Tag: medicare prescription drug

Look who’s Turning 65! (You might be surprised!)

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Dan Hoelscher - Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, Retirement Planning

Look Who’s Turning 65

April 6—Bert Blyleven

Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/35602564@N00/5513027855/ ES

Born in the Netherlands, Blyleven is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1970 to 1992 and was best known for his curveball. In 2011, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Blyleven was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in 1969, and at age 19 in 1970, was called up to the Majors after only 21 minor league starts. In his first season, his sharp curveball helped him to 10 victories, and he was named American League (AL) Rookie Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. In 1973, he pitched the most shutouts of any AL pitcher, with 9.

In 1976, Blyleven was traded to the Texas Rangers, and his 2.74 career earned run average (ERA) with the Rangers remains the best in team history. After he gave the finger to a television camera, Blyleven was traded in 1977 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, with which he led the team in ERA, strikeouts and complete games in 1978 and helped them to a World Series victory in 1979. In 1980, Blyleven was traded to the Cleveland Indians but sat out most of the 1982 and 1983 seasons. He came back in 1984 with one of his best seasons: a 19–7 record with a 2.87 ERA. In 1985, he again led the AL in shutouts with 5 and pitched 293 ⅔ innings and completed 24 games, a feat never repeated. However, Blyleven forced a trade back to the Twins, where he passed the 3,000-strikeout mark and helped the Twins to a 1987 World Series victory.

Blyleven’s first two full seasons back with the Twins also produced major league records for home runs allowed in a single season (50) and in back-to-back seasons (96). He never surrendered more than 24 home runs in any year before and after the 1986–87 campaigns, averaging 21 allowed per season over the course of his career. In 1989, Blyleven went to the California Angels and pitched a 2.73 ERA for a 17–5 record in his first season, and led the league for his third and final time in shutouts (5). He retired following the 1992 season with a career 287–250 record, with 3,701 strikeouts (only 16 other pitchers have at least 3,000 career strikeouts) and a 3.31 ERA. In 1996, Blyleven became a color commentator for the Twins.

April 7—Janis Ian

source https://www.flickr.com/photos/dubpics/71293417/in/photostream/

An American singer-songwriter who was mostly active in the 1960s and 1970s, Ian’s most successful songs were “Society’s Child” and “At Seventeen.” At the age of 13, she wrote and sang her first hit single, “Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking),” about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl’s mother and frowned upon by her peers and teachers. After it became a national hit in the summer of 1967, some radio stations banned it from their playlists, and Ian received hate mail and death threats. In 2001, “Society’s Child” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. “At Seventeen,” a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty, was released in 1975 and was a major hit, receiving acclaim from critics and record buyers alike, and winning the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance – Female. The album, Between the Lines, was also a smash, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Album chart and was quickly certified Gold and later earned a Platinum certification for over one million copies sold in the U.S.

In 1979, “Fly Too High” earned Ian a Grammy nomination and became a hit single in many countries, including South Africa, Belgium, Australia, Israel and the Netherlands. Ian’s album Aftertones topped Oricon’s album chart in October 1976. After “At Seventeen,” she reached the pop charts only once more with “Under the Covers” at No. 71 in 1981. However, Ian continued to write songs from 1982 to 1992, which have been covered by, among others, Amy Grant, Bette Midler and Marti Jones. She released Breaking Silence in 1993, about coming out as a lesbian, and Folk Is the New Black, in 2006, her first album in more than two decades.

Ian’s short stories have been published in science fiction anthologies. In 2008, she released her autobiography Society’s Child to critical acclaim. An accompanying double CD, The Autobiography Collection, has been released with many of Ian’s best loved songs. In December 2015, Ian appeared in the series finale of HBO comedy series Getting On, playing a patient who refused to stop singing.

April 10—Steven Seagal

A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, actor Seagal began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked as a martial arts instructor on the movie Never Say Never Again, accidentally breaking actor Sean Connery’s wrist during production. In 1988, Seagal made his acting debut in Above the Law, which was followed by four successful films. He achieved further fame in 1992, when he played Navy SEALs counter-terrorist expert Casey Ryback in Under Siege. During the latter half of the 1990s, Seagal starred in three more theatrical films and the direct-to-video film The Patriot.

Since that time, his career has shifted almost entirely to direct-to-video productions (released to the public on video instead of to movie theaters)—a total of 27 from 1998 to 2014. At the age of 58, he starred in his first widely released film since 2002, the 2010 film Machete. Between 2009 and 2013, he filmed three seasons of his reality show Steven Seagal: Lawman, which depicted him as a reserve deputy sheriff in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana (season 1–2) and Maricopa County, Arizona (season 3). He also created and starred in two seasons of the undercover police drama series True Justice between 2011 and 2012.

As an accomplished guitarist, Seagal released two studio albums (Songs from the Crystal Cave and Mojo Priest) and performed on numerous film scores. As a businessman, Seagal is estimated to be worth anywhere from $5 million to $16 million (as of 2015). Steven Seagal Enterprises markets his own energy drink, Lightning Bolt, and represents the Russian firearms manufacturer ORSIS. He is a supporter of both the 14th Dalai Lama and Vladimir Putin, calling Putin “one of the great living world leaders.”

April 21—Tony Danza

Born Antonio Salvatore Iadanza, the Italian-American actor is best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who’s the Boss?, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards. A professional boxer, Danza got his start on Taxi after a producer discovered him at a boxing gymnasium in New York. On Taxi, he played a cab driver and part-time boxer on the award-winning comedy that aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. From 1984 to 1992, he starred in ABC’s popular comedy Who’s the Boss?, in which he portrayed retired baseball player, housekeeper and single father Tony Micelli.

Danza also starred in the short-lived sitcoms Hudson Street (1995) and The Tony Danza Show (1997), for which he won the 1998 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for a guest-starring role in the 1998 TV series The Practice. He made his movie debut in the comedy The Hollywood Knights (1980), which was followed by Going Ape! (1981). Danza received critical acclaim for his performance in the 1999 Broadway revival of the Eugene O’Neill play The Iceman Cometh.

Danza hosted his own TV talk show, The Tony Danza Show, which ended in May 2006. He starred on Broadway as Max Bialystock in The Producers in 2006-2007. In 2010, he had his own reality show Teach: Tony Danza (on A&E), in which he co-instructed a 10th grade English class in Philadelphia. The book I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High, was released in 2012 and was based on his year of teaching.

April 27—Ace Frehley

source: http://flickr.com/photo/43547797@N00/257190364 using Flickr upload bot

Best known as the former lead guitarist and founding member of the rock band Kiss, Frehley adopted the persona of the “Spaceman” or “Space Ace” and played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982. After leaving Kiss, Frehley embarked on a solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion tour. His second tenure with Kiss lasted until 2002, when he left at the conclusion of what was originally purported to be the band’s Farewell Tour. His most recent solo album, Space Invader, was released in 2014.

Guitar World magazine ranked him as the 14th greatest metal guitarist of all time. His solos often incorporate the minor pentatonic scale and the usage of vibratos. Outside of Kiss, Frehley has continued to be commercially successful, with his first solo album going platinum. He is also known for the use of many “whimsical” guitars, including a Gibson Les Paul guitar that emits smoke from the neck humbucker pickup and produces spinning pyrotechnics, and a custom Les Paul that emits light based on song tempo.

Source: Wikipedia

Prescription Drug Assistance: Where to Get Help

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Dan Hoelscher - Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Drug Plan, Medicare Supplement

Here is a Helpful article that was recently in the Dayton Daily News.

By Marci Vandersluis

Contributing Writer

I recently visited with a couple that shared that they were having difficulty paying for some of their prescription medications. One spouse stated that some of their medications had very high out of pocket costs. These co-pays were affecting their ability to pay for some needed home repairs along with food purchases. While this article has no magic solutions on how to eliminate prescription drug costs, it should be of some relief to know that with a little perseverance, along with some web “surfing”, there are programs and services available directed towards providing prescription assistance to lower income older adults.

Since 2006, those eligible for Medicare have been encouraged to enroll in a Medicare Part D plan, which provides prescription drug coverage. The two ways to get coverage are either through adding drug coverage to original Medicare, or to enroll in a Medicare advantage plan that offers Medicare prescription drug coverage. Beneficiaries must first have Medicare A and/or B to enroll in a drug plan and must have Medicare A and B to qualify for enrollment in a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan. It is important to note that while enrolling in a Medicare D plan, is voluntary, not signing soon after eligible or when other medical coverage (such as an employer sponsored plan) ceases will result in a monthly financial penalty that will continue through the duration of coverage.

Most have found that while the implementation Part “D” has provided significant cost saving, it continues to present some challenges for beneficiaries. One such frustration is the feared coverage gap or “doughnut hole.” In 2015, once the beneficiary and drug plan have spent $2960, the person is responsible for much higher of pocket costs for prescriptions. Once these costs reach $4,700 the beneficiary is only responsible for 5 percemt of prescription costs, for the remainder of the year. While Medicare is working on more discounts for those in the coverage gap with the ultimate goal of closing the gap in 2020, there are still significant costs while in the “ doughnut hole.” Monthly statements from your drug plan will outline explanation how much has been spent on medication and if you have reached the coverage gap.

Co-pays for some medications can be very expensive even when not in the coverage gap. Fortunately, for those who meet certain financial guidelines there are some programs to help with prescription drug costs. One such program is the Chubby Checker, Patty Duke, endorsed Medicare Extra-Help program. Individuals with income of approximately $17,655 yearly income ($23,895 for married couples), with resources of approximately $13,640 ($27,250 for married couples) should consider applying for this program as it can offer considerable savings. See below for the link to apply online. If there are additional circumstances, if only marginally above these guidelines, or even if in doubt regarding eligibility, it is encouraged to apply. The Medicare website also advises contacting and your specific drug plan to see if eligible for any type of extra help.

Resources

Ohio Benefit Bank-Consumer Hotline: 800-648-1176 or www.ohiobenefits.org

United Health Solutions: 937 220-6600 or www.uhs-dayton.org

Partnership for Prescription Assistance: 888-477-2669 or https://www.pparx.org

Needymeds: Helpline 800-503-6897 or http://www.needymeds.org/newuser

Ohio’s Best Rx: 866-923-7879 or http://www.ohiobestrx.org/en/index.aspx

Good RX-drug discount card: 888-799-2553 or https://www.goodrx.com

Drug companies that offer assistance:http://www.needhelppayingbills.com/html/get_free_prescription_drugs.html

Medicare information on lowering drug costs: 800-633-4227 or https://www.medicare.gov/part-d/costs/coverage-gap/ways-to-lower-drug-costs.html

Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIIP): 800-686-1578 orhttp://www.insurance.ohio.gov/Consumer/OSHIIP/Documents/whatisoshiip.pdf

Medicare Extra Help: 800-772-1213 or www.socialsecurity.gov/extrahelp (Online application)

Next “Solving the Medicare Puzzle” Workshop

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Dan Hoelscher - Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Drug Plan, Medicare Supplement, Retirement Planning

Announcing our next “Solving the Medicare Puzzle” Workshop! Monday, March 16 at 5:30 pm in our Troy office at 1385 Stonycreek Road in Troy.

Are you, or someone you know, feeling overwhelmed about signing up for a Medicare Supplement? Is your mailbox overflowing with flyers and invitations? Are you more confused now than you were a couple of months ago? What do all of the letters of the alphabet have to do with healthcare? Well, look no further. Sign up today so you can be in the know!

Call our office at 937-492-8800 to reserve a seat (or two!), or simply complete the form below:

[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’I would love to come! There will be a total of __ people in our group:’ type=’radio’ options=’1,2,3,4’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

Look who else is turning 65!

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Dan Hoelscher - Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Drug Plan, Medicare Supplement, Retirement Planning

Are you turning 65 in August? If so, you are in very good company!!

August 22- Diana Nyad, first gained national attention in 1975 when she swam around Manhattan (28 miles). In 1979, she swam from the Bahamas to Juno Beach, Fla. (102 miles), setting a distance record for non-stop swimming without a wetsuit, which still stands today. In 2013, on her fifth attempt and at age 64, she became the first person confirmed to swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage, swimming from Havana to Key West (110 miles). Nyad began her swimming career in high school. Shortly after she was introduced to marathon swimming, she set a women’s world record in her first race, a 10-mile swim in Lake Ontario in July 1970.Nyad is also a writer and has authored three books, including Other Shores (1978) about her life and distance swimming. She has also written for The New York Times, NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Newsweek magazine and other publications. She hosted the public radio program “The Savvy Traveler,” was a commentator on the “business of sport” for American Public Media’s public radio program Marketplace business news and was a regular contributor to the CBS News television show Sunday Morning. She co-founded BravaBody, a company aimed at providing online exercise advice to women

August 23 –Shelley Long, is best known for her role as Diane Chambers in Cheers, the popular comedy set in a Boston neighborhood bar, which ran from 1982 to 1993, and for which she received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She also won two Golden Globe Awards for the role. Long reprised her role as Diane Chambers in four episodes of the spinoff Frasier, for which she received an additional guest star Emmy nomination. Long’s interest in acting was evident as a member of her high school speech team in Indiana, winning an award in 1967 for original oratory. After studying drama at Northwestern University, she joined The Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. In 1975, she began writing, producing and co-hosting the local NBC television program Sorting It Out, which won three Regional Emmys for Best Entertainment Show. Her first notable role came in the 1979 television movie The Cracker Factory, in which she played opposite Natalie Wood. In 1980 she appeared in her first feature film role in A Small Circle of Friends, followed by roles in both TV shows and movies, including Night Shift (1982) and Losin’ It (1983). While on Cheers, she starred in several movies, including Irreconcilable Differences (1984), for which she was nominated for a Best Leading Actress Golden Globe, The Money Pit and Hello Again. In 1990, Long returned to television for the ABC miniseries Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase. This introduced her to more dramatic roles in TV films, after which she starred in several more throughout the ‘90s. In recent years, she has guest starred in several TV shows, including Boston Legal and Modern Family, and in several TV films such as Honeymoon with Mom, Falling in Love with the Girl Next Door and Holiday Engagement.

August 25 – Gene Simmons, the blood-spouting member of the band Kiss, was born as Chaim Witz in Israel and later changed his name after his mother, a Hungarian immigrant and the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust, immigrated to the United States. As a young boy, he developed an interest in horror and science fiction, but the Beatles phenomenon inspired a stronger urge to become a musician, and he joined a series of bands. In 1973, with fellow musician Paul Stanley, he founded Kiss. By the end of 1975 Kiss had become one of the biggest acts in the country. Nicknamed “the demon,” Simmons took the stage clad in stylized armor and spiked platform boots, with his face elaborately painted in white and black. Bursts of flame and generous amounts of fake blood regularly featured in his performance. In the late 1970s and early 80s, Simmons branched out into other aspects of the entertainment business, including starting his own label (which was unsuccessful), producing and acting, including roles in movies (Runaway, 1984; Never Too Young To Die, 1986) and television (Miami Vice).For most of the ‘80s and ‘90s Kiss remained active, while Simmons kept himself busy in the ‘00s launching a magazine, publishing his autobiography, creating a clothing line and re-establishing his record label. In 2004, he released his second solo album. Simmons advocates for ChildFund International and has traveled to Zambia to visit several of his sponsored children, of whom he has more than 140.

August 31 – Richard Gere, the son of Mayflower descendants, started his acting career in theater. His first big role in movies was in the thriller Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), followed by the leading role in the 1978 film, Days of Heaven. In 1979 Gere was one of the first big-name Hollywood actors to play a gay character, starring as a homosexual Holocaust victim in the Broadway production of Bent, for which he won a Theatre World Award. In 1980 he became a major star with the film American Gigolo, followed in 1982 by the romantic drama An Officer and a Gentleman with Debra Winger. In the 1980s, Gere had several box office failures but success returned in 1990 with Internal Affairs and Pretty Woman. After that, he starred in several successful films throughout the 1990s, including Sommersby (1993), Primal Fear (1996) and Runaway Bride (1999). In 1999, Gere was named People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive.” In 2002, he won a Golden Globe award for best actor for his role in Chicago. His more recent movies include The Hoax (2006) Amelia (2009) and Arbitrage (2012), which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination.A Buddhist, Gere is also an advocate for human rights in Tibet, actively supports Survival International, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights and lands of tribal peoples throughout the world, and campaigns for ecological causes and AIDS awareness

Next “Solving the Medicare Puzzle” workshop date set

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Dan Hoelscher - Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Drug Plan, Medicare Supplement, Social Security, Uncategorized

Troy

Announcing our next Solving the Medicare Puzzle Workshop, Thursday, September 11, at 5:30 pm at our Troy office. Please call our office at 937-492-8800 to reserve one or more seats for yourself or a friend!

Medicare Supplement policyholders are paying too much for their coverage!

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Dan Hoelscher - Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Drug Plan, Medicare Supplement, Retirement Planning, Social Security, State Teachers Retirement

If your parents were like mine, they probably taught you to spend your money wisely. Let me use a story here to make a point. Suppose you are shopping for a new refridgerator. Your first stop is at Sears where you find the perfect Frigidaire XL2014, and at a great price, $2100. But because your parents told you to shop before you buy, you decide to check a few more places. The last stop you make is at Lowes, where you find the same Frigidaire XL2014. Same make, same model, same features…they are IDENTICAL! Only the one at Lowes costs $1500. Do you go back to Sears and buy the one for $2100? Unless you own stock in Sears, or your son is the sales rep, I hope your response is…Absolutely not! Why would you spend $600 more on the same thing. But Retirees are doing that very thing with their Medicare Supplement insurance.

But you may ask, “How do I know I’m getting the same benefits?” The answer is simple, our government did something right. Prior to 1992, Medicare Supplement insurance plans were not standardized. What this meant was that each insurance company’s Medicare supplement plans offered different benefits. This made it almost impossible for the Retiree to shop their coverage from company to company. Compare it to shopping for a car today. You can’t really compare cost from one dealer to another because the options are completely different. This one has leather seats, but the other one has On-Star. This one has a DVD player, but the other one has alloy wheels. It is impossible to truly compare cost because you are never comparing “apples to apples.” The same was true with Medicare Supplement insurance prior to 1992. But in 1992 the federal government stepped in and “standardized” Medicare Supplement insurance.

They did this because prior to 1992, unethical salespeople were taking coverage away from Retirees in order to save them money, and they weren’t disclosing the fact that they reduced their coverage. So the government stepped in and standardized the plans so this couldn’t happen anymore. They did this by offering 11 plans and giving them the letter names of A through N. In other words, it means you can compare a Plan F with one company to a Plan F with another company and know that the benefits are IDENTICAL. So you no longer have to say, “I know my supplement is expensive, but I don’t want to change it because it pays so well.” As long as you stick with the same Plan letter name, the new company is legally obligated to pay the same benefits as your old one.

So what does this mean for you? It means it would be a good idea to know what premium you pay compared to what others your age and in your area are paying for the same plan. This is important because you may be paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars more per year in premium and not be getting any better benefits. For example, the premiums for a Plan F for a 70 year old female range from $130/month on the low end up to $276/month on the high end. That’s a difference of $1,752 per year. And worse yet, the person paying $276/month is not getting any better benefits than the person paying $130. And don’t forget, you can change your medicare supplement policy any time of the year…you don’t have to wait for the Annual Enrollment Period at the end of the year.

If you would like to see how your premium compares, you can go to our website at www.seniormark.com and click on the “Supplement Rates” tab. And don’t worry, you will get instant numbers and we won’t collect your personal information. If you are not tech savvy just call us at 877-492-8803 and we will provide you with a free comparison report.

I bet your momma never thought shopping would be this easy!

Turning 65? You’re in good company! See who else joins you this month!

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Dan Hoelscher - Medicare, Medicare Drug Plan, Medicare Supplement, Retirement Planning, Social Security

May 9- Billy Joel, pianist, singer-songwriter and composer, had his first hit in 1973, “Piano Man.” Since then, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States. His compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 is the third best-selling album in the United States, by discs shipped. In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Joel had 33 Top 40 hits, all of which he wrote, including “Big Shot,” “Just the Way You Are,” “Only the Good Die Young” and “Everybody Loves You Now.” He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner who has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards throughout his career. He has sold over 150 million records worldwide. Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999) and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006). In 2001, Joel received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and, in 2013, received the Kennedy Center Honors, the nation’s highest honor for influencing American culture through the arts. With the exception of the 2007 songs “All My Life” and “Christmas in Fallujah,” Joel stopped writing and releasing pop/rock material after 1993’s River of Dreams. However, he continues to tour and plays songs from all eras of his solo career.

May 20 –Dave Thomas, a Canadian comedian, actor and television writer, is best known for his portrayal of Doug McKenzie on SCTV as well as in the films Bob & Doug and Strange Brew, which he also directed. Starting out his career as a copywriter at an ad agency, he first achieved fame as a cast member of the Canadian syndicated TV comedy series SCTV, where he portrayed, among other characters, Doug McKenzie of beer-swilling brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie. In 1984 he wrote for and acted in The New Show, produced by Lorne Michaels during his hiatus from Saturday Night Live. In 1993, he co-starred in ABC’s Grace Under Fire with Brett Butler and Tom Poston and continued with the show for five seasons. In 2001 Thomas co-starred in the Paramount feature Rat Race. As of 2001, Thomas has been the executive creative director of Animax Entertainment, an animation studio. Thomas has had a long career doing voices for animation, including Animaniacs, Duckman, Catdog, The Adventures of Tarzan, Justice League of America and multiple roles on The Simpsons and Family Guy. In 2007, Thomas and Rick Moranis reprised their roles as the McKenzie brothers in a one hour special “Bob & Doug McKenzie’s Two-Four Anniversary” for CBC Television. In 2008, Thomas revived the McKenzie brothers in a new animated series, Bob & Doug. In 2012 and 2013 Thomas guest starred in the dramatic shows Perception and Bones as well as comedy shows Comedy Bang Bang and How I Met Your Mother.
May 24 – Jim Broadbent an English theatre, film and television actor, is known for his roles in Iris (2001), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Topsy-Turvy (1999), Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001), Hot Fuzz (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), The Iron Lady (2011) and Cloud Atlas (2012). He also appears in the later Harry Potter films as Horace Slughorn. Broadbent also starred in the drama television film Longford (2006), receiving the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.

Broadbent started out in theater before taking roles in movies, starting with Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985), and establishing himself in Mike Leigh’s Life Is Sweet (1990). He proved his ability as a character actor in films including The Crying Game (1992), Enchanted April (1992), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), The Borrowers (1997) and Little Voice (1998) before taking a leading role in another Mike Leigh film, Topsy-Turvy (1999). In 2001, Broadbent starred in three of the year’s most successful films: Bridget Jones’s Diary, Moulin Rouge! and Iris, for which he won an Oscar for his role as author Iris Murdoch’s husband, who is portrayed taking care of his wife in her final years when she has Alzheimer’s.

May 26 – Pam Grier, became famous in the early 1970s after starring in a string of women-in-prison and blaxploitation (originally made specifically for an urban black audience) films like The Big Bird Cage (1972), Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974) and Sheba Baby (1975) in which she played bold and assertive women. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s film Jackie Brown, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. The film review website Rotten Tomatoes has ranked her as the second greatest female action heroine in film history, and Tarantino once said that she may have been cinema’s first female action star.

With the demise of blaxploitation, in the 1980s Grier appeared in more character roles, including a prostitute in Fort Apache the Bronx (1981), a witch in Something Wicked this Way Comes (1983) and Steven Seagal’s detective partner in Above the Law (1988). Grier is also known for her six seasons of work on the television series, The L Word, which centered on the lives of a group of lesbians and bisexuals. She received an Emmy Award nomination for her work in the 1995 HBO animated program Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child. In 2010, Grier began appearing in a recurring role as the villain on the hit science fiction series Smallville. That same year, Grier wrote her memoir, Foxy: My Life in Three Acts.

May 31 – Tom Berenger, television and motion picture actor, is probably best known for his portrayal of Staff Sergeant Barnes in the 1986 Platoon, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination. Berenger started in soap operas and got Hollywood’s attention in 1977 with a small but noticeable role as a murderer in Looking for Mr. Goodbar. In 1978, he starred in In Praise of Older Women and, in 1979, he played Butch Cassidy in Butch and Sundance: The Early Days. In the 1980s, Berenger starred in several significant films, including The Big Chill (1983), Platoon (1986), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987) and Major League (1989). In the mid-1990s he was most recognizable in his role from the movie Sniper.

In more recent years, Berenger has continued to have an active acting career in film and television, although often at a supporting level. His most notable television appearance was on Cheers in its last season as Rebecca Howe’s blue collar-plumber love interest, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2012 Berenger appeared in the TV miniseries Hatfields & McCoys as Jim Vance, for which he earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for the role. He most recently has appeared in the science fiction thriller Inception.

Look who turned 65 in February!! Data, Angela, and Ivana!

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Dan Hoelscher - Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Drug Plan, Medicare Supplement, Social Security

February 2 – Brent Jay Spiner, is best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr. Brackish Okun in Independence Day, both in 1996, earned him a Saturn Award and Saturn Award nomination respectively.

Before Star Trek, Spiner played in various TV shows, including Night Court. In 1987, Spiner started his 15-year run portraying Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, which spanned seven seasons. As a main character, he appeared in all but one of the series’ 178 episodes. He reprised his role in the four spin-off Star Trek films and voiced his character in several Star Trek video games. In 1997, he played John Adams on Broadway in a revival of the musical 1776, which was nominated for a Tony Award. Spiner has appeared in several television series, including, Frasier, Friends and Law & Order, and in movies, including The Aviator and Independence Day.

February 9 –Judith Ellen Light, has appeared on TV and on Broadway, where she won two Tony Awards. Her television roles include Karen Wolek on the soap opera One Life to Live, Angela Bower on the sitcom Who’s the Boss?, Claire Meade on Ugly Betty and Elizabeth “Liz” Donnelly on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She won her first Tony Award in 2012 for her performance on Broadway as Silda in the play Other Desert Cities, and her second in 2013 for her portrayal of Faye in The Assembled Parties.

In 1980, Light won her first Daytime Emmy Award for “Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series.” A courtroom scene from that year’s One Life to Live is held in such high esteem that it is used in acting classes to the current day. In 2000, she received critical acclaim when she starred on stage as Dr. Vivian Bearing in Wit, Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about an academic dying from ovarian cancer. Light is a prominent gay rights and AIDS activist.
February 15 – Kenneth “Ken” Anderson a football quarterback, spent his entire professional career playing for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals and later returned as a position coach. He was also the quarterback coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Starting with the Bengals in 1972, Anderson would become one of the most accurate short-range passers in the league, and was extremely effective at rushing the ball. With Bill Walsh as Anderson’s quarterback coach, Anderson is considered to be one of the first quarterbacks to run what would become known as the “West Coast Offense.”

At the time of Anderson’s retirement following the 1986 season, he held NFL records for consecutive pass completions (20), completion percentage for a single game (20 of 22, 90.9 percent, vs. Pittsburgh in 1974) and completion percentage for a season (70.3 percent in 1982), as well as the Super Bowl records for completion percentage (73.5 percent) and completions (25). Furthermore, Anderson was ranked sixth all-time for passing yards in a career at the time of his retirement. His record for completion percentage in a season stood for 27 years after his retirement.

February 20 – Ivana Trump is a former athlete, socialite and fashion model noted for her marriage to American business magnate Donald Trump. Born in Czechoslovakia, she first moved to Montreal and then to New York where she met Trump. After their marriage in 1977, the Trumps became leading figures in New York high society and business during the 1980s. Ivana Trump took a major role in the Trump Organization, spearheading the signature design of Trump Tower and overseeing the restoration of the landmark Plaza Hotel. In 1990, she was named Hotelier of the Year. After divorcing in 1992, Ivana married Riccardo Mazzucchelli; their marriage was short. In April 2008, Trump, then 59, married Rossano Rubicondi.

Trump has developed lines of clothing, fashion jewelry and beauty products that have been successfully sold through television shopping channels. She has also written several bestselling books as well as a self-help book.
February 25 – Richard Fliehr a semi-retired American professional wrestler, is better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as “The Nature Boy,” Flair is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time with a career that spans 40 years. He is noted for his lengthy and highly decorated tenures with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Flair is officially recognized by WWE, TNA and Pro Wrestling Illustrated as a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion (eight-time NWA Champion, six-time WCW Champion and two-time WWF Champion). Although the actual number of his World Championship reigns varies by source, Flair considers himself a 21-time World Champion in the NWA, WCW and WWE.

Announcing……our next Medicare workshop!

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Dan Hoelscher - Uncategorized

Are you turning 65 and wondering what the next step is?

We will be holding our next Medicare Solving The Medicare Puzzle Workshop:

Tuesday, February 18@ 5:30 pm – Location: Sidney office — 2551 Michigan Street.

This is an introductory session explaining the 4 parts of Medicare and what an individual’s options are when they turn 65 or retire and go on Medicare. We have had an excellent response to these workshops, so if you know of someone who could benefit, please let them know.

Seating is limited, so please RSVP: Toll Free – 877-492-8803, or comment on this post!

Next “Solving the Medicare Puzzle” Workshop Announced!

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Dan Hoelscher - Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Drug Plan, Medicare Supplement, Social Security, State Teachers Retirement

Are you, or someone you know, ready to turn 65? Is your mailbox overflowing with offers of insurance? Are you starting to get confused by all the information you are reading? Then, plan to come to our next “Solving the Medicare Puzzle” workshop and we will try to help eliminate some of the confusion!

Thursday, September 12

5:30 pm

Seniormark/Troy Office

1385 Stonycreek Road

Please call our office at 937-492-8800 to save yourself a seat! See you then!