Hello,

I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year’s. Cathy and I did. This letter is just to give you a couple of updates and some of the latest scams to watch out for. But first we need your help with something. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the news media do not distinguish between brokers like us and the call centers that drive you crazy. Cathy and I try hard to provide you with valuable information to make informed decisions about your healthcare options.  If you value the ability to work with us, we would like you to tell CMS and your legislators why we are important to you. Please go online to fill out the 5 question survey at https://votervoice.net/NABIP/Surveys/11551/Respond. If you would like us to email you the form, please send us your email and we will email the form to you. This needs to be completed by February 7^th as it will be shared with your legislators at a conference in late February. We may also put some of it on our website.

Good news for those who have Anthem Blue Cross and use Summa hospital or doctors, they settled on 12/31/2024.   So those using Summa can continue as normal. Ohio State facilities (which includes part of Rootstown NEOMED) unfortunately dropped Anthem for next year. Anyone using those doctors will need to either switch doctors or call me for a plan Ohio State will accept.

Prescriptions.  Please remember January could be an expensive month for prescriptions for those on an expensive drug like Eliquis or Ozempic. The good news is the maximum out-of-pocket (MOOP) this year for prescriptions is $2,000 and with the way they calculate it, most people won’t actually spend that much. You can use other discount prescription cards which may help you save money on certain drugs compared to your actual insurance. If you use those cards, the prescription costs do not go towards your $2,000 MOOP.

Just as a reminder if you end up on a new drug that’s not currently covered by your plan, you can ask for a formulary exception which means the insurance company will cover your drug even though it’s not on their list. You can also ask for a utilization exception which can waive coverage restrictions or limits on your drug. Your doctor will have to help you get an exception but generally the decision is made within 3-5 business days.

Extra Help  Those whose income and assets are low enough can qualify for extra help for prescription drug costs. There are different levels to it and if you qualify some levels will pay your Part B premium. For single people making under $1,900 a month and couples making under $2,600 per month with assets under $17,000 for an individual and under $35,000 for a couple you should apply.  Go to Medicare.gov and search extra help or type in https://secure.ssa.gov/i1020/Ee001view.action.

Scams  There are many new and updated scams to watch out for. The most common scams are Investment scams and business impostor scams where they pretend to be from Amazon or Microsoft or any other type of business or social media. You need to look at all digital communication (emails, texting etc.) with skepticism if you did not initiate contact with the people requesting information from you. When in doubt, call the company directly to verify that the e-mail or text was legitimate. Do not use the phone number they give you, look it up on your own. These scams include credit card decline problems (buying online), utility companies, and those companies who send you an e-mail offering you a free scan because your computer is infected. A new one is toll road scams.  Since most retirees are not opening new credit cards or applying for loans, it’s a good idea to seriously consider freezing your credit. Go to equifax.com, experian.com, and transunion.com to initiate the credit freeze. If you ever need to apply for a new credit card or any type of loan, you can always log in to unfreeze your credit. Google “AARP scams to avoid” and read up on many of the new scams and how they work.

Please remember the government (IRS, Medicare etc.) does not call you directly unless you’ve called them first and are working through a problem. I know this is common sense but if someone contacts you – IGNORE them. Don’t give them your birthday, Social Security number, Medicare number, nor policy number. Anyone legitimately calling you should be able to give you that information and ask you to verify whether it’s correct or not. We need to be more careful than ever with the AI that is out there. Scammers are using it, and it makes things seem more legitimate than ever. If something just doesn’t strike you as right, trust your gut and call someone for their opinion. Call your kids, friends, or even me or Cathy. We will be happy to help you if we can. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Another scam going around is stealing a deceased spouse’s identity to open up credit cards. Be sure to call the spouse’s credit card companies and request to close the accounts. Also call the three major credit reporting companies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. 

Good news for those who have a government pension like teachers and state/city retirees. The Social Security Fairness Act was just signed into law which eliminates the laws from the 1980s that substantially reduced Social Security benefits to those who paid into Social Security and government pension plans. So sometime down the road those people should be getting a nice increase in their Social Security checks. More good news – people turning 65 years old have a life expectancy of age 84 for men and 87 for women.

Your Social Security is increasing by 2.5% for 2025. Then they’re going to take $10 a month back out of that for the increase in your Part B premium which is going to be $185 a month for most people.

Cathy and I will be holding Medicare 101 meetings at the Horseshoe Diner down the hall from us on March 25th and March 26th at 6 pm. If you know anyone who’s going to be NEW to Medicare, we would appreciate you passing along this information to them. Just have them call us to register.

Thank you so much to those who passed out our business cards and gave us referrals! We had many new clients in large part because of the referrals. Please keep them coming. Also, if for some reason you are unhappy with your plan, let us know before April 1^st and we may be able to do something for you.

Cathy and I have been very busy with work, the farm family, church etc. but we are doing well. Our grandkids are growing like weeds. Micaiah turned 1 at the end of November and she’s walking like a pro now. Her three-year old brother Azariah loves Spiderman outfits and playing with puzzles. His big brother Elijah will be 5 next month, and he likes drawing and playing with his trains. They both dote over their little sister and take good care of her – for the most part. Andrew and Allie are expecting their first in March and things are going well in their preparation. Andrew just finished his Master of Divinity so he is finally done with his education. Our family is very blessed.

Stay warm and I hope you have a great new year. Thanks again for the referrals and please remember to fill out the Medicare survey and get it back to us by February 7^th.

Take care,

Chris and Cathy

Hello,

The annual October newsletter with changes to your plan for 2025 has been mailed.  You should receive it by October 15, 2024.  It is company specific so the letter sent to you is applicable to the company’s plan you have.  If you did not receive the letter, please contact Cathy at 330-298-5969.  She will send you the appropriate letter.  The information below is generic to all the letters that were sent out.

As a reminder we represent all the major insurance companies for Medicare including Anthem, Aetna, United Healthcare, Medical Mutual, Summa, Humana, and Devoted.  So, if you get a call from someone telling you about a company plan with some great benefit – Don’t Fall for IT.  They are not telling you the whole story.   Call us before you do anything and whatever you do, do not give them your date of birth or Medicare number.  They need that to switch you from your current plan, not to tell you about another plan. 

For those who take prescriptions   Your total maximum out-of-pocket expenses for prescriptions for next year will be $2,000.  It is a good idea to check with your insurance company to see what your prescriptions will cost next year if you are on prescriptions that you currently have a copay for.  Your copays may be a lot higher at the beginning of 2025 than they were in 2024 as some companies have gone to a deductible for Tiers 3-5 and/or a percentage copay rather than a flat dollar amount.

You can use Good RX or other discount prescription cards if they are cheaper than your plan, but remember your copay will not be included in the $2,000 maximum out of pocket.  You must use your plan’s insurance card to have the money you pay go to the maximum out of pocket limit.

If your prescription copays are more than you can afford at the beginning of the year, Medicare has a payment plan called Medicare Prescription Payment Plan (or M3P).  It is designed to smooth your costs over the year, but it does not save you money.  Most companies will notify you if you are likely to benefit from this program.  It is new and complicated so I do not recommend it unless you are at a point you cannot pay for your needed drugs early in the year. 

Extra Help Reminder:  If you have lower income and little savings, you may be able to get extra help on your prescriptions.  You can apply at Jobs and Family Services or go online to Medicare.gov/ExtraHelp.  For 2024 the income and savings limits for a single person are $1,903 per month with $17,220 savings and for a couple $2,575 with $34,360 savings.  We will have the 2025 numbers for you in our winter newsletter.  You can also look at Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs for help with the very expensive drugs at go.medicare.gov/pap for more information. 

Just an FYI:  There are plans out there that offer $100 – $170 a month back in your Social Security check.  These plans are ideal for someone who rarely goes to the doctor or uses the VA because the other benefits are not as comprehensive and copays are much higher.  There are other plans that offer $150 – $270 in groceries and OTC every month.  These plans are only for people on both Medicare AND Medicaid.  Some plans offer a $0 copay for specialists or for x-rays BUT they have higher copays elsewhere.  My point is Cathy and I are familiar with most all of these plans and benefits so if you hear of something you may want, please call us.  Do not get something over the phone because I promise you won’t get the customer service Cathy and I strive to give you and you will find you will be missing benefits that you have now or, you will have much higher copayments somewhere else.

Cathy and I are doing very well. My business is keeping me very busy and Cathy splits her time between the business, family farm, and babysitting grandkids. So, she’s even busier than I am. The grandkids are growing fast and are so much fun. We took the boys fishing in our pond and they were catching fish faster than I could take them off the hook and rebait their hook for them. Baby Micaiah is a lot of fun now too. She’s crawling all over the place and pulling herself up and will be walking pretty soon. The exciting news is our other son Andrew and his wife Allie are expecting their first baby in March. So, the Boring household is growing and is anything but boring.

Cathy and I are here if you have questions. If you think you may want to change plans but aren’t sure, remember we have the open enrollment period next year, January through March, where we can make a change if you need to. Also remember Cathy and I represent all the major Medicare companies in Ohio so there aren’t any plans or benefits out there that we haven’t heard of. If you hear of something that sounds too good to be true or want to know how you can get some “new” benefit, call us and we can tell you all about it.

If you have sent people our way over the last year or two – thank you so much. Please remember referrals are the backbone of our business so if you know anybody on Medicare or starting Medicare, we’d really appreciate your referral. Thank you for the trust that you have in us as your agents. Be sure to let us know if you start MEDICAID or have a change in MEDICAID/Extra Help status as you then have other plan options. Also be sure to let us know if you have an address change because the insurance companies do not give us that information. If you move to a different county, we need to make sure your current plan is available in that county and/or let you know of other plans available to you. Also, we cannot send you any more newsletters.  😊

We hope you have a great Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Take care!

Chris and Cathy

Hello!                                                                                                                                                                

I hope you had a great Christmas and New Years.  Ours was very nice.  It was restful too after being so busy during the annual enrollment period for Medicare.  Thank you so much to those of you who referred people to us.  It means a lot.  Thanks again for your trust in us.  I had so much information I wanted to share with you there is a third page on my website you can read.

Medicare changes for next year. Medicare will be making changes for 2025. Some of these changes, if implemented, will likely have a significant impact on your benefits. For one thing, they are capping the maximum out of pocket expense for prescription drugs to $2,000.  That should be a good thing on the surface – especially if you hit the donut hole every year or come close.  They are using a new format to calculate your prescription costs. For 2025, it’s proposed to be a $590 deductible, then you will have a 25% copay until you pay a maximum of $2,000 out of your pocket. We’re not sure if that will affect the zero copay you are paying for some generic drugs now or not.  We just don’t know yet.  The problem with this is that it is another unfunded government mandate so as usual they are not giving the insurance companies any money to fund it. That’s why for those who have a Medicare supplement and a prescription drug plan, you could see your prescription drug plan premium double or quadruple. For those who have a Medicare Advantage plan, there could be significant decreases in extra benefits or increases in medical copayments or both or it may just affect prescription coverage. I have no idea exactly what’s going to happen, but I just wanted to give you a heads up so that you are not shocked when you receive your annual notice of change in September. Hopefully, I will know more in my next newsletter this summer.

A note for those of you with Medical Mutual. I think I mentioned this before, but I just wanted to be sure. They have a 20% copay for observation stays in the hospital. So, if you have to go to the hospital for a length of time make sure that you are “Admitted” and not under “Observation”.  It will save you money.

For those of you who are diabetic, a company called Advanced Diabetes Supply is used by most companies (Devoted being an exception). The clients I know who have used them have been very happy. They set up home delivery of diabetic supplies. They seem to be very knowledgeable on how to avoid any billing issues. They do blood glucose meter replacements, and they have free shipping on 90 day supplies with each order. They also have the continuous glucose monitoring systems which allow no more finger sticks. So, if you’re looking for somewhere else to try you may consider them. Their phone number is 877-868-9856.  Laura Clinansmith is my personal contact there.

Reminder, since it’s the beginning of a new year, ask yourself this question: When was the last time I updated the beneficiaries on my life insurance, bank accounts, investments, annuities, IRA, or anything else where there is a title or account number? It’s just something to think about if you haven’t looked at it in a long time.

Kiplingers magazine said there’s been a sharp increase in fatal falls. Between 1999 and 2020, seniors population over age 65 grew by 52% but the number of fatal falls rose 261% for that group. So, if you have a concern for yourself or a loved one, remember several of the Medicare Advantage plans offer the personal emergency response system as a free benefit.

Fraud & Scams  The FBI reported that in 2021 more than 92,000 people over 60 were scammed online to the tune of $1.7 billion. Most common financial scams include government impersonators posing as IRS agents telling you that you owe taxes. Also, sweepstakes scams where the caller tells you you’re a winner but must send them cash or gift card before you can receive your winnings.  Never purchased gift cards as payment for anything. Protect yourself by never giving any information to people who contact you unsolicited by telephone, e-mail, text, or even in person. Medicare, the IRS, and most businesses will never call you to sell you anything or visit your home unless you contact them first. Only give personal information to your doctors, insurance companies, or trusted people. They should be able to give you the last four digits of your Social Security number, for example, so that you can verify it rather than you providing it. To report fraud and predatory sales practices, you can contact Ohio Senior Medicare patrol at 1-800-488-6070.

Another growing fraud is when your grandchild calls needing money right away.  Called “Family Emergency Scams”, thieves are now using artificial intelligence (AI) and social media to make it seem even more real. They can now mimic voices with AI and learn lots of details from social media about your grandchildren.  One thing you could do is come up with a code word so that your grandchildren can use it if they ever need to call you.

Last thing regarding fraud is never buy anything over the phone when they call you. This includes Medicare plans. If you hear something that sounds really good, and you wonder why I didn’t tell you about it, please call me and ask. There’s very little I have not heard of so when you hear of a great benefit that you don’t have, there is a reason for it.  Call me and I can explain why it doesn’t apply to you. I have already put you in one of the richest benefit plans there are.

Family Update:  Things are going pretty good for our family.  We have a new addition to the family!  Micaiah was born the day after Thanksgiving.  She and her mother are doing very well. She’s already over 12 lbs and her two brothers just adore her. Mom and Dad seem to be doing well after adjusting to the new normal.

Thanks again for the referrals!  Please keep them coming.

Take care,

Chris & Cathy Boring

Additional Information

Kiplingers has a nice article about how nursing homes have changed. There are several different retirement communities offering different levels of care, some even have many different levels on the same campus. They’re still very expensive. The national average cost is $108,000 per year for a private room but it also widely varies by location.  One very important thing to look at when looking for a retirement community is staffing. You want it to average over 4.1 hours of nursing care per resident per day, the higher the better. Only 26% of nursing homes in the United States provide that level of care. That’s because most of the nursing homes in the United states have staffing shortages and one of the big reasons is because of low pay. Another good thing to look for is who owns the nursing home. They could be for profit, nonprofit, or government entities. On average nonprofits provide 4.28 hours of staff attention per resident each day while the “for profits” averaged less than four hours. Nursing homes should welcome families to visit anytime and if you have one that is very rigid in visiting hours, that should be a red flag.  There are many people who go into nursing homes and spend three or more years there, but the majority of people are there for a year or less. So, while the odds of going into a nursing home are high, the odds of being there for a long time or not.

The Portager newspaper had an interesting column about finding good care for elderly loved ones. The writer listed lessons learned and the first was contact the Area Agency on Aging for assistance and gathering information on where to go and what your options are. Contacting “A Place For Mom” is also a good idea.  The article also said you need to speak up to staff members regarding the care of your loved one and not to be afraid to do that. There are also rating systems in place that rate facility care, one being Medicare. Kiplinger has also rated many nursing homes and are probably more accurate than Medicare.  You can look at the report at https://health.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes. It also says they learned that just because the place looks very nice and fancy doesn’t mean you’re getting good care for your loved one. So, if you or someone you know needs help regarding this, call the Area Agency on Aging at 330-896-9172.

For those of you who are frustrated with trying to buy your grandkids or great grandkids something they will appreciate, you might consider buying them a whole life insurance policy. I know it may sound weird, but this would be one way for your grandkids to remember you when they are your age. I have a few companies that are very cheap.  You can pay them up in three years, do a single premium or monthly payments. Set it up any way you want from $5,000 to $50,000 in coverage.

An independent think tank study found that 22% of coronary stents that were approved were unnecessary. It said US hospitals performed over 229,000 unnecessary coronary stents on which Medicare wasted as much as 2.4 billion from 2019 to 2021. Remember you have the right to a second opinion on anything as long as they’re in network.

More Fraud alerts:  Be very careful of your e-mail. Many thieves are imitating trusted brands like banks and legitimate businesses like Target and Netflix. They are also using the phrase “Rewards Program”. It frequently comes in Gmail.  They seem OK but then eventually get to where they’re asking you private information like bank account and Social Security numbers. If it sounds too good to be true, that’s a red flag. They’re also getting very good at doing it on social media like Facebook. Be careful and never give any of your information. If somebody wants something, tell them you will verify it if they give it to you. If you’re worried about your credit, you can put a credit freeze at each of the credit bureaus for free. Once you freeze it, it’s easy to unfreeze if you decide you want to apply for a credit card or some other loan. FYI credit freezes are free, but credit locks usually come with a subscription service and you may have to pay a fee.

Hello,                                                                                                                          October 2023

The annual October newsletter with changes for 2024 was mailed out on Friday, October 6.  It is company specific so the letter you received is applicable to the carrier’s plan you have.  If you did not receive the letter, please contact Cathy at 330-298-5969.  She will send you the appropriate letter.  The information below is generic to all the letters that were sent out.

I hope you had a great summer. Hard to believe fall is here already. It has been a busy summer for us. This fall is also going to be busy as well but I wanted to take the time to give you some details about your plan changes for next year and review your benefits. I also want to thank those of you who have sent me referrals. I can’t tell you how much I really appreciate them and the fact that you trust me enough to refer people to me. I advertise a lot but the bulk of my new clients are referrals that don’t come from advertising. So, thank you very much!

Just as a reminder: I have all the major plans available that are in Ohio and I’m aware of all the other plans as well.

Therapy. Most of the time, whatever set number therapy visits you qualify for are enough for you to recover. Many people use less. Some people need more. If you are denied additional therapy visits, you need to get with your doctor and appeal it. It’s not a difficult process and most of the time you will win.

My family and I are doing well. My son Andrew is working at MissionView Church and continues his seminary classes. His wife also got a job at MissionView Church. My son Nathan really likes his job. He gets to work at home much of the time which saves commuting time. His wife LaRee is expecting their third sometime in late November. We were all excited. We get to see our two grandsons weekly, and they are so much fun. My wife Cathy stays very busy helping her brother on the farm and me with my business. We are all very blessed.

I hope this letter finds you well and I hope you have a great fall and happy holidays coming up. Thank you again for the referrals and please keep them coming in. I am doing a lot of Medicare 101 meetings now so if you know anyone who needs a speaker for a group, I can talk anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes about Medicare. I could actually talk longer but people’s eyes glaze over. Lol.  Also please let me know if your address changes so I can keep you on the mailing list.

Take care,

Chris and Cathy

I hope you are having a great summer so far. I want to thank all of you who have been giving me referrals. They are greatly appreciated and help my business immensely. I’m very thankful for the trust you have placed in me for your own insurance needs and that you trust me enough to refer me. Again, thank you. This newsletter is going to have a lot of information regarding scams and fraud. There’s so much of that going on right now. However, we will start with some good news on prescriptions.

Some GOOD NEWS – The inflation bill signed last year made some positive changes for Part D prescription drug coverage. Starting this year Part D is covering shingles vaccine along with other adult vaccines recommended by the CDC at no cost. Starting next year, in 2024, those who go through the donut hole before the end of the year and into the catastrophic 5% copay phase will NOT have to pay the 5% copayment for prescriptions for the rest of the year. Which means after your 25% copayment of retail drugs reaches your true out of pocket maximum, your copay will drop down to $0. Starting in 2025 Part D prescriptions copays will be limited to a $2,000 maximum out of pocket. After 2025, the Part D max limit of $2,000 will be indexed for inflation.

There are approximately 600,000 people in the state of Ohio receiving letters about redetermination for Medicaid status. Many people are losing their Medicaid coverage. If you or if you know someone who is losing their Medicaid status, please call me or have them call me. I can help.

Congress needs to get moving on shoring up Social Security and Medicare both. Social Security will be unable to pay full retiree benefits starting in 2034 according to the latest annual report. Which means people will be hit with a 23% decrease in benefits. Also, Medicare Part A will only be able to cover 100% of its bills until 2031. Lawmakers are considering raising the retirement age, increasing payroll taxes or a combination of the two and there’s also been talk about “means testing”. Means testing is where if you have a certain level of savings, you are required to spend those before they give you full benefits of your Social Security. But don’t worry, seniors are the largest and most active voting bloc.  Because of that, Congress will not let anything happen to your Social Security or Medicare regardless of what political party is in power. They are just going to wait until the last minute to do something as usual.

If someone gets your Medicare number, they can use it to get medical care or buy prescription drugs in your name. Check your explanation of benefits carefully to be sure all the charges on it are things that were done for you. Unfortunately, these days we need to be vigilant and check all our statements.

Called the “New Medicare Card” scam, the scammers are posing as employees of the Social Security Administration, Medicare, and even the Ohio Department of Insurance. They call their intended victims and say the person needs a new Medicare card or they need to turn in their paper card for a plastic card. The scammers then request the person’s personal information. Government agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, Medicare, and the Ohio Department of Insurance do not randomly call Ohioans on Medicare.

How Ohioans on Medicare can protect themselves:

• Never give personal information, including Medicare, Social Security, bank account, and credit card numbers, to anyone who contacts you unsolicited by telephone, email, text, or in person, such as door-to-door sales.
• Know that Medicare will never call you to sell anything, visit your home, or enroll you over the phone unless you called first.
• Keep in mind that Medicare or Medicare health plans will only call and request personal information if you are a plan member, or you called and left a message.

Ohioans who suspect or have been victimized by a Medicare scam should contact the Ohio Senior Medicare Patrol at 800-488-6070 or proseniors.org.

Fraud and identity theft are major problems. More than 15 million people lost over $20 billion last year. Scammers are getting smarter and some are even using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to help defraud people. Kiplinger ‘s personal finance magazine recently had a huge article about how to protect and prevent fraud. Keeping your Social Security number safe is a major one. Do not carry your Social Security card in your wallet and do not give it out on forms unless it’s really needed. A strong way to prevent financial fraud is to freeze your credit. You have to contact all three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). For a guide on how to do that go to kiplinger.com/links/freeze. Also, if you still have your old Medicare card that has your Social Security number on it be sure to destroy it soon.

Another item that has a high target value for thieves is your ATM or debit card. Personally, I never use one and I’ve spoken to bankers that personally never use one. Credit cards are safer and when there’s a dispute, they often take care of all of it. But if you love your debit card and are using it at the gas station for example be sure to look at the keypads. If the pad feels strange or any pieces are loose or misaligned, a card skimmer could be installed there.

To prevent criminals from hacking into your financial accounts, use strong unique passwords and two factor authentication when possible. Use a password and then have them send you an e-mail or text on your phone with the security number for you to enter before you can access your accounts online.

You also really need to watch out for fraudulent emails. I get these all the time and some of them are very tricky. There’s usually a strange letter in the e-mail address from the person sending it to you. They’re getting better at not making it obvious such as using zero for the letter O. These scam emails will encourage you to click on something and either start involving you in the scam or putting malware on your computer.

They are now starting to use AI to clone people’s voices and then call family members or friends and solicit money sounding like you on the phone. It’s going to be hard to trust anyone pretty soon unless you’re looking at them face to face (and not on a screen).

Another thing to watch out for is public charging stations. Devious people have figured out a way to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto your devices so take your own chargers to airports and hotels – don’t use the public ones.

After damaging weather, home repair contractors often go door-to-door to offer roofing, siding, and other repair services. While most contractors are reputable, there are some dishonest contractors who prey on consumers eager to quickly get their property and lives back in order.

10 things you can do to avoid contractor fraud:

1. Contact your insurance company to file a claim before hiring a contractor.
2. Make sure the contractor you hire is legitimate.
3. Know the warning signs of a bad business. 
4. Don’t pay in full upfront. 
5. Get an estimate from at least three different contractors.
6. Learn the difference between “licensed” and “registered.” 
7. Be cautious about signing an assignment of benefits.
8. Get a written contract. 
9. Obtain the contractor’s essential business information.
10. Educate yourself about the property damage recovery process and insurance. 

Contractor Fraud Awareness Week was May 22-26, and the Ohio Department of Insurance shared tips to help Ohioans protect themselves and their hard-earned money.

I have seen ads on TV for “A Place for Mom”. It is a service that helps you find local nursing home places to fit your needs and wants. My wife Cathy used it to help find a facility for her dad. She went to several different places they recommended, and she said they were all very nice compared to places she looked at that they had not recommended.

In my October 2022 newsletter I mentioned adding another phone number. This was due to a new Medicare rule requiring business calls to be recorded. Medicare has withdrawn this rule starting in October so I will be dropping the phone number in September. So, please do not call the 33O-298-5894 phone number.

Our family is doing well. Cathy has been very busy helping her brother with the farm, my business, and doing the monthly administrative work for everyone. Our two grandsons are a real joy and we found out we now have a third grandchild on the way due around Thanksgiving. We’re all very excited. Our son Nathan’s job is going very well, and his brother Andrew is busy this summer leading mission trips for his youth group at church. Cathy and I went on a Caribbean cruise in April and had a very nice time. Coming back wasn’t as much fun as we spent nearly 32 hours trying to get flights to get home. Air travel is sure not what it used to be. But we had a great time and would do it again.

I hope you find this newsletter helpful. Thanks again for the referrals and please keep sending them my way. Even with the advertising I am doing, they are still the primary source of business for me, so thank you. If you get a chance, stop by the Randolph fair and say hi. We will be in the merchants building August 22^nd – 27^th.

Have a great summer,

Chris and Cathy Boring