Some helpful options while at the State Fair

August 30, 2018 by MSR News Online

The Minnesota Board on Aging and the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) will be at the Minnesota State Fair this year with helpful information on a wide range of topics, including mental health, services for people with disabilities, planning for long-term care, and choosing Medicare plans for 2019. Activities and resources will include:

Medicare Cost Plan information

Board on Aging booth – Education Building, Cosgrove St.
Ongoing throughout the fair

Beginning in 2019, Medicare Cost Plans will end in most Minnesota counties, and those beneficiaries will need to change plans to ensure they have coverage. In either August or September, affected people will receive notices in the mail from Medicare and their Medicare plan explaining the changes. They will then need to weigh their options and make decisions best for them.

Senior LinkAge Line staff will be available to explain the process and timelines, as well as identify which plans are affected. LinkAge line staff can answer other questions about Medicare, drug plans, aging in place, preventing fraud and abuse and other topics of interest to older adults and their family members.

Now in its 25^th year, Senior LinkAge Line is a free service offered by the State of Minnesota to make it easy for older adults and their families to find services and plan for the future

Disability services information

Board on Aging booth – Education Building, Cosgrove St.
Ongoing throughout the fair

Disability Hub MN representatives will be available to answer questions people have about navigating the disability service system, health care, housing, employment, disability benefits and other topics. Like Senior LinkAge Line, Disability Hub MN is a free statewide resource network.

Survey about planning for long-term care

Board on Aging booth – Education Building
Ongoing throughout the fair

Own Your Future, an initiative of DHS and other state agencies, will be conducting its annual State Fair survey which asks fairgoers how they are planning to pay for the long-term services and supports most will need as they age. The survey will also gauge interest in potential new financial products that could help more Minnesotans prepare to pay for their own long-term care.

Screening for risk of falls

HealthFair11 at the Fair Building – Dan Patch Ave. and Cooper St.
Ongoing throughout the fair 

Falls are a leading cause of injuries for older Americans, but simple steps can be taken to help prevent them, so assessing risk is important. Minnesota Board on Aging staff will be in the Fair Building conducting Timed Up & Go (TUG) assessments. TUG assessments measure a person’s risk for falling by measuring the time it takes to stand up from a chair, walk to a spot on the floor at normal pace and return to the chair and sit down.

The Minnesota State Fair runs now through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 3. The State Fair Education Building is open from 9 am to 9 pm daily during the fair. Reduced $9 admission for adults over 65 is available on Seniors Days, Aug. 27 and Aug. 30. 

Senior LinkAge Line, seniorlinkageline.com and 1-800-333-2433, and Disability Hub MN, disabilityhubmn.org and 1-866-333-2466 are part of a Minnesota family of information and assistance services that also includes Veterans Linkage Line, 1-888-LinkVet and the online service MinnesotaHelp.info

–Information courtesy of the DHS

http://spokesman-recorder.com/2018/08/30/some-helpful-options-while-at-the-state-fair/