Six Reasons to Become an Advocate

Tracie Eubank on March 2, 2022

In April, we will offer virtual training on issues facing retirees and strat- egies to best advocate for our retiree community. Join us and become a retiree advocate.

Here are six reasons to become an advocate:

  1. To safeguard your retirement, quality of life, and one of your biggest investments over the span of you career: your pension. While your pension benefits are protected by both the state constitution and case law, your voice to secure cost of living adjustments and other bonuses needs to be heard.
  2. To safeguard the future investments of our children, be they our own or those in our communities: We need teachers, law enforcement officers, first responders and all professionals who keep our communities safe, clean, and highly functioning. A well-funded and well-managed pension will allow communities to continue recruiting top candidates.
  3. To protect one of our state’s greatest, and most important, assets: North Carolina Retirement Systems is the 26th largest defined benefit system in the world. Year after year it remains one of the top ten best funded systems in the United States and fuels the state’s AAA bond rating. It is a gem worth fighting to protect.
  4. Because at the end of the day, advocacy is fun. We love our families, communities; we love North Carolina. Advocating shows our dedication and passion for the Old North State and her people.
  5. Because it fosters leadership: it takes gumption to stand up for something, no matter how right you may be on the matter. We are all called to be leaders. You have an opportunity to develop your leadership skills by participating in NCRGEA advocacy trainings.
  6. It is time to patch back together our lives from the destruction of the COVID-19 pandemic. You had to shelter in place for your health and for our public health, but that does not mean you have to sacrifice your voice, principles, or future.

We hope you will join us! Stay in touch by visiting rgea.info/advocacy/.

Humana Neighborhood Centers Welcome NC State Health Plan Members

Tracie Eubank on March 2, 2022

Humana Neighborhood Centers, both in-person and online via the Virtual Neighborhood Center, offer special events, programs and activities designed to educate on physical and mental health. Many services can be used by anyone, including those who are not Humana members, at no cost. Each location offers a unique calendar of in-person or virtual events, programs and activities.

In-person locations are operating with limited capacity and by appointment to ensure the safety of visitors. Humana’s Virtual Neighborhood Center offers daily online classes on learning to manage health conditions, cooking healthy meals and learning to improve mental and physical health at home.

There are five Neighborhood Centers in North Carolina: Asheville, Greensboro, Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem. The centers offer classes and events and customer care specialists are onsite to answer plan benefit questions. Licensed Humana sales agents are available to help eligible non-members choose and enroll in Humana plans. Beginning in May, Humana Neighborhood Centers will host North Carolina State Health Plan (NCSHP) educational events at all five centers each month in 2022.

NC Attorney General Josh Stein on ACA Protection & Fraud Prevention

Tracie Eubank on February 17, 2022

Attorney General Josh Stein

February 2022

As your attorney general, it’s an honor for me to go to work every day to protect the people of North Carolina. My colleagues at the Department of Justice and I are dedicated to making North Carolinians’ lives better. You all understand the reward that comes from public service because you have also devoted your lives to serving others – thank you. As attorney general, please know that I am committed to safeguarding the rights of older or retired North Carolinians.

That includes fighting to make sure you can receive affordable quality health care. I have fought to defend the Affordable Care Act all the way to the Supreme Court – and won. The ACA protects more than 4 million North Carolinians from being discriminated against because of their pre-existing conditions, and it saves more than 1.8 million North Carolina seniors more than $1,100 a year on drug costs on average. Health care is a basic right, and I’ll continue to defend it. 

Additionally, my Consumer Protection Division works to protect seniors, students, and consumers from frauds and scams. During my time as attorney general, my office has won back more than $2.5 billion through consumer and taxpayer relief for the people of North Carolina. 

Fraudsters often prey on older or vulnerable populations to try to scam you out of your hard-earned money. In 2021 alone, my office received more than 1,000 complaints of elder fraud. 

Of course, the issue I hear about the most is robocalls. They are a scourge that disrupt our peace of mind every single day, and worse, rob people of their hard-earned money. Last year, North Carolinians filed more than 10,000 robocall reports with my office. That’s why I’m leading a nationwide group of 51 attorneys general and 15 phone companies to push the phone companies to put technology in place that prevents these robocalls from coming to your phone in the first place. 

And we’re also working together to hold these scammers accountable for their behavior. This January, I brought a lawsuit against telephone service provider Articul8 and its owner Paul K. Talbot for allowing tens of millions of illegal robocalls from international callers on the U.S. telephone network. The only way telemarketers can inundate our phones with robocalls is with the complicity of these gateway phone companies. These phone companies turn a blind eye to illegal robocalls in order to make money on each call. It’s wrong. It violates state and federal law, and I won’t tolerate it.

But the best thing you can do to protect yourself is watch out for the common warning signs of a scam: 

  • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 
  • A lot of exciting offers require you to make a small advance payment first. Don’t fall for it.
  • Don’t give your bank account or Social Security number to anyone you don’t know. 
  • If you get a call or email from someone you don’t recognize, or from a company you may do business with, examine it closely. Call or email the business back through a number or website you know to be legitimate. 
  • Pay with your credit card when you purchase so you can dispute a purchase if needed.
  • If you’re feeling pressured or something doesn’t feel right, pause and verify with someone you trust. 

I encourage you to visit our website at www.ncdoj.gov to learn more about how you can recognize the signs of a scam and protect yourself. If you have questions or think you might have been victimized by a scammer, report it to my office at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or ncdoj.gov/complaint. 

As your attorney general, I’ll go after anyone who breaks the law to harm North Carolinians. And I’ll continue to fight to protect your rights and make sure we all have the opportunity to pursue our dreams, take care of those we love, be a part of strong, stable communities, and live out our lives with dignity. Thank you for your service to our state and its people.