Medical insurance is getting lots of attention right now in the media, and there are many viewpoints.

I shared some of mine a few weeks ago about both doctors and hospitals posting their prices for service. I think a free-market fee for services would work in many instances, with a high-deductible insurance plan for a catastrophic occurrence such as cancer.

I enjoyed the article in the Crestview News Bulletin about Dr. J.D. Bailey opening a medical practice here in Crestview, where one pays a membership fee and belongs to this practice.

Dr. Bailey is limiting the number of patients, which should be great for his patients. I love innovative solutions, and this is a great idea. One would have access to medical care when it is needed, and wouldn't have to wait for the insurance company to approve it or wait weeks for an appointment.

The other end of the fee-for-services spectrum is the idea that government should provide insurance for everyone, a system that is financially and logistically unworkable.

An insurance card doesn't mean one will have access to health care, especially if we don't dramatically increase medical professionals.

We have a shortage of medical professionals now, and as more doctors and nurses are retiring, they aren't necessarily being replaced.

Americans, as a nation, are kind, and although we would like to see those with pre-existing conditions get insurance for the same cost as those who are healthy, financially, it can't work.

Would a car insurance company insure a safe, accident-free driver for the same price as a driver that has had three or four accidents?

No, so we need to use our financial sense, not just our emotions.

Another big issue is people buying insurance after they are sick. Would you try to buy auto insurance after you had an accident and expect the insurance to pay for a brand, new car?

We, as consumers, need to take responsibility for our health, not wait until we are ill to exercise and eat right.

We need to allow families to choose insurance or not and allow them to make their own health care decisions, even if we disagree with their decision.

This is what freedom is all about.

Janice Lynn Crose, a former accountant, lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: What health insurance can — and can't — buy

The upcoming book, "Mississippi Blood," by Greg Iles, will soon be available for check-out at the Crestview Public Library.

In this last installment of the Natchez Burning Trilogy, the story of Penn Cage and his father are concluded, according to Publishers Weekly. 

"Both unwieldy and tightly controlled, bestseller Iles' terrific conclusion to his 'Natchez Burning' trilogy (after 2015's 'The Bone Tree') is a sweeping story that remains intimate," Publishers Weekly states.

"The Double Eagles, a savage KKK splinter group, have declared a personal war on Penn Cage, a former prosecutor who's now the mayor of Natchez, Miss., necessitating 24-hour security protection for him and his family. The toxic bigotry escalates as Penn's father, Tom, once a respected physician, goes on trial for the murder of his former nurse and one-time lover, Viola Turner, an African-American who was suffering from terminal cancer.

"Penn teams with Serenity Butler, a famous black author who plans to write about Tom's case. Together, they look into the secrets of the Cage family, the Double Eagles, and the South. Though a side plot about J.F.K.'s assassination stretches credibility, relentless pacing keeps the story churning, with unexpected brutality erupting on nearly every page. The trial scenes are among the most exciting ever written in the genre," Publishers Weekly states.

Be sure to read "Natchez Burning" and "The Bone Tree" first.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Greg Iles book concludes his Natchez Burning trilogy

In 2014, the average tax refund was about $2,700. If you got that much this year, what would you do with it?

You can probably think of a lot of things you might do with $2,700. You might decide to splurge and buy some big-ticket item you’ve been eyeing, or you could use the money to pay down some bills, which might be a good idea, especially if it helps improve your cash flow. As an alternative, though, you might want to consider investing the money.

You might not think $2,700 would make that big a difference to your investment portfolio, but if you invested that $2,700 in a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA, and you left the money alone, what might you earn? After 30 years, your $2,700 would have grown to more than $20,500, assuming no further contributions and a hypothetical 7 percent annual return. That’s not a fortune, of course, but it would help boost your retirement savings somewhat — and since it originated from a tax refund, it was accumulated pretty effortlessly from your point of view.

Now suppose you put in the same amount — $2,700 — to your IRA each year for 30 years. Again assuming that same hypothetical 7 percent annual return, your money would have grown to more than $272,000. And that amount can indeed make a rather big difference in your retirement lifestyle.

Keep in mind that you’d eventually have to pay taxes on that $272,000 if you had been investing in a traditional IRA, which is tax-deferred but not tax-free. It is possible, however, that if you start taking withdrawals when you retire, you’ll be in a lower tax bracket.

If you meet the income guidelines for contributing to a Roth IRA, though, you could avoid the tax issue altogether on your $272,000. That’s because Roth IRA earnings grow tax-free, provided you don’t start withdrawals until you’re 59½ and you’ve had your account for at least five years.

Thus far, we’ve only talked about putting your tax refund to work in your IRA — which, as we’ve seen, can be a very good idea. But suppose you’ve already developed the excellent habit of “maxing out” on your IRA each year by contributing a set amount each month? You can currently only put in up to $5,500 per year to your IRA, or $6,500 if you’re 50 or older. So you could fully fund your IRA by putting in about $458 per month (or $541 per month if you’re 50 or older). Those amounts are not unreasonable, especially as you move deeper into your career and your salary increases. If you do reach these limits each month, what could you do with your tax refund?

You can start by looking closely at your portfolio to see if any gaps exist. Could you, for example, use your tax refund to further diversify your holdings? While diversification can’t guarantee profits or prevent losses, it can reduce the impact of volatility on your portfolio — and the less you feel the effects of volatility, the more likely you may be to stick with your long-term strategy rather than overreacting to short-term price drops.

So when Uncle Sam sends you that refund, consider investing it one way or another. You’ll be putting it to good use.

Edward Jones wrote this article for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Put your tax refund to work

Now is the time to prevent lace bug attacks on your azaleas.

The azalea lace bug, or Stephanitis pyrioides, overwinters as eggs on the underside of infested leaves.

Eggs hatch in late March and early April. The insect then passes through five stages before becoming an adult. It takes approximately one month for the insect to complete development from egg to adult, and there are at least four generations per year.

Valuable plants that are susceptible to lace bug damage should be inspected in the early spring for the presence of overwintering lace bug adults, eggs and newly hatched nymphs. Inspect these plants every two weeks during the growing season for developing lace bug infestations.

Both adults and nymphs have piercing-sucking mouthparts and remove sap as they feed on the underside of the leaf.

Lace bug damage to the foliage detracts greatly from the plants’ beauty, reduces the plants’ ability to produce food, decreases plant vigor and causes the plant to be more susceptible to damage by other insects, diseases or unfavorable weather conditions.

The azalea can become almost silver or bleached in appearance from the feeding lace bug damage.

However, lace bugs often go undetected until the infested plants show severe damage sometimes into the summer. By then, several generations of lace bugs have been weakening the plant.

Inspecting early in the spring and simply washing them off the underside of the leaves can help to avoid damage later and the need for pesticides.

Adult lace bugs are flattened and rectangular, measuring 1/8- to 1/4-inch long.

The area behind the head and the wing covers forms a broadened, lace-like body covering. The wings are light amber to transparent. Lace bugs leave behind shiny black spots of excrement.

Lace bug nymphs are flat and oval, with spines projecting from their bodies in all directions. At each stage of growth, the nymph sheds its skin and these old skins often remain attached to the lower surface of infested leaves.

Azalea lace bug eggs are football-shaped and transparent to cream colored. The eggs are found on the lower leaf surface, usually alongside or inserted in a leaf vein.

Adult females secrete a varnish-like substance over the eggs, which hardens into a scab-like protective covering.

See http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/shrubs/azalea_lace_bug.htm for more information.

Sheila Dunning is an agent at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Inspect, wash and prevent azalea lace bug infestations

Are you staying in town this spring break, or do you have grandkids visiting?

Come check out books and movies like "The Gardener" by Sarah Stewart. It's a beautiful story too long for our Library Class, about a girl who gets sent to live with her uncle in the city during the Great Depression and how she literally blooms where she's planted.

Come to Ages 3-5 Library Class on Tuesday, March 14 for shorter stories and activities about gardens, including planting a marigold. Older children are welcome!

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: REVIEW: Rooftop garden takes focus in Depression-era story

What’s the buzz all about? Come learn about how the honeybee lives, and the respectful ways of keeping them, 6:30 p.m. March 21 at the Crestview Public Library.

All over America, city beekeepers are keeping a few honeybee hives in their backyards. Learn what is involved: how, when, where and what you will need to establish a hive.

If you’re thinking about starting a beehive or are just curious about what’s involved with keeping bees, then this is a great introductory presentation for you. This short presentation is designed for absolute beginners so no prior knowledge is required. There will be no hands-on beekeeping, so protective clothing and bravery will not be necessary.

Attendees will be able to taste a variety of local honeys and buy some, if they like.

The Family Library Time event lasts about 45 minutes and is designed for adults and children 4 years old and up. Registration is not required for this free event.

Heather Nitzel is the Crestview Public Library's youth services librarian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Learn all about bees

When you retire, some of your expenses may go down — but health care is not likely to be one of them. In fact, your health care costs during retirement may well increase, so you may want to plan for these costs well before you leave the workforce.

In fact, your health care costs during retirement may well increase, so you may want to plan for these costs well before you leave the workforce.

How much can you expect to spend on health care during your retirement years?

Consider these statistics:

• A 65-year-old couple who retired in 2016 will need about $288,000 (in today's dollars) during retirement just to pay Medicare Parts B, D and supplemental insurance, according to HealthView Services, a company that provides health care cost projections for financial services firms. If out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles, co-pays, hearing, vision and dental are included, the lifetime figure rises to about $377,000 in today's dollars.

• The national average for a private room in a nursing home is more than $92,000 per year, according to a survey by Genworth, an insurance company. And the services of a home health aide cost more than $45,000 per year, according to the same survey. Medicare typically pays very little of these costs.

To cope with these expenses, you'll want to integrate them into your overall retirement saving and investing strategies. Knowing the size of a potential health care burden may help motivate you to put as much as you can afford into your 401(k), IRA and other retirement accounts.

Even when you're retired, part of your portfolio should be devoted to growth-oriented investments, such as stocks, to help pay for rising health care costs. 

It's true that stocks will always fluctuate, and you don't want to be forced to sell them when their price is down. However, you can help yourself avoid this problem by also owning a good mix of other investments, such as investment-grade corporate bonds, government securities and certificates of deposit, whose value may be more stable than that of stocks.

Another way to help defray the costs of health care is to work part-time a few years after you had originally planned to retire. This added income can help you delay tapping into your IRA and 401(k), thus giving these accounts a chance to potentially grow further.

Plus, you may be able to put off taking Social Security, and the longer you wait until you start collecting benefits, the bigger your checks will be, at least until they top out at age 70.

These suggestions may help you meet many of your typical medical costs during retirement, but what about long-term care expenses, such as an extended stay in a nursing home or the need for home health care assistance? As mentioned above, these costs can be enormous.

Fortunately, the financial marketplace does provide some cost-effective solutions for long-term care — solutions that may help you avoid "self-insuring." A financial professional can provide you with some recommendations in this area.

It's probably unavoidable that your health care costs will rise — and possibly keep rising — when you're retired. But by being aware of these expenses years in advance, and by following a diligent saving and investment strategy — one that may also include a long-term care component — you can improve your "financial fitness" for dealing with health care costs.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Plan for health care costs during retirement