How To Be Alone Together Using Zoom

Zoom is a web-based video conferencing tool with a local, desktop client and a mobile app that allows users to meet online, with or without video. Zoom users can choose to record sessions, collaborate on projects, and share or annotate on one another's screens, all with one easy-to-use platform.

Is Zoom free to use?
Zoom offers a full-featured Basic Plan for free with unlimited meetings. Try Zoom for as long as you like - there is no trial period. Your Basic plan has a 40 minutes time limit on meetings with three or more total participants.

Every video chat service has its limitations, and Zoom isn't some exception to that rule. The biggest problem new Zoom users might face as they try to stay in touch with friends and family is the 40-minute time limit on free video calls. That just won't work for most of us.
The good news is there are a few ways to get around this, and you don't have to pay any money for most of them. This is purely anecdotal, but I've hosted multiple two to four-hour calls recently that never ended, despite the fact that I don't pay for Zoom. The company has lifted the restriction entirely in China and for schools in the U.S., but regular folks in the states might be able to get away with long calls if they take a chance.
If you do get kicked off, the easiest thing to do is just start another call and invite all the same people back to it. If this is too much work for you, $15 gets you a month of calls with no limits. Regardless of how you choose to do it, circumventing the 40-minute limit is pretty easy.
In Zoom's preferences menu you will find a fun little box you can check to save yourself a few seconds every time you start a Zoom call for your friends. Behold, one of the first choices in the "General" area of the settings menu:That's turned off by default, but those of us who like to take initiative and start Zoom calls for our friends will appreciate it. Instead of having to click through the invite menu to find a link to post in the group chat, turning that option on will copy it to your clipboard as soon as you start the meeting.

Are You Turning 65 Or Need Medicare Coverage?

Virus Impact On Medicare

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Virus Impact On Medicare

Older Americans                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Older Americans are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus (COVID-19), I wanted to let you know the steps Medicare is taking to help Medicare beneficiaries cope with the pandemic. We’re warning Medicare beneficiaries that scammers may try to use this emergency to steal their Medicare number, banking information or other personal data. Unfortunately, scammers come out of the woodwork during times of uncertainty and change. So make sure you give your Medicare number only to your doctor, pharmacist, hospital, health insurer when you call us or other trusted health care provider. If someone calls you on the phone, says they’re from Medicare and asks for your Medicare number or other personal information – just hang up. Remember, Medicare never calls its beneficiaries to ask for or to ‘verify’ Medicare numbers.

What Medicare Will Cover                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   What Medicare covers with regard to coronavirus. If your doctor orders a COVID-19 test for you, Medicare covers all of the costs. You should not have any cost-sharing. Medicare also covers all medically necessary hospitalizations. This includes extra days in the hospital for in-patients who were on the verge of being discharged, but was diagnosed with COVID-19 and had to stay longer under quarantine.  There's no vaccine for COVID-19 at this time. However, if one becomes available, Medicare will cover it.

Medicare Advantage  If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan, you have the same benefits as people with Original Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans are now required to have the same cost-sharing for COVID-19 lab tests as Original Medicare - zero. Medicare also recently expanded its coverage of telehealth services to enable beneficiaries across the country to receive a wider range of health care services from doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility. These changes allow beneficiaries to communicate with their doctors without having to physically go to a healthcare facility, thus cutting their risk of acquiring or spreading the virus. Frontline clinicians will be better able to stay safe themselves while treating people with Medicare. Doctors, nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists and licensed clinical social workers can deliver telehealth services via phone and video chat. Medicare beneficiaries can receive telehealth services in their home as well as in any health care facility, including a physician’s office, hospital, nursing home or rural health clinic.

Telehealth services include routine office visits, mental health counseling and preventive health screenings for cancer and other illnesses. By helping health care institutions across the nation offer services remotely, telehealth can free up hospital emergency departments and doctors’ offices to deal with the most urgent COVID-19 cases. For example, you can talk with a doctor about your diabetes management or prescription refill without having to go to his or her office. During this emergency, Medicare will pay for telehealth services at the same rates as in-person services, giving doctors and other clinicians an incentive to use this alternative and reserve their offices to treat those who truly require in-person care. We know many Medicare beneficiaries are concerned about the spread of coronavirus and the threat it poses to their well-being.  That’s why Medicare took these rapid steps to ensure that the Medicare program continues to protect beneficiaries while maintaining trusted access to care in these uncertain times. Please share this information with everyone on your email list.

COVID-19 FRAUD ALERT

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Scammers may use COVID-19 as an opportunity to steal your identity and commit Medicare fraud. In some cases, they might tell you they'll send you a Coronavirus test, masks, or other items in exchange for your Medicare number or personal information. Be wary of unsolicited requests for your Medicare number or other personal information.

It's important to always guard your Medicare card like a credit card and check your Medicare claims summary forms for errors. Only give your Medicare number to participating Medicare pharmacists, primary and specialty care doctors or people you trust to work with Medicare on your behalf. Remember, Medicare will never call you to ask for or check your Medicare number.

For more information on protecting yourself from fraud and reporting suspected fraud, visit Medicare.gov/fraud.

You, Will, Survive The Coronavirus

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Is it good to be alone?
But the mere act of being alone with oneself doesn't have to be bad, and experts say it can even benefit your social relationships, improve your creativity and confidence, and help you regulate your emotions so that you can better deal with adverse situations.
To reduce or avoid feeling socially isolated you should:
engage in a healthy diet.
exercise regularly.
create and maintain meaningful friendships.
join in social activities to meet new people.
learn something new.
find a hobby.
get a pet.
Combating loneliness:
What does the phrase This Too Shall Pass mean?
This too shall pass means that the difficult thing that you are suffering will pass away, as difficult things have passed for others before you. It also means that the great thing you are experiencing with eventually fade away and be forgotten.
This coronavirus will fade away and we all will return to our lives much better for the time we were able to appreciate being alone and enjoying the time we had to ourselves.