-- :60 --

“It’s that time of year again for nearly three-million older Pennsylvanians: Medicare’s open enrollment runs through December 7th. And, during this time, eligible recipients can join, switch, or drop a plan for the coming year. ‘A-A-R-P Pennsylvania’ wants everyone to know where they can turn for objective, easy-to-understand information: First, free counseling is available from Pennsylvania’s official ‘Medicare Education and Decision Insight’-program—or ‘P-A MEDI’. To talk with a counsellor, call the program’s official helpline—at 1-800-783-7067. Or, you can contact your local ‘area agency on aging’. In addition, ‘A-A-R-P’ offers free, online resources—such as a question-and-answer tool, and articles that are updated with the latest information about this year’s open enrollment. You can find the online ‘Medicare Resource Center’ at ‘a-a-r-p’-dot-org-slash-‘medicare’. A message from ‘A-A-R-P Pennsylvania’.”

-- :60 --

“As veterans, you deserve a lot of things—including praise, honor, and respect. But, you certainly don’t deserve someone trying to take advantage of your service. And yet, veterans and their families are nearly 40-percent more likely to lose money to scams than civilians. In fact, ‘A-A-R-P’s Fraud-Watch Network’ also finds that 80-percent have experienced scams that specifically target veterans. These scams can involve benefit-buyouts, charging for military-records, fake charities, and more. Protect yourself by asking the right questions. Also, write down or memorize a refusal-script—to help you cut off unwanted interactions. And, most importantly, never share personal information—like Social Security numbers, bank-account numbers, or passwords. By recognizing fraud sooner, you help your money, health, and happiness last longer. To learn more, visit ‘a-a-r-p’-dot-org-slash-‘fraud-watch-network’. A message from ‘A-A-R-P Maryland’.”

November is “National Family-Caregivers Month”. And, “A-A-R-P Maryland” is reminding residents about resources that can help them support their loved-ones—while also taking care of themselves. Hank Greenberg is the group’s state-director…

“No matter where Marylanders are right now in their own caregiving-journey, having information at their fingertips will truly make the process easier. Our ‘Family-Caregiver Resource Guide’ includes listings for programs and services and agencies—along with tools for health, very important respite-care, and both legal and financial assistance. Supporting family-caregivers is one of our key issues: Some 790-thousand Marylanders serve as a family-caregiver, at some point during the year. And, their unpaid contributions are valued at about nine-point-six-billion dollars, annually.”

To learn more—and to order a copy of the “‘A-A-R-P Maryland’ Family-Caregiver Resource Guide”—visit “a-a-r-p”-dot-org-slash-“caregiving”, or call 1-877-333-5885.

-- :60 --

“New Jersey residents pay some of the highest property-taxes in the country; these sky-high taxes hurt homeowners, and are driving prices up for renters. But now, there’s some good news for New Jerseyans: ‘A-A-R-P’ fought to expand property-tax relief, through the ‘Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters’-program—also called ‘ANCHOR’. This new state-program will help more than two-million households get money back in their pockets. Eligible homeowners will receive up to 15-hundred dollars—and eligible renters can receive up to 450 dollars—in much-needed relief. You must apply by December 30th to receive your payment. Learn more about ‘ANCHOR’—and see if you qualify—by calling 888-238-1233, or visiting ‘a-a-r-p’-dot-org-slash-‘n-j-resources’. Don’t wait to get relief; call 888-238-1233, or visit ‘a-a-r-p’-dot-org-slash-‘n-j-resources’.”

(The updated rankings for all states—plus D.C.—are available at https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/your-hospitals-safety-grade/state-rankings.)

-- GENERAL/NATIONAL WRAP (:58) --

For 10 years now, “The Leapfrog Group” has assigned letter-grades to general-hospitals throughout the U-S—based on each hospital’s ability to prevent both medical errors and patient-harm. Katie Stewart is the organization’s director of healthcare-ratings…

“Over the last decade, the ‘Hospital-Safety Grade’ has enabled unprecedented transparency, driven change, and empowered patients. Because of this, America’s hospitals have made tremendous improvements—and have the potential to make similar strides during the next 10 years. Yet, over 500 people die of preventable errors, every day, in U-S hospitals. So, patients should look up their hospital’s safety-grade—to make sure [that] they’re getting the safest care possible.”

The just-released individual hospital-safety grades and state-rankings for Fall 2022 are available at “hospital-safety-grade”-dot-org. That’s “hospital-safety-grade”-dot-org.

-- ADDITIONAL SOUNDBITES FOR SIX HIGHLIGHTED STATES (from Lauren Bailey, The Leapfrog Group’s senior communications advisor) --

Colorado:

“In our latest round of hospital-safety grades, Colorado is tied for fourth in the nation; we gave half of Colorado’s hospitals an ‘A’. These hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from both medical errors and infections—which saves lives, every day. All of the latest grades for local hospitals are available at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.” (:21)

Florida:

“In our latest round of hospital-safety grades, Florida ranks 10th in the nation; we gave almost 40-percent of Florida’s hospitals an ‘A’. These hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from both medical errors and infections—which saves lives, every day. All of the latest grades for local hospitals are available at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.” (:21)

Idaho:

“In our latest round of hospital-safety grades, Idaho is tied for fourth in the nation; we gave half of Idaho’s hospitals an ‘A’. These hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from both medical errors and infections—which saves lives, every day. All of the latest grades for local hospitals are available at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.” (:21)

New Hampshire:

“In our latest round of hospital-safety grades, New Hampshire ranks first in the nation; we gave nearly 54-percent of New Hampshire’s hospitals an ‘A’. These hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from both medical errors and infections—which saves lives, every day. All of the latest grades for local hospitals are available at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.” (:21)

Utah:

“In our latest round of hospital-safety grades, Utah ranks third in the nation; we gave just under 52-percent of Utah’s hospitals an ‘A’. These hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from both medical errors and infections—which saves lives, every day. All of the latest grades for local hospitals are available at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.” (:23)

Virginia:

“In our latest round of hospital-safety grades, Virginia ranks second in the nation; we gave just over 52-percent of Virginia’s hospitals an ‘A’. These hospitals are making it a priority to protect their patients from both medical errors and infections—which saves lives, every day. All of the latest grades for local hospitals are available at ‘hospital-safety-grade’-dot-org.” (:22)

Florida is already the third-most-populous state—plus the world’s 15th-largest economy. And, by 2030, it will be home to over 26-million residents—with one of the nation’s most-diverse populations. According to Kevin O’Farrell—of the “Florida Department of Education”—apprenticeships are helping the state manage its rapid growth…

“Florida needs skilled talent in a broad range of growing industries. And, meanwhile, businesses realize that one of the most-effective ways to both acquire and keep that talent is to train workers themselves. About 300 employers added apprenticeships, this year—in such well-paying fields as healthcare, energy, finance, and information-technology. Now, over 36-hundred participating employers—along with 17-thousand registered apprentices and preapprentices—are demonstrating that collaboration can address the skilled-workforce shortage in any Florida-industry.”

To learn more, visit “apprentice-florida”-dot-com.

Each November, the “E-P-A” marks “America Recycles Day”—which encourages all Americans to learn more about their local recycling-options. Melanie Bower—the senior sustainability-advisor at “Exxon-Mobil”—is among industry-leaders who are working to expand those options with new technology…

“Today, many materials end up in the landfill because they are difficult to recycle; think about the bubble-wrap [that] we get in our latest ‘Amazon’-boxes, and the packaging for our everyday snacks. ‘Exxon-Mobil’ is leading the charge to scale up ‘advanced recycling’—a new technology that converts plastic-waste to raw materials that can be used to create brand-new products. In Texas, ‘Exxon-Mobil’ has already recycled nearly 15-million pounds of plastic-waste—with global plans to process one-billion pounds, per year, in four years' time. ‘Advanced recycling’ technologies are critical to helping society recycle more materials than ever before.”

To learn more, visit “exxon-mobil”-dot-com-slash-“advanced-recycling”.

NOVEMBER 16TH IS THIS YEAR’S “UTILITY-SCAM AWARENESS DAY”. AND, MONICA MARTINEZ—THE EXECUTIVE-DIRECTOR OF “UTILITIES UNITED AGAINST SCAMS”—URGES EVERYONE TO LEARN HOW TO SPOT SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR…

“UTILITY-SERVICES ARE VITAL TO OUR EVERYDAY LIVES. THAT’S WHY SCAMMERS ATTEMPT TO PROFIT FROM CUSTOMERS—ESPECIALLY LOWER-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS AND THE ELDERLY. COMMON SCAMS INVOLVE UNSOLICITED TELEPHONE-, ELECTRONIC-, OR IN-PERSON-COMMUNICATIONS. AND, SCAMMERS OFTEN THREATEN TO DISCONNECT OR SHUT OFF SERVICE—IF THE CUSTOMER FAILS TO MAKE AN IMMEDIATE PAYMENT. IF YOUR BILL IS DELINQUENT, UTILITIES WILL SEND SEVERAL ADVANCE-NOTICES—USUALLY BY MAIL—AND WILL ACCEPT MULTIPLE FORMS OF PAYMENT. THAT’S WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER BUY A PREPAID CARD WITH THE SOLE PURPOSE OF USING IT TO PAY A BILL. WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK THE STATUS OF YOUR ACCOUNT—BY CALLING THE UTILITY AT THE PHONE-NUMBER THAT’S LISTED ON YOUR BILL, OR ON THE COMPANY’S WEBSITE.”

FOR MORE TIPS, VISIT “UTILITIES-UNITED”-DOT-ORG. I’M BOB TEBO, FOR THE “CONSUMER RADIO NETWORK”.

Medicare’s annual open-enrollment period is underway—which means that Medicare-related scams are on the rise. Bill Hawkins—of “A-A-R-P Alabama”—explains what to look out for…

“Scammers are calling or even going door-to-door; they’re offering free gifts or limited-time offers. Others might call and claim that you’re due a refund of premiums that you’ve supposedly overpaid. Giving out your Medicare-number or bank-information allows these imposters to make fraudulent charges with your Medicare-card—or even to raid your bank-account. That’s why it’s important to remember that the government-agency that runs Medicare will never call or go door-to-door; if it truly needs to contact you, it will only be by mail.”

Hawkins also describes how people can protect themselves…

“If you need help, only request it from an unbiased source—and not from someone who’s trying to sell you something. For example, you can call the ‘Alabama Department of Senior Services’—at 1-800-‘AGE-LINE’—and ask to speak with a counselor from the ‘State Health-Insurance Assistance Program’. Also, beware of pushy salespeople—even if they’re from legitimate insurance-companies. Since you have until December 7th to make any changes, you should take your time—and make sure that you’re getting the coverage that’s right for you.”

To learn more about staying safe from fraud and scams, visit “a-a-r-p”-dot-org-slash-“fraud-watch-network”.

-- English (:30) --

“Hey New Mexico, get ready to vote! ‘A-A-R-P New Mexico’ is empowering voters ‘50-plus’ to make their voices heard, on the issues that matter most. We have the information you need to be prepared to cast your vote. Make sure you know the latest voting-guidelines and -requirements—before you head to the ballot-box. Get a free copy of the ‘A-A-R-P New Mexico’ voter-guide at ‘a-a-r-p’-dot-org-slash-‘n-m-votes’; that’s ‘a-a-r-p’-dot-org-slash-‘n-m-votes’.”