If you’ve ever been “Broadsided” as a NYSUT retiree, that means you’ve had the benefit of having Jay Broad on your side. He’s the guy that is out there helping other retired NYSUT members understand Medicare through presentations he delivers on Long Island.
To lawmakers, he’s the guy who keeps showing up asking the state to keep its obligations to schools.
Even in his 80s, Broad is a busy man. These days, he is around and about advocating for the elderly, making sure they are cared for, and that they understand their Medicare health insurance.
“Even before the Affordable Care Act, it was a complicated law. Keeping up with it is difficult,” said Broad, who has been trained by the Medicare Rights Center with the sponsorship of NYSUT. Broad presents updates at local libraries, for retiree chapters and councils, and for senior citizen groups.
An example of recent confusion: shingles vaccinations were ordered through Medicare Part D, which meant that people were charged who shouldn’t have been. The vaccines could have been ordered through the prescription drug plan, he said, saving costs for the subscriber. Broad explains to retirees how they can straighten out snafus such as this one.
“We try to be proactive and let people know (ahead) so the situation won’t happen. I’m an advocate for older people,” he said.
He is also intent on informing retirees that if they have to go to the hospital, they need to ascertain if they are there as a patient or under “observation status.” Medicare patients designated as being under observation will not be qualified to have continued care in a skilled nursing rehabilitation facility paid for by Medicare.
This active octogenarian is also a New York state certified ombudsman for nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Nassau County. With a crew of about 9 others, he serves as an advocate for the elderly throughout the Long Island county.
Broad is also an information and assistance specialist as part of a New York state program called New York Connects (www.nyconnects.ny.gov). It’s a program designed to assist people with the need for long-term care – whether it’s an older person needing a nursing home, a child who needs a breathing apparatus, or a person needing dialysis. Specialists help people access long-term car services.
A father to two and grandfather to five, Broad spent a lot of time with youth as a social studies teacher for 30 years. He taught two years in New York City, two in Syracuse, and then 27 in Lynbrook, Nassau County.
As a junior high teacher, he said his favorite project was a two- week unit he created on tax forms. Having students learn how to fill out income tax returns, he said, “made them understand what taxes were for, how hey were collected, and what Social Security is for.”
He shared with students how, at the time, both his mother, who was widowed, and his brother-in-law, were living on Social Security.
The Internal Revenue Service, he said, provided kits to teachers that he used. Lesson plans and toolkits are still available from the IRS at http://apps.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes/teacher/index.jsp. The site has a plethora of resources available for teachers, ranging from teaching about the Social Security Act of 1938 to the evolution of taxation in the Constitution, and the rights and responsibility of the taxpayer. “Understanding Taxes” has 38 historical, current and resourceful lesson plans.
“I loved to work with the kids. I hate what I see happening to teaching now, with this high-stakes testing that doesn’t do anything to ensure that kids are really learning,” Broad said.
Because of cutbacks, occupational and vocational education and training is also more limited, he said, calling it “sad.”
“To say every student needs to go to college is abominable,” he said.
For many years, Broad has taken action to back his sentiments. He has been to NYSUT’s Committee of 100 volunteer lobby day about 40 times, traveling from Long Island to Albany to meet with lawmakers and impress on them the needs of students and educators.
“When a Senator would say, ‘You passed the bill you wanted. You don’t have to come anymore,’ I’d say “I will come to 2027,’” Broad said.
That’s when he’ll be 100.
-- Liza Frenette
(Jay Broad is a retiree member of Lynbrook TA)