Medicare open enrollment dates changed

Health insurance open enrollment dates this year are Oct. 15 through Dec. 7. Harvard’s SHINE counselor, Terry Morton, is available to help seniors with questions on Medicare and supplemental insurance. Call the Harvard COA at 978-456-4120 for an appointment or call 1-800-AGE-INFO (1-800-243-4636), press or say “3,” then leave your name and phone number.

Art Budnik, also from the SHINE program, will be at the Hildreth House on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. to present a program which includes health insurance information, counseling, and assistance to Medicare recipients and their caregivers.

SHINE is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Elder Affairs, in partnership with elder service agencies and councils on aging.

On the road with COA

Call the COA office at 978-456-4120 for more details or to sign up for trips. Anyone who cannot afford a trip can contact the office about a scholarship.

• Tuesday, Oct. 4: Practically across the street from each other, Symphony Hall and Christian Science Library will be the day’s destinations. The group will have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in between the tours. You may have been to Symphony Hall before, but what goes on behind the scenes? And the Mary Baker Eddy Library tour will include the Mapparium, the world famous three-story globe. The trip leaves at 10 a.m. and will be back by 4 p.m. The cost is $15 plus lunch.
• Friday, Oct. 21: What would October be without witches and goblins? Seniors will travel to Salem to follow the history of witches, witchcraft, and witch hunts throughout the ages and especially the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Don’t believe in witches? Don’t answer until you visit the museum. Lunch will be at a favorite waterside spot, and the cost is $12.50. The trip will leave at 9 a.m. and return by 3 p.m.