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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2017)
Wednesday, October 18, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 14 HSAs are an option By Jim Cornelius News Editor Good health coverage is critical to maintaining your health and well-being. For a long time now, health cover- age has been a political foot- ball, and average Americans are often uncertain about what kind of coverage they can or should get and what they can afford. A Health Savings Account (HSA) might be a viable option. With an HSA, you pay out-of-pocket for expenses such as a doctor’s check-up, with money put away in a tax-free savings account. “It’s for people who are generally healthy and don’t mind the high-deduct- ible insurance plans,” said Linda Alldredge of Country Financial in Sisters. People who don’t need to see a doctor a lot, and who want to avail themselves of the tax advantages of an HSA might consider one. An HSA is an “above-the-line” tax deduction — in other words, tax free (including earnings) as long as funds used are for qualified medical expenses. Woman copes with storms of life You also have to be enrolled in a qualified high-deductible health plan to qualify for an HSA. Maximum contributions (as of 2018) for an HSA are $3,450 for an individual; $6,900 for a family. Alldredge notes that you can pay your insurance pre- mium out of your HSA. “It’s a good idea to have a debit card associated with it,” she said. With the Affordable Care Act open enrollment period running from November 1 to December 15, Alldredge notes that “bronze plans” will be “crosswalked” into HSA- qualified high-deductible plans. “Everybody who has a bronze plan is going to want to be informed about how an HSA works.” Alldredge said that her research indicates that First Interstate Bank and Mid-Oregon Credit Union in Sisters will host HSAs. She recommends talking with a CPA about HSAs to see if it’s a good option for you. Winter Wellness Wednesdays Holiday Weeks Excluded (Nov. 22, Dec. 20 & 27) Receive discounts on the following services: 60-min. Classic Swedish Massage - $85 Reg. $120 60-min. Shibui Customized Facial - $85 Reg. $125 (Must mention this ad) ShibuiSpa.com | 541-549-6164 720 Buckaroo Trail, Sisters By Jim Cornelius News Editor Kelly Webb has been buf- feted by storm after storm in her life for the past eight years or so. She survived a breast cancer diagnosis and mastec- tomy in 2009, then was ter- ribly injured in a motorcycle crash in 2013. As she was recovering from catastrophic injuries, her husband, Rick, was diagnosed with liver cancer. He would die within months. Webb freely acknowl- edges that every day is diffi- cult – very difficult — yet she manages to maintain a posi- tive and caring outlook on a world that has dealt her sev- eral really bad hands. “You’ve gotta,” she told The Nugget last week. “What are you going to do? You can’t let it get you.” Webb has lingering physi- cal disabilities from the cancer surgery and from the wreck. Her right arm doesn’t work quite properly after the lymph nodes were removed during the mastectomy, and with a broken pelvis and internal injuries from the wreck, she’ll feel the effects of that July PHOTO PROVIDED Kelly Webb maintains an attitude of gratitude despite multiple blows. day for the rest of her life. “As soon as emotionally I’m ready, I need another sur- gery,” she said. The physical challenges are ever-present, but she said that the biggest challenge is being forced out of her career in childcare. “Not being able to work is probably the hardest thing,” she said. “Everybody’s in a hurry to retire, but when you’re thrown into it, it’s an entirely different story.” She volunteers when she is able at her former place of employment. “I do a lot of that and it helps keep me busy,” she said. She also finds a sense of purpose in educating oth- ers about cancer and mental health and how to navigate an often complex and intimidat- ing healthcare system. Her husband’s death was an especially cruel blow, one that might have led another in her shoes to despair. And she has asked herself the haunting question, “Why me?” “I have,” she said. “At times I scream it.” See STORMS OF LIFE on page 18 Shibui Spa It’s been a tough year in Sisters. Shibui Spa is doing its part to help the community recover from the travails of last winter and the fires of summer. Starting this month, the following services will be discounted for Wellness Wednesdays. • $85 Classic Swedish Massage - 60 minute (regularly $120) • $85 Shibui Customized Facial - 60 minute (regularly $125) We normally start this campaign in January, but with all of Mother Nature’s effects on the summer, we want to send our community some relief and encouragement to seek WELLNESS. Shibui will give the discount to anyone that men- tions it either at the time they make the appoint- ment or at check in/out. Central Oregon locals are especially welcome. If you know someone in need who would ben- efit from massage but cannot afford it, help them through the Gift of Giving Back. Inquire about the program at Shibui. Meaningful Medicine naturopathic Treatments & Counseling Anxiety • Depression Chronic Body Symptoms Kim Hapke N.D. | 971-409-0908 www.meaningfulmedicine.com Sisters Art Works Building The past year has been stressful in Sisters. A hard winter, followed by weeks of smoky skies and the anxieties of fire season take a toll. So does a national climate of division and anger. Stress can take a major toll on your health. Dr. Kim Hapke’s Meaningful Medicine practice spe- cializes in getting underneath the symptoms of stress-related illness and dysfunction to get at the underlying mental and emotional triggers. Dr. Hapke can help you not only to feel better, but to better manage the stress that is unavoidable in your life. Finding new ways to look at stressful events can help you manage them better — and help you avoid or mitigate the physical impact they have on your health and well-being. By working on both the symptoms and the causes of stress, Dr. Hapke can help you not only to feel better in the short term, but to live better as you go forward in a world that will always deal out its share of stress.
