Rally Point 8

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Episode Transcript

(00:05):
And once again, welcome to therally, Pope. I am your and
your co host James the Sarage Hemingway. I'm with you already know the man
Zane the Crazy producer, and wehave now in our studios your next other
new co hosts for twenty twenty four. We call him the Doc. Rick
Karen. Welcome to the show.Rick. Oh, thank you very much.

(00:27):
Jay. Right now America meet Rick, Rick me in America. Tell
them about yourself a little bit.Well, let's see, start at the
beginning. Grew up outside of Manchester, New Hampshire, on a dairy farm
and that kind of set my workethic at that point, and getting up
early in the morning and then therest of my life was pretty normal.

(00:51):
I actually was nominated and was goingto go to West Point until I blew
out my knee. Ouch. Myfamily has always been in the military,
Army and Navy both. I decidedI wanted to be doctor Rick way back
when, and I applied to medicalschool, dental school, and veterinary school.

(01:15):
I get into med school, Iget into dental school, and I
did not get into veterinary school.Oh wow, don't ask me why.
But in any case, I decidedto be a dentist. I kind of
like, I kind of liked everythingto do with it with my hands on,
but I didn't have to deal withlife and death. That suited me
fine. I went to college ina place called Saint Anselm's in Manchester,

(01:37):
New Hampshire. Again, it wasa college run by Benedictine monks, and
the first thing they taught me thatI've never forgotten is that we're not here
to teach you what to think.We're here to teach you how to think.
Wow. They was the philosophy ofthose boys at that point on.
I went to tough dental school inBoston, Mass Wow, right on the

(02:01):
combat zone, back when things werefun. It was an interesting stay.
It really truly was get into thatsome other time exactly, but it was
a great experience. I graduated theycall it D eighty three or dental eighty
three, way back in nineteen eightythree. And then I decided I wanted
to go in the military, okay, and I joined the US Public Health

(02:23):
Service. Was given a rank ofan O three and served out on an
isolated hardship service area in a placecalled the Bay. Washington used to have
to go to other isolated reservation.She was taking care of all the dental
care, and it was a wonderfulexperience. Beyond the fact that I was

(02:45):
single and I could hunt and fishall I wanted. God bless America.
Beyond that. When I got out, I decided to go private practice and
make my fortune. Started out inthe state of Maine and had a practice

(03:06):
there for a few years. Decidedto sell it because it was a tourist
down and I just couldn't take it. An hour a fifteen minute drive to
work in the morning became an hourand a half during tourist times. Just
was too much of a hassle.And some guy wanted to buy it,
so it's his There you go.I think he's still there practicing away.
It's called commercialism, Yeah, you'danyway. At that point I joined the

(03:34):
private practice and we had a reallysuccessful practice in Hooks It in the Hampshire,
and I proceeded to lean over apatient as I was putting amalgam in
a tooth, sneezed and blew outtwo disks in my back. Had surgery
and the discomfort that's fallowed has neverreally gone away, So that kind of
ruined the fun of doing minute work. So I decided to become a teacher

(04:01):
instead, sold my half of thepractice and I taught. I was on
faculty at Boston University, Goldman Schoolof Graduate Dentistry and Tufts University School of
Dental Medicine, and I taught therepart time, and then I ended up
full time at a place called NewHampshire Technical Institute in Conquered New Hampshire.

(04:21):
I was the supervising dentist for thewhole program. We would take in maybe
thirty or forty hygiene students. Wewould take in thirty or forty assisting students,
and I pretty much taught all thebasic sciences I including I taught.
I also taught the basic sciences tothe nursing students. I never wanted to

(04:44):
teach. I can remember my mothersaying, Oh, you should be a
teacher, and I used to say, moh, no way, I want
anything to do with that. Andthe truth of the matter is I absolutely
loved it. I loved the interactions. I loved creating my higher curriculum.
And when I get up there andstart the lecture, I used to think
to myself, Okay, this isa doctor rickshaw and it's mine. I

(05:10):
did, and I loved it,and that pretty much describes it until started
to get a little arthritic and Ihad put my time in, so I
was happy to retire with my wifeLeah, and we moved to Maine for
a few years. Had enough,winner and we've been in Florida now a
full time for about five or six. And that's the story in a nutshell.

(05:33):
Oh wow, what brings you hereto Port Charlotte? Totally absolutely luck
there go, folks. You knowhow it goes. Throw a dartboard in
a state, lands down the place, and there you are. That's how
I did it. I had acouple. For those who not familiar to
the public health service officers in theUnited States, give you a little history

(05:54):
lesson the history of the public serviceofficers in the United States dates all the
way back to the eighteenth century.In seventeen ninety eight, Congress passed an
act that create the United States MarineHospital Service, which appointed that physicians are
oversee a health of merchant seamen overtime. Obviously, this evolved into the
United States Public Health Service USPHS,with its officers playing crucial roles in disease

(06:19):
prevention, health education, responding topublic crises. Noble figures include Wealth Wyman,
their first Surgeon General of the UnitedStates, who helped shape the UPSHS
into a significant force in the publichealth Today. The public Health officers are
federal, state, and local levelswork to protect and promote health communities through

(06:41):
various initiatives and policy and interventions.Folks, what I known on a personal
level is that sometimes PHS officers areon bases and they actually service officers because
they have a specialty arago and forexample, dentistry, they have a mash
you that particut and they are subjectmatter experts, and sometimes the military say

(07:03):
come over here, you're going tohandle this and do that. And I
will say this. The one thingyou didn't know is that the United States
Surgeon General falls on the Army Departmentof the Army of which sometime in two
thousand and eight George Bush then gavePHA officers and let me give me previce
lists. There are sixty eight hundredcommissioned officers, which rick is throughout the

(07:29):
United States, and they bear theright to be called a veteran because they
serve for our troops in various forumsand services. As we just said before,
and they are entitled to VA benefits, they are entitled to pay,
they're entitled to pay insurance while they'rein service. And before we did this
show, I did a little vettingof my friend here, mister Karen or

(07:53):
the doc, and he has hisversion of a DD two fourteen. I'm
not going to argue with him.It comes from the governm. It's signed,
sealed and being verified. And thentwenty twenty four, another individual,
Scott Hartford, will go in great, great, great detail for the rubbed
the other six hundred you know,six thousand, seven ninety nine phased officers

(08:15):
listening to this show and having themclearly identify themselves as veterans, because I'm
gonna tell you right now someone don'teven know. But remember you gotta be
a commissioned officer, so there's acaveat to that. So that being the
case, Welcome board, Rick,thank you very much for the background.
But I am I'm in folks.When I think I'll help the sarage out,

(08:37):
sometimes get ahead of myself the missionson my mind. I get very
clouded. I must apologize. Wehave Zane the Man here today and I
did not ask him how his Christmaswas tennis sail about the tennis man.
You had a little situation with theUH with your your tennis racket. Your
coach, Well, we were doinga workout last Friday and I was hitting

(09:01):
the ball pretty well, a fewmistakes, but at the very end he
said, all right, this isfor the bragging rights for twenty twenty three.
I hit my serve and I wasaiming for the center of the service
box. I put some kick onit and it bounced and he couldn't return
it. And I was really proudof that because my coach is one of

(09:22):
the premier coaches in the area.Oh wow, here he is the man.
I'm still in training. I'm workingon our secret weapon focus there you
go. Yep. Oh, mostdefinitely that case a freaking viper, but
that being a case, and alsomy rudeness, Rick, how is your
how is your holiday? It waswonderful? Oh it was wonderful, absolutely

(09:46):
outstanding, outstanding with folks. Youknow me, I'm usually here preparing for
an ex show and ahead of time, and I will tell you it was
definitely action adventure for me. Butas you will always know, with me,
what your what your sarge always does. He takes information that is hidden
and he's going to make sure it'sdivided amongst you. So the new phrase
for twenty twenty four it is nothing. If you try to hide it,

(10:07):
we're gonna divide it. And thereyou go, and folks are gonna divide
it amongst you. All anything,I know, you're gonna get a piece
of that information. And I willtell you this right now, folks,
I hope that you all had tohype it happy and safe holiday as we
transfer into the new year, asyou know that we have our upcoming guest,
Derek get it done Anderson on theway here today, here today,

(10:30):
and I will say again thank youvery much for calling in for some of
the questions that we have here todayfor him to answer again again, this
show is about you and what youneed to know, and we're fueled by
the information you need to have.One of the guests that was scheduled hit
for today, she was not ableto make it extended holiday. I can't
find him for that. But thefact of the matter is the people who

(10:52):
have on this show are the subjectmasters of their topics, and this individual
being Susan and Davis. She hasa problem program called Rescue RN and I
will tell you that not only wouldbenefit veterans in VA hospitals, but it
will benefit us in every day civilianhospitals as well, because the one thing

(11:15):
that we need to know when wego to a hospital is that everybody there
can handle it when when things hitthe fan or somebody codes, they know
what to do. Sounds ridiculous,but I'll let her give you the statistics
and I just sit here and beingall as usual. Well, that being
the case, we have Derek answeringand coming up next. Okay, then,

(11:35):
Rick, I have a couple ofquestions for you that I have here.
First of all, during your timeas a officer and doing dentistry,
well, are your your experiences thatyou had military related we where I was
located was a place called Neabay,Washington, which is on the most northwestern

(11:56):
point of the continent the United States. And on the site that I was
at there was also an Air Forceinstallation and a Coast Guard installation, and
I've got to meet all those folksand used to do some dental work as
needed emergency wise. The Air Forcesight used to have dentists come through periodically,
but they weren't always there on time. Or wasn't needed. I didn't.

(12:20):
I don't think I ever treated oneof the Coast Guard individuals, but
I used to go play racquetball overthere, and so they were pretty nice
guys. It was. It wasan interesting proposition because we also in our
spare time because we were probably youknow, we were hours and hours and

(12:43):
hours away from anything. Any realcity like Seattle was a number of hours
away the closest big town. Sothere was a lot of fraternization and there
was no such thing as an officersclub, for example, there was a
club for all of us understood,So that was an interesting thing, and
I had a lot of fun.I was young and single. Like I

(13:03):
said, my pastimes still the same. I love to hunt and fish,
and I can remember. The reasonthat this site was there is because back
and you can't understand, I servedeighty three to eighty six, so this
was back when, and the reasonthat entire site was there was number one.

(13:24):
The Coast Guard was there because thearea is called Cape Flattery, and
from what I was told by theguys that served at the time that that
was one of the most isolated hardshipservice areas that was for a coast d
because it was pretty nasty water outthere. The Air Force guys, I

(13:45):
mean, it was an early warningsystem site and McCart Air Force Base was
not far away, so when theyused to scramble, we used to hear
a lot of noise in uless.To say, those radar domes, I
can't describe the huge white domes upin the sticks, and nobody knew exactly
where they were except for the military. And of course I was an out

(14:07):
hunter and a beer hunter, anda beer hunter. I was up screwing
around on the woods and ran intoone, and luckily I didn't get any
closer because it scared the crap outof me. And I was told later
on by the CEO of the AirForce base and it's a good thing you
didn't exactly so, and I wasentirely ignorant of it. So all my
interactions were really, really good.And when I retired in eighty six,

(14:33):
I had the choice of either goingactive reserve for three years or inactive for
seven, and I took seven.And I never heard a word until the
first Persian Gulf War. Yes,activation, and then I got a letter.
And that was before computers and allthat kind of stuff were all over.

(14:54):
I got a letter warning me thatI was liable to get called up
and just be ready. Thankfully,that one was over pretty quickly. So
that was the last I heard ofit. Six weeks maybe six weeks,
you know. And I've never unfortunatelyor I don't know, unfortunately one way
or the other. I mean,my service wouldn't have been over in a
war zone. I would have beenchosen somewhere Stateside or wherever, uh to

(15:18):
cover for the guys that got pulledout well like Germany. Yeah, there
you go and fill in the gapsduring that time of service. What were
you think were the major concerns duringthat time for the soldiers and servicemen and
service people. That was still Coldwar time. Okay, that was Cold
war And you know, those wereearly warning systems for any missiles that are

(15:41):
going to be coming in towards US, or any any planes or whatever.
And like I said, we wereprobably an hour away from McCord Air Force
Base, and we were also probablyan hour and a half away from Fort
Lewis, which is an army base, so there was a lot of military
presence around. And like I said, we used to have our little Fourth
of July parades in town and stuff. I mean, we'd have flyovers which

(16:04):
were wonderful, and my CEO waslucky enough to get brought up and I
don't know what it was and ffifteen or fourteen whatever. At the time,
he's got pictures of himself in thatplane, and boy was I jealous.
Oh goodness, I would have lovedto have done that. But I
rhip. You guys know what thatmeans. I loving it. I'm loving

(16:26):
it. For those millennials that don'tknow what the Cold War is referring to,
that's what. There's a period oftime after World War Two that Russia
put down the Iron Curtain. Itcut off a good portion of Europe,
and in that time, the UnitedStates and Russia became the major superpowers,
which created a nuclear arms race thatlasted almost thirty years until not too recently

(16:52):
the President of Ronald Reagan finally wellbrought down of the Cold Wall when the
Irlin Wall was torn down, andliterally the Cold War was called to have
ceased. Major escalations between Russia andthe United States were terminated, and the

(17:12):
world went forward. As you're probablythinking to yourselves, that's not the case.
Now you're not alone. But inthose days. It was basically we
were prepping to go to war withRussia at I'm almost noise. Hence the
preparedness of our friend here at theDOC. You would we would you would

(17:34):
agree with something like that, rightabsolutely. One of the things we're thankful
for is that never happened. Butand let's hope that it keeps that same
way as time moves forward. Rickanother a couple of questions. One of
the things I found very interesting isthe the whole concept of the public health

(17:55):
officers. I kind of engulfed myselfinto learning of bought it through a non
direct situation, and I did notknow that in not too recently with George
Bush or our past president George Bush, is that they assigned the United States
Sturgeon General and in the Department ofthe Army, and at the same time

(18:18):
the pH commissioned officers fell into ourpreview as well. And one of the
things I found to be uh uhinteresting or interesting that many PHA officers don't
know that would they Did they evertell you, guys, how that all
went, how that was constructive withyou guys? No, God, no,
no, it was. It wasassumed actually in my time that we

(18:40):
were we were under the auspices ofthe United States Navy, yes, okay,
because we wore naval uniform. Yes. And I was an O three.
But I was a lieutenant yes,okay. I wasn't an Army captain
rank, was lieutenant. So thewhole thing's kind of confusing, to be
real honest with you, But itdidn't really make a whole lot difference exactly

(19:00):
exactly the fact that the matter is, I had to brag being in the
Army about who's army who's not.And we all served the same country.
And I love my brothers and sistersin our military service, but I'm ultra
protective for those who are in thearmy. That's what we are. If
an Army brother is in need,if you're not helping, then you're the
problem. And that goes down tothe corps. So all you army and

(19:22):
servicemen, and you already know whatI'm talking about. And for those who
will be getting educated in twenty twentyfour with the subject matter experts Richard Scott
Hartford from Veteran Vet Veteran Clinic andFort Myers, he's gonna provide an education
for us because as we speak,he's actually going through the hoops of the

(19:45):
Great Halls of Congress to put itdown, and he's gonna put it out.
And for any of you guys outthere I want to find out more,
please contest us at our phone numbereight five five US cover. You
already know that number, already gotyour back and we got your backside.
Always guarded. With that being saidin one big breath. One of the

(20:08):
things I'm appreciative of having Ricky ona show is that he provides a new
perspective pertaining to professionalism and the dentistryand service people of all branches. We
all know the importance of our dentalOne of the things that the VA does
not seldomly cover is our dental Andone of the things that we're trying to

(20:29):
expand the Rally show into is toget into organizations and nonprofits that shall sapport
some of our basic dental needs.And there is a bus that comes around
once a year which hasn't come intwo years from Port Saint Lucie that does
free exams three X rays. Andwe want to be the we want to

(20:49):
be the tipotus sword on that wholesituation. And right now I feel that
the one thing I'm not is asubject matter expert in dentistry, but the
doc to my right here he is. And I hope that you feel confident
event any questions that pertains that wehave the dock end the teacher, as
we now know that he is tosend your questions to. So I'm very

(21:10):
thankful for that in his upcoming year. Yes, to add, excuse me
to add to what you're talking about. I did my residencies and internships at
VA installations, okay, so thatgives me a little bit of insight,
and particularly into the dental aspect ofit. And back then, I mean
back in the early eighties when Iwas there, they did some dental work

(21:36):
on a number of individuals, butapparently the numbers are too great now.
I don't know the reason. Ihaven't kept up with the politics, but
we used to do a lot ofwork, and you know, we used
to go to the Chelsea, MassachusettsOld Soldiers Home and work on those guys.
And we worked at the VA inJamaica, planes Massachusetts outside of Boston,

(21:56):
and then I serve my major residencyat the VA in Manchester, New
Hampshire. So I'm a little insightinto how the program used to work.
Oh wow, and it certainly isentirely different. No, well, doc,
I'll tell you right now if aperson many conditions they now put in
the way of getting dental work doneat the VA. Number one, to

(22:18):
have it completely covered, you haveto be one hundred percent disabled. Number
two, which I think is awhole lot disqualification to everybody, is that
your dental situation or dental condition mustbe directly relate to your service. So,
for example, if you were walkingdown the street, somebody's snacked with
the butt of their rifle and knockedout your front teeth and then thirty years

(22:40):
later your crowns are rusting out,the VA would cover it. Oops,
you better be one hundred percent orthere's no dice on that. Had they
swayed from that, not to myknowledge. But the point of the matter
is in that segregation of a smallpopulation of our veteran families. That's why
we're here at the rally point tofind the resources for those who are one

(23:00):
hundred percent who don't qualify, becausethat's ninety percent of our population that don't
qualify for dental and right now we'relike we're lost in the Sauce. So
we had the expert of the VAand we had the expert of private all
wrapped in one with the doc andI'm personally excited to see the shows that
he'll have and he'll be able todirect his own with here with the main

(23:21):
zane in our studios to educate youall. And again, if you have
any questions, and I don't carewhat state you're in, dial that eight
five five US cover number. That'seight five five US cover C O B
E R. You already know howit is. And in that particular time,
I think we have a couple ofquestions for mister Derek Anderson to answer

(23:42):
and we have Derek get it doneAnderson here, folks, how you doing,
Derek? Not bad? Good morning, Good morning? How was your
Christmas? Christmas was fantastic. Youknow, I'll tell you this time of
year is a big deal. Itreally is folks that that really need help.
They actually come out of this showand it's great and we're here too.

(24:06):
Just we ask people honestly. Imean, of course it's about you
know, at health plans and ourprogram and such, but you know,
those folks that actually come out ofthe show, those are the ones.
I really I'm thankful for you knowwhy, because they moved out of that
comfort zone, you know, andthey ask for help and they receive and
you should see the smiles. Thereyou go, There you go. And
that's what we're that's what we're herefor. We're providing the information and they're

(24:27):
going to use that information for themselves. And this is the time to be
selfish, folks. Put your prideaside. We're here to give information to
better your life and your life expectancy. And that's what I like to hear
about. First of all, folks, Like I told you a long time
ago, and every show is thatyou drive the show. And I'm thankful
for the questions that you've given us. And I'm going to start with one

(24:48):
myself. And because I've heard thisa thousand times and I actually I don't
have the answer, So why don'tuse it for a question? Quick question?
Derek? All right, supposing Iwant to do this process, what
is the whole process? Because I'mstarting to feel that some people may be
intimidated by that process, So howdo I Joe Shmoe veteran, I'm talking

(25:10):
to you, what's the process ofgetting this going? Getting this going so
that again those individuals who are qualifybasically are eligible for Medicare. And I've
been beating the horse about this fora while. Medicare really has four components.
So most individuals they receive that card, red, white, and blue

(25:33):
cart they may receive the indication thatthey have Part A because they worked for
it. Okay, Now Part Bis where we usually run into an issue,
particularly what our veteran population. Theysee the Part B and it states
that you have to pay a premiummonthly premium. Now, those who opt

(25:56):
to say yes, we can goahead in a four with them the opportunity
to have parts C and D.What is Part C Basically the twenty percent
that Medicare does not cover. Solet's just say Medicare is eighty percent,
and then you have the twenty percentthat is covered by the insurance plant.
Most of the twenty percent because thereare certain areas you know, you'll be

(26:18):
subjected to a copays and such.So that that's the first step. And
I put emphasis on the B onceagain, because you cannot have the whole
kitten kaboodle if you look at itwithout the other. So if you have
A and B, then it affordsyou the rite to have C and D

(26:40):
bottom line automatically. Automatically, Okay, do people know that? That's so?
There is the Medicare in You book. A lot of folks actually receive
the book. It's red, whiteand blue. It's coming from a good
old us of A. However,it's intimidating to a degree. A lot

(27:00):
of information people see the book,they put it down. It's a paperweight,
basic paperweight. I can testify tothat. I just recently turned sixty
five, so I received my Medicarebook and this year is when I entirely
went under the whole thing, andI received a little red, white and
blue card with A and B.And because of where I was employed,

(27:25):
they hired ANA. So I endedup with ABC and d ATNA and it's
been absolutely marvelous. But that bookis a little intimidating. I didn't know
what to think. So in general, I would say this the idea of
calling a professional a license holder withthe health insurance, UH, they're supposed
to simplify things and break it down, speak to you about your needs,

(27:47):
your concerns. If you if youreally have someone that you trust you and
you're giving them all your deepest thoughts, your concerns and such. They should
be able to help navigate, okay, your plan options because let's say that
we speak about often we speak aboutETNA, but remember there are certain plans
that may be tailored specifically more toyour needs. So again, having a

(28:11):
person uh that has the knowledge andto take all of that complex information and
simplify it for you and help youmove forward, I mean, I mean,
it's it's just a wind understood,understood again. One of the popular
questions I get around here is aboutthe Silver Sneaker program. How does that

(28:33):
work with the program? So SilverSneakers is basically, uh, in generals,
if folks don't know, it's aprogram that basically revolves around the gym
benefit. And there are many,many, many participating gems. And of
course, I mean maybe some wouldask, why in the world would a

(28:55):
health plan cover the gym benefit?Well, uh, just think about it
all together. We preventative side ofit. Obviously, we'd like to see
you in shape as best as youcan. Some folks, honestly, believe
it or not, they're not goingto the gym for just to be in
shape. They're actually they just wantto get out of the house. They

(29:17):
want to get out of the community. They want to speak to someone quite
frankly. But overall, the SilverSneakers is a program and it's basically the
gym benefit and it offers all typesof levels of gym benefits. In other
words, of somebody is not asactive. Let's say that they're not mobile

(29:40):
with their legs, there's an issueesdoesn't matter. You get to the gym,
you work out your upper body.They're just aerobics, there's I mean,
they go up to line dancing.It's incredible. So the program will
cover the expense of participating. Period. We're paying for your gym benefit.

(30:00):
Nice. Oh okay, participating gymps. Yeah, and it's well just around
the states. I don't have thenumbers just for Florida, but it's it's
it's it's pretty steep. It's overfifteen thousand locations, right, oh wow,
Well we're gonna add one. Hopefullywe're gonna add one today being the
Second Change Gym. Here's your cardby the way. There, you go

(30:21):
there there, And if you don'tknow what Second Chance Gym is, it's
where I work out to open twentyfour to seven. I particularly go up
to the law enforcement goes there atany time during the day, which,
folks, I hate to tell youthis, I'm an MP, but the
fact of the matter is I'll goto the gym where the police are at.
Just letting you know, a littleattic comfort for me, just saying
this is me. But moving forward, I think I know the answer to

(30:44):
this because you just answered that,hell can veterans enroll in the Silver Sneakers
program through the airmenic era. Well, the bottom line is, man,
just just pick up the phone thatthey have access to, to yourself,
to me, We're gonna make ourselvesmore visible in the community. Obviously throughout
twenty twenty four. You just mentionedthe gym, there'll be other participating gems.

(31:04):
I mean, we have our wonderfulguests and such, and we'll make
sure that they have many ways toaccess. Because why leave all these benefits
on the table? Why the otherquestion for him? Mick, Oh jeez,
what is covered for veterans? Ican tell you from recent experience.

(31:29):
I had an emergency visit to thehospital and spent a week in the hospital,
and then a couple of weeks afterhaving to visit an infusion clinic for
about three hours of antibiotics every day, just a whole emergency and unusual situation.
Guess what, I just got aletter yesterday, okay from ETNA saying

(31:51):
that all of the charges that weremade from my being in the hospital and
after have been covered in entirety.If you don't think that made me happy,
well, I mean it's interesting.So the question really there are folks
again probing into the need to askquestions, meaning the consumer, the member,

(32:16):
to a person like myself, youmay qualify for additional programs. I
don't know, we haven't had thatconversation yet, but the general idea is
ETNA covers everything that Medicare would cover, right, and they try to go
above and beyond with these extra benefits. As we just mentioned the gym.
I mean, that's one thing.If a person, let's just say one

(32:37):
of our members, they were prescribeda CGM continuous glucopse manitor, obviously that's
a big deal. Again we're talkingabout Jim, we're talking about diabetics.
In some of our plans, weactually offer healthy foods. We give them
a extra benefit card, and they'reafforded two hundred and seventy dollars per month

(33:01):
Now, these are low income individualsthat don't get me wrong, but they
need the most help. But wegive them the opportunity to buy these healthy
meals and such a little bit earlierwe had discussed, you know, just
the fact that I mean they evenoffer to pay for your golf fees.
I mean, come on, man, you want to buy a fishing rod,

(33:22):
let's do it. Folks. Waita minute, take that in for
a minute. The manicure solutions fromthat pays for your golf fees. Wink,
wink, nod nod. Burn thesephones up, folks, Make them
light up, make them light up. Keep going there, Yeah, yeah,
going. I mean, we'll evenpay for the tennis shoes, you
know, entrance into state parks,national parks. Believe it or not.

(33:49):
Again, we want you, Wewant to push the idea. Yes your
feature. Yes, we will reimbursethem certain programs. Yes, which is
the non duel, which is theMedicare and Medicaid. Yes, will pay
you know, reimbursement to our membersfor just going out and anything relative to

(34:09):
the preventive care. And it's morespecific in our guidelines. And people are
blown away by the way. We'recoming up to the end of the year,
and I've been inundated actually with myappointments and such, and people are
they're like enamored. They're like,you know, Derek, I listened to
you. However, when I readthrough it, and then I gave it

(34:30):
to my wife, well vice versa, I gave it to my husband,
and they're like, that's insane.So then I end up getting calls from
their friends and neighbors and such,and then I end up, of course,
you know, running through the programto see if it's fit for them
exactly, and they go for it. There you go, there you go.
I mean, it's a win winwin, folks. You're covered,
your family's covered, and Edna's doinga good thing to our veterans. Next

(34:54):
question, are nutritional counseling services coveredfor veterans with metic care? So nutrition
in general is covered. But remembera lot of this comes through of course
that's sort of semi holistic if youreally think about it, but through the
member stating that they need, youknow, some type of monitoring they want

(35:17):
to avoid the diabetes. A lotof this comes from the clinician. So
that's a great question because I reallywant folks to know that you are not
leaving your VA doctor. You justhave another layer to it, and you're
before serge that you know, whyin the heck not have two opinions all

(35:43):
day long. So as far asthe nutrition, as I said, were
there, you can pick up aphone, believe it or not, and
you can speak to a nutritionist.Yes, yes, wow, just go
through the channels. Unbelievable, unbelievable. And for the person to ask that
question, it got answered the earlyplus a bonus. Are there any age

(36:06):
or service related restrictions for any ofthe programs. All that's required, quite
frankly, is for an individual tohave Medicare Part A and B. And
I know, I know, Iknow most folks, yes, sixty five
right retirement, But there are somany individuals who actually have Medicare below sixty

(36:29):
five because of the simple fact thatthey had disability and they will awarded yes,
the Medicare benefit. So when itcomes to age restriction, believe it
or not, it's just all aboutMedicare. That's it, all right,
folks, for my younger veterans,So you can scratch off that excuse for
not again on Medicare. If youneed it, you got it. If
you got it, there's more servicesthat are available for you. So it's

(36:51):
sixty five caveat if you've been awardedit and some is unfortunately have that designation,
you have more available programs for youthrough that. So there's an asterisk
next to that, sixty five.Does ETNA Medicare offer any medical mental health
preventive services for veterans? So yes, And with that again, if you

(37:17):
feel the need to speak with someone, it always once again, it starts
with that person that you're speaking to, normally a professional, right and ATNA,
I mean they really like to getinvolved, honestly, with with that
that side of it, because ithas really it's been an issue that hasn't

(37:37):
really been tackled if you really thinkabout it. We know that mental illness
is I would say post COVID itreally uh you know, it showed itself.
COVID activated any medical issue that anyonehas beforehand. Yes, that's what
it does. Yes, Yes,Spike doesn't even come close to describing it.

(38:01):
No, you're absolutely right. Andagain I think folks have walked around
with mental illness for quite some time. There's a recent event here in the
county. Then I you know,I understood, yeah, that that that
that's just a tragic story. Idon't know if you guys know, but

(38:22):
either way, it's it's a roughone. Yes, you know, so
we have been invented. Yes,we need to pay attention. Uh.
And again, folks, the battlethat we're trying to fight here is on
two fronts. There's treatment and it'sprevention. There's certain people that have hit
a certain it's called a fork inthe road. That treatment is what needs

(38:44):
to be dealt with. We're therealready. There are those who haven't got
to that fork in the road yet. That's called preventative. If we can
prevent them hitting that fork road ortaking a different route, that's what the
prevention for. That's why we're onthe radio for. This is why we're
giving you their resources to prevent additionalharm or a physical decay from getting any

(39:06):
worse and going to make you better. So that's why we're here. And
again the questions keep on coming.Wow, next question, our speech therapy
services covered by veterans who have experienceda stroke. Yes, one hundred and
ten percent, all forms of therapycovered by ETNA Health plans, No questions

(39:27):
asked, And that goes across theboard. Correct, across the board,
across the board. See, folks, again, usually the military is the
guinea pig for our country. Wetry it out for a couple of years,
and then it comes down to youguys. Hence internet, hence the
cell phone, hence satellite TV.Sorry, that's as reel as it gets,
folks. A couple more questions beforewe move on. Let's see here.

(39:52):
Does et No America cover vaccinations forpeople? Yes, we do,
absolutely all vaccinations covered. Wow,folks, heck you how? I mean
really? I mean, no onetold me this when I was growing up,
or my dad or my mom nevertold us none of that. And
I'm pretty sure in those days wehad the flu, the flu is vaccination.

(40:14):
I appreciate. Is that covered absolutely? And there and there's your sign
for another preventative preventive care. Andthat again is why we are here on
the radio talking to all you soldiersand military folk out there. Is that
that perception of loss of value startsto permeate in our heads and we work

(40:37):
our jobs, we have our families, we have our communities, and now
it's all well and good, andwe think our job is done with the
military, and we lose value asa soldier of value with our country and
et cetera. And that's the mentalitythat gets us in a crazy merry around
rotation. We need to stop that. We become more valuablele as veterans when

(41:01):
we come home and return home,we're different. We have new skill sets
and we're and we try to integrateor assimilate, as Chris said, back
into our homes. And when wetell you something, folks, I've been
getting about five forty five five o'clockevery morning because that's what I do.
And sometimes I don't sleep. Whyin the military, sometimes you don't sleep.

(41:22):
Thus you can't because you got somethingto got to get done, or
dimension requires you to stay awake.It is what it is. I accept
it that being the case. Whenyou come back home and you think the
skills that you are not applicable ordon't apply to what you do in your
daily day to day life, itbecomes you know, there goes out.
You lost some value. But thepoint of us being here at the rally

(41:45):
point, folks, in our societytoday, veterans are natural mentors of our
communities, various occupations, various backgrounds, various lives. And we have a
new country where we're losing. We'relosing the Vietnam Era. There are time
the baby boomers are now the seventyyear olds and we're phasing out. Someone

(42:08):
needs to step up, in myopinion, our military veterans to educate our
society, our communities of what itmeans to work together, to be a
cohesive unit, to be a cohesivecommunity, and whether it be plumbing,
electrical, whatever you may be,whatever our specialty is, we are mentors

(42:30):
of that, or as being adad or being a mom. Because sometimes
you know what folks turn on toradio or turn on the TV. There
are kids that don't have our singleparent kids. Why can't we mentor them?
And here in Charlotte County we're actuallydebuting a mentoring thing, a program
involving the Health Department of Charlotte Countyand the multiple multiple partnerships and organizations within

(42:53):
it to provide mentorship programs for children. To getting back to the main focus
here, we define and express ourvalue and you want to make an impact,
folks, you want that value tobe added. One word vote if

(43:13):
you show up in end mass toany politician, to any election, to
any council meeting, I'm going toguarantee you two things. One, they're
gonna nourise you. Number two,whatever you have to say, they're gonna
give you ample time and extra becausethey know at the end of the day
that one veteran represents three or fourvotes because he's a household of one or

(43:37):
four votes or three votes' elder tovote. So, folks, let's get
out the smoke, let's clear oureyes and purge your masks, and let's
do what we do. Serve ourcountry, not in uniform, but in
our homes, in our communities.Is that an idea for you? Yeah?
That you know, it's great thatI feel like we like blossom in

(44:01):
this room during this conversation. Andthe reality is again technically you know,
being an outsider, it's not justthe sponsor of the show, right.
Uh, it's a matter of thatunity. You said that when you guys
literally go out and commit uh fightfor this country. Let's be serious,

(44:22):
you're unified with your brothers and sisterswhen you when you hit the ground agree.
So so what you guys, whatwhat what is so appreciated is the
fact that you're here now. You'rethe truth. That It's very simple.
You're the truth. The truth isthat now your brothers and sisters need to
listen to the guidance that you're tryingto put forth. You're being a leader

(44:46):
in the VFW, and leader inmany ways obviously, serget being the leader
in many ways as well, workingin this collaborative fashion bringing me in.
Honestly, you're representing at the healthplans. We need to get out there.
We need to get in front ofmore people. If folks are like,
well, I get what you're saying, where can I find you?

(45:07):
Call into the show whatever you needto do, the BFW, call the
American Legion, any of us.If I at my post don't have the
ability to or the knowledge to helpa person, I know the people that
do have the knowledge, and Ihave no problem picking up a phone.

(45:28):
You know. Before we going forDerek, I want to say to you,
thank you for stepping forward and beingpart of our community and trying to
help us, you know, becausethere are so many that they like to
virtue signal thanks to the military,but we don't really see true thanks.

(45:49):
You know. And on that pointyou asked earlier about we've been wondering about
the veteran to civilian interactions. Yes, and One of the biggest ones I
like to let people know on bothsides is the thank you. We get
to thank you all the time.I mean, I have people I've never
met i'll never see again. Ona daily basis. If I'm wearing my

(46:12):
hat or my T shirt, theywant to come up and thank me.
And civilians generally don't realize that thatthank you oftentimes hurts. It's a painful
thankful to get for multiple reasons.One is my survivor's guilt. You're thanking
me for what you think is alevel of service. But when I look

(46:34):
at my brothers and sisters and Icompare my level of service to theirs,
I don't deserve that thanks. Andwhen I know that some of my brothers
and sisters didn't come home, Idon't deserve that thanks. But as a
veteran, I know what you're doing. Even though you don't. Yes you
come thank me for wearing the hator T shirt. The reality is you're

(46:57):
thanking every serviceman and service woman thatdidn't come home. The ones that are
truly damnaged are the ones you'll nevercross paths with. And that's what I
instill in the veterans. While itmay hurt us at times. We need
to remember that I'm not the recipient. I'm just a vessel of receiving that.
Thanks and on the other side ofit, thank you again for statand

(47:20):
and forth for our community. AndDerek, I'm going to say this,
going to borrow my heart. Thankyou for seeing us. And let me
tell you something and I will speakin my army jargon. Is one time
it's hard to do your job andnot be seeing me and come home.
And you took an idea and wespoke a couple a month ago. Is
beyonest? And you saw that yousaw a veteran with an idea to help

(47:43):
other veterans, and you made ithappen lickety split as a sergeant. And
again the responsibility and take my rankstake out of it, take my rank
out of it. The acknowledgement thatyou see us from. There's no where
we do our job. You seemore of us. I will make my
my lifelong commitment to you to makeyou make us better. We make you

(48:06):
better, and that's how we roll. And folks, I got segue out
of here. We got a coupleof minutes off and I got something to
say for you. Guys. Upcomingholiday is Veterans Day. I want to
thank Chris for being on the showand this and this is for you and
everybody out there for his message.My fellow Americans. These are the type
of heroes American teams to produce.And I'm talking about my man Chris and

(48:28):
Derek because you don't need to bein a service to serve your country.
In Zane, I love this guyin many ways. I'm humbled to be
at home, but for ushly braveon a battlefield which we have seen our
brothers and sisters do we come.We come together as a team and as
you know, there's no fury unleastthat's greater than a bunch of veterans serving

(48:52):
their country. Are SERVI serving theircountry. When your buddies are right next
to you're doing the same job,and as our feelings are sincere, is
important to remember that veterans are defendingour country three hundred and sixty five days
a year, no time off.The herosm that has been demonstrated time and

(49:15):
time again by veterans from the AmericanRevolution to the global War on Terrorism is
sometimes unnoticed by many who enjoy thesecurity that their sacrife has provided. Thankfully,
Derek Ason is not one of thosepeople. Not all veterans have,
not all veterans I've seen combat,but all have had the time to make
that solemn promise to sacrifice their livesfor their country if called upon. Without

(49:38):
the formidal strength the strengths that haveveterans have demonstrated in war, Americans would
never enjoy the daily freedoms that theyhave today. It was no other than
George Rushing who said to be preparedfor war is one of the most effective
means of preserving the peace for manyveterans our nation. It was important enough
to endure long separation from families,myth the births of their children, and

(50:00):
freeze and subserved temperatures grow some faraway deserts, lose limbs and sometimes lose
their lives. Their families serve,and their families serve and sacrifice, just
as the soldier or military person does. Military spices have had to endure our
career interruptions, frecurent changes of address, and disappointment to share personal responsibilities.

(50:22):
Warriors need advocates, and that's whythe v PAC and the Rally Pipe Show
exists. We're here to serve you, veterans, their families, and our
communities. Veterans need each other,but no more important, our country needs
our veterans and folks. Right now, before we close out this show,
I want to say thank you youare new co hosts. We have a

(50:45):
few a big message from the RallyPoint family to you. Good day,
dear listeners and friends of the RallyPoint Show. As we stand at the
threshold of a new year, it'sonly natural to take a moment to reflect
on the journey we've embarked to pondtogether. This past year has been nothing
short of extraordinary. We've had theunique privilege of recognizing incredible service people who've

(51:08):
dedicated their lives to serving our nation. People like Jeane Kislowskis, Stephen Copeland,
and many more of our nation whohave shared their inspiring stories with us.
The Resilience Encourage, Unwave equipment toour country have left an incredible mark
on us all. But our journeyis far from over. In fact,

(51:31):
it's only just beginning. I'm thrilledto announce that in the coming year,
we'll be joined by new co hostswho share our passion for supporting veterans.
Robert Cochrane, Christopher Brucci, Amandaand Brandon mccannue, and Rick Karen,
which will bring fresh perspectives and invaluableinsight style show. What's even more exciting

(51:57):
is the expansion of our network.We are now connected with org organizations like
the dav Chapter eighty two of PortCharlotte, Second Chance JIM of Port Charlotte,
and the Port Charlotte Veterans of ForeignWars Post fifty six eighty. These
partnerships will allow us to reach evenmore veterans and offer them the support and
research IT resources they deserve. Andthere's one partnership I'm particularly prouduct to announce.

(52:22):
We're fortunate to be with the ETNAMedicare Solutions, a coming that shares
our dedication to our veterans in ourfamilies. Together, we have embarked on
our journey to meet the unique needsof our veteran community by providing them the
care and information and assistance that theydeserve. So as we bid farewell to

(52:44):
this year, let's look ahead withhope and determination. Our mission is support
veterans and their finis remains steadfast Withyour unwavering support, the Rally Punct Show
will continue to be a beacon ofinformation, empowerment, and inspiration for our
beloved veteran community. We thank youfor being a part of this incredible journey.

(53:06):
Happy New Year, and let's maketwenty twenty four our year positive change
and boundless possibilities for our veterans.Stay tuned because as a United Veteran family,
we're going to achieve great things forlocal community and abroad. And from
our family to yours out there,and for those abroad listening to our program.

(53:28):
God bless you have a happy newYear and we'll see you back home
someday. Take care and be well.