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.
