Good morning. First full week of the new year. The calendar’s clean, the fridge is empty, and for about three more days, anything feels possible.
In this issue:
- Your 2026 Medicare plan is active — 3 things to check now
- Worth Knowing: websites to bookmark, tax forms to watch for, and why advocacy matters
- From the Archives: how policy affects seniors beyond the ballot
- Slice of Life: a thought on January
If you switched Medicare plans during Open Enrollment, your new coverage kicked in on January 1. That’s the good news. The bad news: the first week of January is when things break.
Here’s what to check before anything goes wrong.
1. Call your pharmacy. Many prescriptions fail on the first fill of the year because the pharmacy still has your old insurance on file. Don’t wait until you’re standing at the counter with an empty pill bottle. Call now, give them your new plan info, and confirm they can process your next refill. Five minutes on the phone now saves a real headache later.
2. Confirm your doctors are in-network. Even if you didn’t switch plans, provider networks can change on January 1. Call your doctor’s office and say: “Can you verify you’re in-network for my 2026 plan?” One out-of-network visit can cost you $200 or more out of pocket.
3. Know your new numbers. Your 2026 Part B premium (that’s the amount deducted from your Social Security check), your Part D deductible, your drug copay tiers, and your maximum out-of-pocket. These are all on your plan’s Evidence of Coverage document — it was mailed in September, and it’s also available on your plan’s website. The takeaway: Print that page or bookmark it. You’ll reference it all year.
One more thing: if you enrolled in a new Medicare Advantage plan and you’re already having second thoughts, the MA Open Enrollment Period (January 1 – March 31) lets you switch to another MA plan or go back to Original Medicare plus a Part D plan. You get one change. Use it if you need it.
Review your plan details at medicare.gov →
🌐 10 websites to bookmark for 2026. I keep these bookmarked on my own browser. Benefits.gov alone is worth it — enter your zip code and it shows you every federal and state program you qualify for. Benjamin Wells put together the full list with honest notes on what each site actually does and where the savings are. The average senior discovers $2,400 in annual benefits they didn’t know existed just by checking BenefitsCheckUp.org.
→ See the full list of essential websites
📋 Tax season is coming: 3 forms to watch for. By the end of January, you should receive three important documents: (1) SSA-1099 from Social Security, showing your total benefits for 2025, (2) 1099-R from any retirement account withdrawals, and (3) 1095-B from Medicare, confirming your health coverage. Don’t file your return until you have all three. What to do: If anything’s missing by February 1, call the issuing agency. And if you need free tax prep, AARP Tax-Aide has thousands of locations staffed by trained volunteers.
→ Find a free Tax-Aide site near you
🏛️ Advocacy for seniors matters more than ever. Your voice matters. Whether it’s Medicare policy, Social Security funding, or local zoning for senior housing — advocacy changes outcomes. I wrote about the challenges seniors face and what you can do about it, from challenging ageist attitudes to pushing for policy that protects older adults. Over 54 million Americans are 65 and older. That’s not a quiet group — that’s a voting bloc.
→ Read the full advocacy guide
Biden vs Trump 2024: How Senior Voters Are Making Their Choice — by Benjamin Wells
We’re past the election now, but this article is still relevant for understanding how policy affects seniors regardless of who’s in office. Benjamin breaks down the issues that matter most to older voters — Medicare, Social Security, prescription drug costs, economic security — and explains how each candidate’s record stacks up against those priorities.
What stuck with me: seniors vote at higher rates than any other age group. That’s not just a statistic — it’s leverage. The more we understand how policy connects to our daily lives, the better equipped we are to hold any administration accountable. This one’s worth reading even outside election season.
There’s something about the first week of January. The decorations are down. The house is quieter. The to-do list is short — or at least it feels that way before reality catches up. I’ve always liked this stretch. It’s the one week where doing nothing feels productive, like the calendar itself is giving you permission to just sit with your coffee and think about what comes next.
Until next Tuesday,
Nino
P.S. New year, fresh start — if you know someone who’d get something out of this newsletter, forward it their way. And if you’ve got a question or just want to say hello, hit reply. I read every one.
