Driving near Monterey, Calif., recently, I stopped at a roadside stand to buy some freshly-picked strawberries.

May is high season for California strawberries, and the fields were exploding with beautiful, ripe fruit.

The gentleman working the stand, Jack, asked what I do for a living. When I told him I work for Medicare, he said he was having difficulty paying for his prescription drugs. So we talked for a while about ways he might be able to reduce his drug costs.

If you have Medicare and you’re having trouble paying for prescription drugs, signing up for Medicare’s Part D prescription drug coverage may help, even if you have to pay a late-enrollment penalty.

There are other ways you may be able to save. Consider switching to drugs that cost less. Ask your doctor if there are generic, over-the-counter, or less expensive brand-name drugs that could work just as well as the ones you’re taking now.

Switching to lower-cost drugs can save you hundreds or possibly thousands of dollars a year. Visit the Medicare Plan Finder at www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan to get information on ways to save money in your Medicare drug plan. Or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) and ask our customer service representatives.

You may also be able to lower your Medicare prescription drug costs by:

· Exploring national- and community-based programs that may help you with your drug costs, like the National Patient Advocate Foundation or the National Organization for Rare Disorders. Get information on federal, state, and private assistance programs in your area on the Benefits Check Up Web site at www.benefitscheckup.org . The help you get from some of these programs may count toward your true out-of-pocket (TrOOP) costs. TrOOP costs are the expenses that count toward your Medicare drug plan out-of-pocket expenses – up to $4,950 in 2017. These costs determine when your catastrophic coverage will begin.

· Looking into Manufacturer’s Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs (sometimes called Patient Assistance Programs) offered by the makers of the drugs you take. Many major drug manufacturers offer assistance for people enrolled in a Medicare drug plan.

Find out whether the manufacturers of the drugs you take offer assistance by visiting www.medicare.gov/pharmaceutical-assistance-program or calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048. Such assistance programs aren’t part of Medicare Part D, so any help you get from this type of program won’t count toward your TrOOP costs.

· Applying for Extra Help paying for your Medicare prescription drugs. If you have Medicare and have limited income and resources, you may qualify for Extra Help. To apply for Extra Help, contact Social Security by visiting www.socialsecurity.gov or by calling 1-800-772-1213. TTY users should call 1-800-325-0778. Extra Help can save you thousands of dollars on drug costs.

If you need help finding resources like the ones described above, call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and ask for free personalized counseling for people with Medicare.

To get the phone number for your state’s SHIP, visit www.shiptacenter.org , or call 1-800-MEDICARE.

And if you’re wondering whether Jack charged me for the strawberries, he did offer them for free. But since helping people with Medicare is a big part of my job, I told him I preferred to pay despite his kind offer.

We settled on a fair price, along with some freshly baked shortcake.

Greg Dill is Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

WASHINGTON, DC – On Friday, Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA-05), Gregg Harper (R-MS-03), Diane Black (R-TN-06), and Peter Welch (D-VT-AL) introduced two pieces of bipartisan legislation to expand access to telehealth services under Medicare.

Rural and underserved communities often struggle with inadequate access to health care due to provider shortages and lack of resources. Metropolitan areas can face similar challenges because of urban isolation and cultural barriers.

The representatives introduced a package of bills to combat these issues and improve access to care by taking advantage of ongoing advancements in telemedicine.

The Medicare Telehealth Parity Act and CONNECT for Health Act of 2017 would expand the list of providers eligible to provide telehealth services, remove geographic barriers to telehealth care, and expand the services eligible to be offered via telehealth.

The bill would also allow remote patient monitoring for patients with chronic conditions, allowing them to more easily receive in-home dialysis, hospice care, home health services, tele-stroke services, and eligible outpatient mental health services.

“Telehealth saves lives and reduces costs; it’s a win-win for both patients and providers,” said Thompson. “We’ve all seen how technology has made us more connected in our daily lives. These same advances allow physicians to provide more patients with better health care – especially patients in rural, difficult-to-access, and underserved communities. Unfortunately, regulations haven’t kept pace with the times. These commonsense, bipartisan policies will allow us to make sure every American gets the best care and the best treatment – no matter where they live. The Caucus will give us a venue to collaborate with our interested colleagues to advance the delivery of care via telemedicine.”

“With an aging population that is placing an unprecedented demand on the health care delivery systems, there is a growing need for finding alternative solutions to deliver quality and affordable health care to underserved and rural areas, like my home state of Mississippi,” said Harper. “This quality, bipartisan legislation will help reshape the way we think about access to health care in Mississippi and throughout our country and will contribute to the twenty-first century innovations that will bring down costs and tighten the access gap for those who need it most. I am honored to continue to work with Reps. Mike Thompson, Diane Black, and Peter Welch on these important issues.”

“My many years as a nurse, especially my time spent working in long term care, taught me that if Medicare is to provide real benefit to seniors while ensuring real efficiency for taxpayers, it must embrace the advances in technology and innovation that are already taking place across the health care sector.”  said Black. “That is what telehealth is all about – promoting cost savings and quality care through the use of technology like remote patient monitoring services. Harnessing the power of telemedicine is a win for seniors, a win for providers, a win for taxpayers, and a win for rural Tennessee.”

“All Americans need access to quality, affordable health care no matter where they live.  Federal policy must keep pace with advancements in telemedicine technology,” Welch said. “Our caucus will strongly advocate for the expansion of cost effective and convenient telehealth services that ensure access to quality health care in rural America.”

The Medicare Telehealth Parity Act would phase in the expansion of telehealth services by:

– Removing the geographic barriers under current law and allow for the provision of telehealth services in rural, underserved, and metropolitan areas.
– Expanding the list of providers and related covered service that are eligible to provide telehealth services to include respiratory therapist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, and audiologist.
– Expanding access to telestroke services, regardless of where the patient is located.
– Allowing remote patient monitoring (RPM) for patients with chronic conditions such as heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and diabetes.
– Allowing the beneficiary’s home to serve as a site of care for home dialysis, hospice care, eligible outpatient mental health services and home health services.

The CONNECT for Health Act of 2017 would:

– Expand originating sites for telehealth care.
– Create a Medicare Remote Patient Monitoring benefit for certain high-risk, high-cost patients.
– Lift restriction on the use of telehealth in Accountable Care Organizations, and Medicare Advantage.
– Urge the Secretary of Health and Human Services to evaluate the applicability of telehealth in projects before the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.
– Authorize a study on the use of telehealth services once restrictions have been lifted.

Thompson, Harper, Black and Welch also announced the formation of the Congressional Telehealth Caucus.

This bipartisan group will discuss how best to improve remote care to Americans who need it most.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Sunday, June 11, is the date you’ll want to mark on your calendar for Lake County Land Trust’s annual spring fundraising event.

Once again Bernie and Lynne Butcher, owners of the Tallman Hotel and Blue Wing Saloon Restaurant in Upper Lake, have offered to host this festive fundraising event for the Land Trust.

The event will feature Lake County wines, hors d’oeuvres and live music, and will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. with tickets costing $50 per person.

Reservations are required and can be visiting the Land Trust’s Web site at www.lakecountylandtrust.org .

Click on the “purchase your tickets,” link and complete the form. You may also make a reservation by calling 707-262-0707. Payment in advance is urged or payment can be taken at the gate to the garden.

All funds raised at the annual spring event will support the Lake County Land Trust and its many projects in Lake County, including preservation of the Clear Lake shoreline and operation of Boggs Lake, the Rodman Preserve near Upper Lake and Rabbit Hill in Middletown.

The event will be a great opportunity to celebrate recent successes with Land Trust supporters and board members, to hear updates on local projects, and to get to know the Lake County Land Trust.

The Lake County Land Trust is a local nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting land and water resources of important value on behalf of present and future generations.

LAKEPORT, Calif. — Hospice Services of Lake County invites individuals and teams to “go take a hike” during the third annual Hike for Hospice on Saturday, June 10.

The event will take place at Highland Springs Park, 3600 E. Highland Springs Road, Lakeport.

The yearly event is a fundraiser for Hospice Services, providing funding for the agency’s grief counseling, family bereavement camps and school-based children’s grief groups.

Hike for Hospice is a family-oriented event, organizers noted. Trails offer the option of “mostly gentle” one-, two-, three- and five-mile treks.

Sign-in at the park will start at 8:30 a.m., and hikes will begin at 8:45 a.m. (five-mile hikes) and 9 a.m. (all others).

Each hiker is asked to get pledges or collect donations in advance from friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. All donations are tax-deductible. Each participant with more than $25 in pledges will receive an event T-shirt. 

Registration packets are available at the Hospice Thrift Stores, 1717 South Main St., Lakeport; 14290 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake; and 21257 Calistoga Road, Middletown.

Individuals, businesses and organizations are encouraged to form teams for prizes and “for the fun of it” this year, event organizers said. Prizes will be awarded in several categories such as largest number of hikers on a team, most money raised by a team, most clever hiking attire, and most interesting team theme.

Hikes will be followed by refreshments and music provided by Hospice Services.

For registration information, call 707-263-6270, Extension 111, visit Hospice Services’ Web site at http://www.lakecountyhospice.org or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Janine Smith-Citron is development specialist for Hospice Services of Lake County.

What can be collected from ocean beaches?

Question: I am an artist and my medium is to work with natural items I find in nature.

I was wondering if I am allowed to take items from the beaches near my home. I see people collecting many things but I know that the beaches are protected and I don’t want to take anything that is forbidden.

I am particularly interested in the seaweed and colorful algae that washes up after storms. There are also items such as sponges, tree fans, dead crabs, even little animal skulls, and of course drift wood.

I would really love to know if I am allowed to collect anything so as not to disrupt the natural process of things. Any information you could offer would really be great. (Aggie M.)

Answer: Aside from state parks and marine protected areas that prohibit take/collecting of marine life within their boundaries, some collecting of beach wrack for personal use is allowed under certain conditions.

If any of the algae/kelp you collect will be used for products that will be sold, a commercial kelp harvesters license will be required. Please check our Web site for all of the details regarding kelp and marine algae collection.

Shells that have been discarded by their occupants may be taken as long as you’re doing so in an area where collecting is not prohibited by the governing agency.

Wherever you go, you should contact the governing agency to find out what collecting activities are legal for that area. As long as the shells are legally obtained and not sport-taken, they can be used to make art and or jewelry that is sold.

Marine protected area information is available online. Notice that some areas do not allow any “take.” You will find information on this page regarding the areas you may want to avoid.

As far as animal skulls, sea otters and all other marine mammal skulls may not be collected or possessed unless specifically authorized through the federal government (NOAA).

If you are selling your artwork, Fish and Game Code, section 3039 generally prohibits selling any parts of a bird or mammal found in the wild in California.

GO ID required on buoys when crab fishing from a pier/dock?

Question: The 2016-2017 Dungeness crab fishing regulations say you have to have a buoy on your crab pot with your GO ID number.

Does this requirement apply when you are crabbing off a pier or dock, too? (Judy and John F.)

Answer: Yes, if you already have a fishing license when fishing off a pier or jetty (even where no license is required), then you must fish with buoys marked with your GO ID. It’s OK to use a small net float/buoy instead of a full size buoy if you’d prefer.

According to the California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 29.80(c)(3), every recreational “crab trap” except those used by a Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel (CPFV) “shall be marked with a buoy” with the operator’s GO ID on it.

One exception to the GO ID requirement in this scenario would be if the person fishing from a public pier or jetty was not required to have a fishing license and therefore has no GO ID.

The trap would still need a buoy attached, but would not need to be marked. Anyone can get a GO ID, even if they have no fishing license or are under age 16. Instructions for getting a GO ID are available on our Web site.

Baiting turkeys with water?

Question: I have a friend who bow hunts for turkeys and puts a tub of water near his turkey blind. He also places small water tanks in brush areas during deer season and says it’s OK.

Is this true? Is it legal to use water as bait? (Dennis B., Palmdale)

Answer: Your friend should be informed that CCR Title 14, section 251.1 prohibits intentional acts that “disrupts an animal’s normal behavior patterns.”

This activity is also specifically prohibited on some public lands (CCR Title 14, section 730). This section prohibits hunting for more than 30 minutes within 200 yards of wildlife watering places on public land within the boundary of the California Desert Conservation Area or within ¼ mile of six specified wildlife watering places in Lassen and Modoc Counties.

The definition of “watering place” includes man-made watering devices for wildlife.

Lost fishing license

Question: I purchased a fishing license a couple of months ago but now cannot find it. I do have a picture of it. How can I get a copy of my original? (Dee D.)

Answer: Go to any License Agent or CDFW License Sales Office to buy a duplicate sport fishing license. A small fee is charged for each duplicate validation.

If you lose your Abalone Report Card or Sturgeon Fishing Report Card, you can obtain a duplicate from CDFW license sales offices only. You must complete an Abalone Report Card Affidavit and pay the duplicate fee to replace an Abalone Report Card. You must complete a Sturgeon Fishing Report Card Affidavit and pay the duplicate fee to replace a Sturgeon Fishing Report Card. Duplicate fees are listed on the license description page.

Do licensed fishing guides also need a fishing license?

Question: Is a California licensed fishing guide required to also have an individual sport fishing license? (Tom H.)

Answer: If the guide is just driving the boat and only verbally guiding clients while they fish, then no. However, if the guide does any fishing themselves, then a sport fishing license is also required.

Carrie Wilson is a marine environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While she cannot personally answer everyone’s questions, she will select a few to answer each week in this column. Please contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Californians haven’t been this excited about getting away for Memorial Day weekend since 2005, according to AAA’s first travel forecast of the summer.

AAA projects more than 4.8 million Californians will be traveling for the upcoming three-day weekend, a 3.4 percent increase from last year and the most in more than a decade. More than 5 million Californians took a Memorial Day trip in 2005.

“The positive growth we’ve seen throughout the travel industry this year is moving into summer,” said John Moreno, spokesperson for AAA Northern California. “Strong consumer confidence has led to more spending, and more people will be spending money on travel this Memorial Day.”

AAA projects that 39.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more away from home this Memorial Day weekend. That is one million more travelers than last year taking to the roads, skies, rails and water, creating the highest Memorial Day travel volume nationwide since 2005.

The Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as Thursday, May 25, to Monday, May 29.

By the numbers: Memorial Day travel forecast

• California has had continuous growth in Memorial Day travel since 2011.

• About 4 million Californians will drive to their destinations, an increase of almost 3 percent over last year.

• Almost 500,000 California residents will be flying, a 6 percent increase over 2016.

• The top domestic destinations for Memorial Day weekend, based on AAA travel bookings, are Orlando, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York and Honolulu.

Travelers still hitting the road despite higher gas prices

While AAA expects most U.S. drivers will pay the highest Memorial Day gas prices since 2015, the vast majority of holiday travelers (88.1 percent) are still planning to hit the road.

Automobile travel will grow by 2.4 percent this Memorial Day, with 34.6 million Americans planning a holiday road trip. The California statewide average price for a gallon of gas today is $2.98.

More Americans are planning to rent cars for their holiday road trips this year. AAA’s car rental bookings are 19 percent higher than last Memorial Day.

According to Hertz, the busiest day for car rental pick-ups is expected to be Friday, May 26, based on last year’s data.

Large increases in flying and travel by other modes this Memorial Day

While road trips continue to reign supreme for Memorial Day, more Americans will fly, ride the train or bus, or take a cruise vacation compared to last year.

Air travel is expected to increase 5.5 percent over last year, with 2.9 million Americans taking to the skies this Memorial Day. Travel by other modes of transportation, including cruises, trains and buses, will increase 2.9 percent, to 1.75 million travelers.

Airfares, hotel and car rental rates on the rise

According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index, average airfares for the top 40 domestic flight routes will be 9 percent higher this Memorial Day, with an average round trip ticket landing at $181.

Hotel costs have also increased since last Memorial Day, with the average AAA Three Diamond Rated hotel costing $215, or 18 percent more than last year. Daily car rental rates will average $66, which is 7 percent more than last year.

AAA to rescue more than 330,000 motorists this Memorial Day

AAA expects to rescue more than 330,000 motorists this Memorial Day weekend, with the primary reasons being lockouts, flat tires and battery-related issues.

AAA recommends motorists have their vehicles inspected by a trusted repair shop, such as one of the more than 7,000 AAA Approved Auto Repair facilities across North America. Members can download the AAA Mobile app, visit AAA.com or call 1-800-AAA-HELP to request roadside assistance.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – In an effort to rebuild and maintain California’s infrastructure, the California Transportation Commission, or CTC, has allocated $328 million to 88 transportation projects that will alleviate traffic delays, repair aging roads and bridges and encourage bicycling and walking.

This includes 41 biking and pedestrian projects throughout the state that will receive $35.8 million in allocations from the Active Transportation Program.

“This list of multi-modal and fix-it-first projects help us keep our commitment to Californians to maintain and improve the transportation system for economic and quality of life benefits,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty.

The Legislature recently passed SB 1 which increases funding for transportation infrastructure projects and road repairs. In the coming year the public can expect to see increased awards and allocations for projects similar to those allocated funding this week.

The newly allocated funding also includes $234 million from the State Highway Operation and Protection Program for 29 “fix-it first” projects that will maintain and preserve the state highway system and its supporting infrastructure.

These capital improvements consist of projects covering maintenance, pavement repair and rehabilitation, safety improvements and upgrades to bridges throughout the state.

The allocations also include:

· $45.4 million for two Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program projects.
· $6.4 million for eight capital improvement projects both on and off the state highway system as part of the State Transportation Improvement Program.
· $4.6 million for Traffic Congestion Relief Program projects that will relieve congestion, connect transportation systems and provide for better goods movement.
· The remaining $1.6 million in allocations came from various state and federal transportation accounts.

Among the projects receiving funding allocations is Last Change Grade, a four-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 101 south of Crescent City known for geological instability and continuous maintenance and high repair costs.

The project received $5 million which will allow Caltrans to obtain environmental clearances to begin conducting necessary geotechnical investigations of the proposed alternatives to the existing highway alignment.

Beginning at the southern section of the proposed alternatives, Caltrans will use the money to work in close coordination with environmental groups and other stakeholders to plan out, permit, and collect data at a number of geotechnical drilling locations. The data will be used to help select an alternative route and permanent solution. 

“While this amount is not enough to complete all of the studies required, it is positive movement towards developing a project that meets everyone’s needs,” said Caltrans District 1 Director Matt Brady.

More project details are located at www.lastchancegrade.com .