Dear Mr. Premack: I’ve heard about some new medical privacy rules that are supposed to take effect soon. What are the new rules and who are they from? Will they impact me personally as a senior who often receives medical treatment from a variety of doctors? Thanks – M.G. The federal Department of Health and Human Services, in response to a law passed by Congress in 2009, announced modifications to the famous HIPAA rules. As you may know, HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portabilit

Dear Mr. Premack: I was invited to a luncheon to hear about investment choices for Seniors, and the lecturer (perhaps I should call him “salesman”) spent a great deal of time trying to convince us to purchase annuities and to consider Living Trusts. What should we know that he didn’t tell us? Thanks – NS Annuities are an insurance product that can be used for long-term investment purposes or to create a monthly cash flow for the purchaser (called an “annuitant”). A “deferred