Good morning. The longest days of the year are here, and I'm not wasting a single minute of daylight.

In this issue:

THE BIG STORY

If you're on Medicare Part D, your out-of-pocket drug costs are now capped at $2,000 a year. That started January 1, 2025, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act — and it's one of the biggest changes to Medicare in years.

Before this cap, there was no limit. None. Some seniors were paying $10,000 or more out of pocket for prescriptions. That's not a typo. If you took specialty medications for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, or MS, your costs could spiral with no ceiling in sight.

Now there's a hard stop. Once you hit $2,000 in a calendar year, your Part D plan covers the rest. About 19 million Part D enrollees benefit from this change.

The takeaway: This covers all Part D–covered drugs, whether you pick them up at the pharmacy or get them by mail order.

There's another piece worth knowing about: the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. Instead of paying a big chunk at the pharmacy counter in January, you can now spread your drug costs across smaller monthly payments throughout the year. Think of it like a payment plan — no interest, no fees.

What to do: Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to find out if your plan participates and to sign up for monthly payments. You can also check your options at medicare.gov.

Check your plan at medicare.gov →

WORTH KNOWING

🌡️ Heat kills more Americans than hurricanes. More than 700 Americans die from heat every year — and seniors are the most at-risk group because aging affects the body's ability to regulate temperature. Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink water. Keep blinds closed during peak hours (10am–4pm). If your AC breaks, call 211 — they'll connect you to local cooling centers and emergency resources.

💧 Your body holds less water than it used to. Here's something that catches people off guard: dehydration in seniors often shows up as confusion or dizziness, not thirst. Your body's water content drops from 60% to around 50% as you age — which means there's less margin for error. Victoria Sinclair wrote a thorough guide on why this happens and what to do about it.

→ Read Victoria's hydration guide

💰 Your Social Security went up 2.5% this year. The 2025 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA — the annual raise Social Security gives to keep up with inflation) brought the average retirement benefit to about $1,976/month. That's roughly $48 more per month than last year. If you haven't checked your updated benefit amount, log into my.ssa.gov — it takes two minutes.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Best Supplements for Seniors: 2025 Complete Health Guide — by Benjamin Wells

This time of year, when it's easy to skip meals in the heat or swap lunch for a glass of lemonade, your nutrition can quietly slip. That's why I keep coming back to this guide from Benjamin.

He breaks down the supplements that actually matter for people over 65 — vitamin D, omega-3s, B12, probiotics, CoQ10 — with dosages, what to look for on the label, and which ones interact with common medications. One stat that stuck with me: up to 80% of older adults have insufficient vitamin D levels. That's not a small gap.

If you take anything, or you've been thinking about starting, this is the article to read first. I've sent it to three people in my own family.

Read the full guide →

SLICE OF LIFE

The summer solstice was last Friday — the longest day of the year. Over 15 hours of sunlight. There's something about a June evening that stretches out like it doesn't want to end. Fireflies in the yard, porch lights still off at 9pm, the sound of a neighbor's sprinkler two houses over. If you sat outside and just let the evening happen, you already know what I mean.

Until next Tuesday,
Nino

P.S. If this was useful, forward it to someone who'd appreciate it. And hit reply if you want — I read every one.