Magnet Is Drawn to His Wallet
Question: I saw your recent column about automatic teller cards being knocked out of action by an electrical field. I thought you would be interested in the case of a friend of mine who found all of his credit cards nullified after visiting a J. J. Newberry store and putting his wallet down on the counter while paying for his purchases.
I didn’t think too much of it until a few days before Christmas when I was in the same store and bought a two-inch roll of wire. When I put it down on the counter by the cash register, I was startled to see the roll jump a good four inches without being touched.
When I pointed it out to the cashier, he said: “Oh, well, there’s a magnet in the counter. Maybe that did it.” It certainly made my friend’s complaint make a lot of sense since he had laid his whole wallet down on what I would guess to be about an 18-inch section of the counter.--R.G.
Answer: This is the first that a Newberry representative has heard of the problem, but he concedes that there may be some basis for it. Newberry, which is headquartered in York, Pa., and is owned by McCrory Stores which, in turn, is a division of Rapid-American Corp. (corporate life gets very involved), says through Deb Wiles, its manager of communications and public relations, that “some--not all, but some--of our stores have such a plate in the counter. It’s not, technically, a magnet, but a de magnetizer.
“Like the ‘soft’ tags that a lot of stores use in clothing--and that have to be removed with a special tool or they’ll activate the alarm system if carried out of the store,” Wiles adds, “there’s a ‘hard’ tag, too--a magnetic strip--that’s attached to merchandise that can’t be punctured. It’s all part of our loss-prevention program.”
If you’ve ever accidentally carried home an item of clothing with the soft tag still attached to your purchase, but which, somehow, didn’t activate the store’s alarm system, you know that you’ve got a real problem. Without the right tool, the removal can entail a blow torch, three straining white stallions and a pinch of TNT.
The hard tag, on the other hand, Wiles continues, simply has to be passed over the demagnetizer in the counter. “This neutralizes it and, once paid for, the item can be carried out of the store without tripping the alarm. I don’t know too much about magnets and demagnetizers, but I suppose if you did put a purse or wallet directly down on that part of the counter then that could be the problem, all right.”
But what can be done about it--other than exercising caution about where you lay your wallet--is unclear without completely scuttling a retail security device that has proved itself very effective.
Q: I retired from the Los Angeles Unified School District as a librarian and have continued to work when I am needed as a substitute. I receive no Social Security and have therefore paid my Medicare insurance directly to Medicare.
A new federal law, H.R. 3128, requires that a deduction from my pay also be taken by the LAUSD. That means I am paying not once, but twice, for the same coverage. I have already written to Medicare and to my two state senators. What else do you suggest I do?
Also, several months ago you wrote an article about insurance to supplement Medicare. I also have Kaiser-Permanente coverage, but am now concerned about whether I really need additional insurance to cover the “gap.” Is there a source of information which explains various policies available?--E.S.S.
A: There are, charitably, some oddities running amok in both Social Security and the Medicare system--odd because they defy really rational explanations for being there.
H.R. 3128 is one of them. This legislation, according to Diane Del Haro of Social Security’s public affairs office, required a Medicare withholding from the pay of state and local employees hired after March 31, 1986, even if--as in your case--they are 65 years or older and are paying directly into Medicare.
Technically, Del Haro adds, you’re not paying two Medicare monthly premiums because the portion being deducted by the school district is simply going into the Medicare “kitty” to beef it up.
“Although,” she continues, “the result is certainly the same.”
Unlike Social Security itself, which is in pretty robust financial shape for the next 20 years or so, Medicare is constantly strapped. The major reason for this is that, unlike Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits are the same for everyone regardless of how much, or how little, they pay into the Social Security system itself. I don’t know how much comfort you can take in the knowledge that--by going back to work for the school district after last March 31 (it wasn’t retroactive, at least)--you are simply chipping in what amounts to a second Medicare payment for the common good.
It’s not the only gambit in Social Security where deductions are made primarily to beef up the system. In retirement, for instance, Del Haro adds, you are permitted to earn up to $8,160 a year before your earnings are impacted. But those earnings are still subject to Social Security withholding with the result that you’re offsetting a fair share of your own benefits.
You’ve done about the only thing that can be done about the add-on Medicare payment that you are making: You’ve written your two state senators.
The Social Security Administration simply implements changes that Congress makes in the program, Del Haro explains.
Do you need Medicare “gap” insurance? There is overwhelming consensus that yes, you do--the gap between what Medicare covers and what normal medical and hospital charges are can be formidable.
Your Kaiser-Permanente coverage may take care of this very handily, but if you’d like to compare its benefits with a couple of dozen other plans floating around the state, you should get a copy of the latest comparison compiled annually by retired insurance authority Jules Klowden for Senior World magazine.
It’s available from Senior World Reprints, P.O. Box 1565, El Cajon, Calif. 92022. The cost is $2. Ask for its latest reprint of Klowden’s “Medicare Supplement” issue.
Don G. Campbell cannot answer mail personally but will respond in this column to consumer questions of general interest. Write to Consumer VIEWS, You section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.
