Representative Don Humason



PRESCRIPTION ADVANTAGE OPEN ENROLLMENT By State Representative Don Humason, Jr. August 26, 2006 In last week's column I quizzed you on many pieces of Massachusetts trivia. The questions must have been harder than the last quiz because nobody has responded with the correct answers yet. There's still time. I'll wait until September to release the answers. In the meantime, feel free to mail or email your answers to me. If you missed the column with the trivia questions you can find it on my website, www.DonHumason.org. Click on the columns tab and you will see it listed as Massachusetts Trivia II from August 19, 2006. One question not in the quiz is what is the official state reptile? The answer? There is none, yet. However, we just engrossed a bill in the House making the Garter Snake the official reptile of the Commonwealth. That will be good news for my mother. She loves snakes. Now the bill goes off to the Senate where they will either agree or not. The Senators, in their wisdom, may have a different candidate for official reptile. We'll see. Well, I went to my office at the State House this week and turned my computer on to find that I had 629 emails since last week. As I've stated before, I HATE emails. One reason why? After combing through the 629 emails, a task that took over 2 hours, I found only 73 good or legitimate emails. The rest I had to delete because they were junk or Spam emails. What a waste of time and resources! Members of the Legislature are still awaiting a decision from Legislative Leadership about when we will be reconvening in a formal session this fall. There seem to be some discrepancies between the House and Senate over the time, date, and scope of the formal session. I received a memo recently asking me to remind my constituents about the Massachusetts Poison Center. If you have a poison emergency, for example if your child swallows some household cleaner or something like that, call the poison center right away. They can help you by providing information about how to treat the person. Their toll-free number is 1-800-222-1222. TTY: 1-888-244-5313. You should also call 911 immediately. There are some late summer traditions that I look forward to every year. One is Sheriff Mike Ashe's annual clambake. I missed it this year because I was out of town but I know when it rolls around that summer is coming to a close. Senator & Mrs. Mike Knapik's Old Fashioned Family Picnic is another one. My own Desserts with Don reception. And, of course, the Rotary Club's Taste of the World, called "Westfield's Taste." The Westfield Fair, Blandford Fair, and Big E too. These annual traditions signal that summer is giving way to my favorite time of year: Autumn. I want to extend my condolences to the families and friends of two Westfield men whom I knew well and who passed away this week. Charles Gary of Wyben whom I befriended years ago at the Westfield Grange suppers. And Vic Gardner who was a teacher of mine at South Middle School and was also my landlord after I graduated from Westfield State. Both men will be deeply missed. Do you know any senior citizens in the Bay state who are 65 or older? They may be eligible for the Commonwealth's Prescription Advantage Plan, which is administered by the state Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA). Open enrollment runs from September 15 to November 15, 2006. For more information call 1-800-AGE-INFO or go to www.800ageinfo.com. In an informational brochure, EOEA writes, "Why join Prescription Advantage? Because there are no monthly premiums, it supplements your Medicare prescription benefit by helping to pay co-payments and other gaps in coverage, and it limits the amount of money you will pay for the prescription. "If you have Medicare, Prescription Advantage will work with your Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) to lower your prescription drug costs. If you haven't enrolled in a Part D plan yet, you can still apply for Prescription Advantage now and enroll in a Part D plan later this year. If you are not eligible for Medicare you can still apply for Prescription Advantage." Representative Don Humason and his aide Joe Wynn may be reached at their Westfield District office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, 568-1366. Their Boston address is State House Room 443, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2460. Email address: Rep.DonaldHumason@Hou.state.ma.us
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PRESCRIPTION ADVANTAGE OPEN ENROLLMENT

By State Representative Don Humason, Jr.

August 26, 2006

In last week's column I quizzed you on many pieces of Massachusetts trivia. The questions must have been harder than the last quiz because nobody has responded with the correct answers yet. There's still time. I'll wait until September to release the answers.

In the meantime, feel free to mail or email your answers to me. If you missed the column with the trivia questions you can find it on my website, www.DonHumason.org. Click on the columns tab and you will see it listed as Massachusetts Trivia II from August 19, 2006.

One question not in the quiz is what is the official state reptile? The answer? There is none, yet. However, we just engrossed a bill in the House making the Garter Snake the official reptile of the Commonwealth. That will be good news for my mother. She loves snakes. Now the bill goes off to the Senate where they will either agree or not. The Senators, in their wisdom, may have a different candidate for official reptile. We'll see.

Well, I went to my office at the State House this week and turned my computer on to find that I had 629 emails since last week. As I've stated before, I HATE emails. One reason why? After combing through the 629 emails, a task that took over 2 hours, I found only 73 good or legitimate emails. The rest I had to delete because they were junk or Spam emails. What a waste of time and resources!

Members of the Legislature are still awaiting a decision from Legislative Leadership about when we will be reconvening in a formal session this fall. There seem to be some discrepancies between the House and Senate over the time, date, and scope of the formal session.

I received a memo recently asking me to remind my constituents about the Massachusetts Poison Center. If you have a poison emergency, for example if your child swallows some household cleaner or something like that, call the poison center right away. They can help you by providing information about how to treat the person. Their toll-free number is

1-800-222-1222. TTY: 1-888-244-5313. You should also call 911 immediately.

There are some late summer traditions that I look forward to every year. One is Sheriff Mike Ashe's annual clambake. I missed it this year because I was out of town but I know when it rolls around that summer is coming to a close. Senator & Mrs. Mike Knapik's Old Fashioned Family Picnic is another one. My own Desserts with Don reception. And, of course, the Rotary Club's Taste of the World, called "Westfield's Taste." The Westfield Fair, Blandford Fair, and Big E too. These annual traditions signal that summer is giving way to my favorite time of year: Autumn.

I want to extend my condolences to the families and friends of two Westfield men whom I knew well and who passed away this week. Charles Gary of Wyben whom I befriended years ago at the Westfield Grange suppers. And Vic Gardner who was a teacher of mine at South Middle School and was also my landlord after I graduated from Westfield State. Both men will be deeply missed.

Do you know any senior citizens in the Bay state who are 65 or older? They may be eligible for the Commonwealth's Prescription Advantage Plan, which is administered by the state Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA). Open enrollment runs from September 15 to November 15, 2006. For more information call 1-800-AGE-INFO or go to www.800ageinfo.com.

In an informational brochure, EOEA writes, "Why join Prescription Advantage? Because there are no monthly premiums, it supplements your Medicare prescription benefit by helping to pay co-payments and other gaps in coverage, and it limits the amount of money you will pay for the prescription.

"If you have Medicare, Prescription Advantage will work with your Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part D) to lower your prescription drug costs. If you haven't enrolled in a Part D plan yet, you can still apply for Prescription Advantage now and enroll in a Part D plan later this year. If you are not eligible for Medicare you can still apply for Prescription Advantage."

Representative Don Humason and his aide Joe Wynn may be reached at their Westfield District office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, 568-1366.

Their Boston address is State House Room 443, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2460.

Email address: Rep.DonaldHumason@Hou.state.ma.us