Lifestyle

What happens if the current coverage I have along with my Medicare leaves the market in 2026? This is a question that people with UCare Medicare Advantage plans throughout Minnesota may be asking since they will no longer be sold. In 2026, Prairie Five’s service area of Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift and Yellow Medicine counties, HealthPartners will only sell Medicare Advantage plans in Swift County. Current HealthPartners Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in the other four counties will also need to make a change for the upcoming year. If your Medicare Advantage plan is leaving the market, you should have received notice of this from the insurance company.

Continuing October’s theme of “Rooted in Hope” but this week acknowledging that hope can sometimes be extremely hard. Through some of my own trials in life, I know that it isn’t easy to always have hope. And I know from loving the people in my ministry that there can be so much pain I could never tell them it’s going to be OK because we have hope. Of course, I do believe that in the end it will be made perfect through Christ, but we are still here on earth, suffering through the pain of loss.

Ready, set, action is a famous phrase used in filmmaking to signal the start of a scene and cue the actors to start performing. Today I don’t expect you to start performing – but instead remind you that the film is about to start and we hope you are taking action to join us!

Continuing October’s theme of “Rooted in Hope” as a reminder of the hope we can receive from being a part of a community. The Bible verse from Ecclesiastes make it quite clear how a community can help us. The author, possibly Solomon, is referred to as Qoheleth, which means “the teacher” and he writes about the meaning of life. It’s one of my favorite books of the Bible!

Medicare Open Enrollment begins October 15th and runs through December 7th. This is an important time of year for any Medicare beneficiary who has a standalone Part D prescription drug plan, a Medicare Advantage plan, or a Cost plan to review what their coverage for 2026 will look like if they remain on their current plan and see if there may be a more suitable option. Participating will be necessary this year for those with UCare Medicare Advantage plans as they will no longer be available in 2026. If you’d like to get a time scheduled for a plan comparison, let’s get that scheduled now at 320-226-8861.

October is the time for fall colors; a beauty that is amazing in our communities. It’s also the time for hearing combines, seeing those plumes of dust from harvesting beans, and seeing the lights of farmers in the fields well after dark. It’s seeing local grain trucks lining up at elevators with harvests to feed the world. Fall affects all our sensory system—the smell of the final grass cuttings, the chill of cool nights in sweatshirts, the sound of crackling bonfires, the beautiful images of the campfire, and the wonderful taste of s’mores.

The Montevideo Area Memory Loss Network (MAMLN) is excited to offer another Free Movie Event on Oct. 22nd! MAMLN will be once again partnering with the Millennium Theater in Montevideo to host this great event! There will be two showings – the first at 2 pm and the second at 6 pm. Seating at the theater is limited, so once capacity is reached, we may have to turn people away! Come early to guarantee your seat.

I have referred to my recovery from alcoholism many times in my writing. One of the things I’ve learned in recovery is that being grateful can change how I feel—when things are good, they are better when I am grateful, and when things go wrong, it isn’t as painful when I am grateful for other things. Being grateful can give me a different outlook on what is happening around me. Even as people of faith, sometimes it is hard to imagine all that we have are blessings from God. It’s so easy to forget to be grateful for the little things, and even for the big things, and sometimes for the things we don’t have. I have learned that when I am grateful, I look more at what I have than what I don’t have. It’s often talked about as being an attitude of abundance.

“Dementia is not a normal part of aging,” said Maureen Schneider, board chair of the Minnesota Board on Aging. “Timely diagnosis that uses the right tools is key to treatment and support and can create better outcomes for people with memory loss and the family members and friends who care for them.” The Minnesota Board on Aging recently announced the seven entities across the state who were awarded funds totaling nearly $750,000 through the Local and Regional Dementia grants. The grants are intended to increase awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, promote early diagnosis and connect caregivers to resources.