area of the country to be near our daughter. Will this aff ect our Medicare benefi ts? Will we need to adjust our coverage or re-enroll in a new plan? Moving Away Dear Moving, Moving can indeed aff ect your Medicare benefi ts depending on the type of coverage you have and where you move to. If you and your husband are enrolled in “original Medicare” Part A and Part B, you’ll be happy to know that you won’t need to change your plans when you move because they’re the same throughout the U.S. You will, however, need to notify the Social Security Administration of your change of address, which you can do at SSA.gov/myaccount/ change-of-address.html or by calling 800-772-1213. But, if you’re enrolled in a Medicare (Part D) prescription drug plan, or a Medicare (Part C) Advantage plan and you move out of your plan’s service area, you’ll need to choose a new plan that serves your new area. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll need to do depending on the type of coverage you have. If you have a Part D plan: If you’re in rolled in original Medicare and have a standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, you’ll need to contact your Part D plan to fi nd out if it will work in the area you’re moving to. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to enroll in a new plan that provides coverage in your new location. You can make this switch the month before you move and up to two months after the move. Otherwise, you’ll need to wait until the next open enrollment (in the fall) and could be penalized for having no acceptable prescription drug coverage. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan: If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, again, contact your plan to fi nd out if it will serve your new area. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to enroll in a new plan that does. To shop for new Advantage and/or Part D prescription drug plans in your new lonior M di ior How to Handle Your Medicare Coverage if You Move cation, see Medicare.gov/ plan-compare. You can switch Advantage plans the month before you move and up to two months after you move. But be aware that if you relocate out of your Medicare Advantage plan’s service area and fail to enroll in a new plan in your new area, you’ll automatically be switched to original Medicare. This will happen when your old Medicare Advantage plan is forced to disenroll you because you don’t live within its service area anymore. If you have a Medigap policy: If you’re enrolled in original Medicare and have a supplemental (Medigap) policy, you’ll need to notify your provider that you’re moving, but you should not need to change insurance companies or plans. (Note: there also are Medicare Select plans, which are Medigap plans that are network-based and are available in a few states. These plans may require you to change.) Medigap plans are standardized across the country; for example, Medigap Plan F off ers the same coverage in one state as it does in another state (Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have waivers from the federal government allowing them to standardize Medigap plans diff erently, so plan designs are diff erent in those three states). But be aware that Medigap costs vary by location, so your monthly Medigap policy premium may be higher or lower depending on the cost of medical care in your new area. Call your provider and tell them the new ZIP code, and they’ll let you know the cost. Sometimes you’ll be pleasantly surprised that it’s lower. If it’s not, you could look for a cheaper policy. However, you may have to undergo medical underwriting. Medigap policies come with their own rules for enrolling, and some states have different enrollment standards than others. 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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