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IT'S NOT THAT COMPLICATED
THE THREE MEDICARE DECISIONS TO PROTECT YOUR HEALTH AND MONEY
An invaluable, uncomplicated guide to effectively navigating the serpentine Medicare program.
A health care expert dissects the intricacies and mixed messages in the multipart American Medicare program.
Parker acknowledges that the original Medicare program doesn’t have to be “mind-boggling” and aims to take the guesswork out of the coverage maze with this guide centered on simplifying the “buffet of discounted healthcare.” He uses humorous, relatable metaphors throughout his discussion, likening enrolling in Medicare to ordering a “reduced-cost pizza,” with its structured system resembling a three-legged stool. In easily digestible language, the author shares his expertise on Medicare’s three key components, their applicable coverages (hospital, medical insurance, prescriptions), and how issues like income, network restrictions, and long-term care play an integral part in the entire enrollment process. The centerpiece of his book addresses the most popular, essential decisions readers should consider when making critical health care choices for themselves, their aging family members, and their spouses. He first advises readers on the optimum time frame within which to initially enroll in the original Medicare program (Parts A and B) with respect to age and work status. He follows this with cautionary guidance for those unaware of Medicare’s more specific policies and restrictions. These include variable premium ranges as well as the 20% out-of-pocket cost-share requirement and the Medigap coverage that can alleviate this costly burden, which could quickly add up depending on the medical treatment needed. Medications, covered formularies, and drug tiers also factor into the equation, as with Medicare Part D, which, according to the book’s graphics, can change periodically. The author hopes to instill a more comprehensive understanding of plan coverages and utilizes easy-to-follow explanations, elementary breakdowns, and individual qualifying specifics, such as enrollment with a disability and prior authorizations for care. He concludes with sage advice on how readers can personalize their coverage using his downloadable “Decision Worksheet” to get the most out of their individual Medicare plans. Parker encourages curious readers to get an early start on this kind of decision making. His book is ideal for readers on the cusp of becoming Medicare eligible as well as those already enrolled but needing an informed and informal refresher course.
An invaluable, uncomplicated guide to effectively navigating the serpentine Medicare program.Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 9798986780009
Page Count: 92
Publisher: Chapter
Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
GREENLIGHTS
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.
All right, all right, all right: The affable, laconic actor delivers a combination of memoir and self-help book.
“This is an approach book,” writes McConaughey, adding that it contains “philosophies that can be objectively understood, and if you choose, subjectively adopted, by either changing your reality, or changing how you see it. This is a playbook, based on adventures in my life.” Some of those philosophies come in the form of apothegms: “When you can design your own weather, blow in the breeze”; “Simplify, focus, conserve to liberate.” Others come in the form of sometimes rambling stories that never take the shortest route from point A to point B, as when he recounts a dream-spurred, challenging visit to the Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, who offered a significant lesson in how disagreement can be expressed politely and without rancor. Fans of McConaughey will enjoy his memories—which line up squarely with other accounts in Melissa Maerz’s recent oral history, Alright, Alright, Alright—of his debut in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, to which he contributed not just that signature phrase, but also a kind of too-cool-for-school hipness that dissolves a bit upon realizing that he’s an older guy on the prowl for teenage girls. McConaughey’s prep to settle into the role of Wooderson involved inhabiting the mind of a dude who digs cars, rock ’n’ roll, and “chicks,” and he ran with it, reminding readers that the film originally had only three scripted scenes for his character. The lesson: “Do one thing well, then another. Once, then once more.” It’s clear that the author is a thoughtful man, even an intellectual of sorts, though without the earnestness of Ethan Hawke or James Franco. Though some of the sentiments are greeting card–ish, this book is entertaining and full of good lessons.
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-13913-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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BOOK REVIEW
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F*CK IT, I'LL START TOMORROW
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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