Hands to Help Seniors

Veterans have received a lot of setbacks this year, from delays in processing benefits to the government shutdown as well as a battle for a local cemetery which took years to finally win.  Veterans day is coming up in less than two weeks and we expect that local businesses will be chipping in with some sort of special to thank veterans and active military members.  The fist I have seen is Applebee's restaurants, which is running advertisements offering all veterans and active duty military service people a free entrée on Veteran's day.  Thank you Applebee's and thanks to all of the veterans who have proudly served their country.  For more information, go to http://www.thankyoumovement.com/.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

Despite the flurry of bad press which has been generated about the new health care exchange website not working properly, in fact, millions of people have been able to enroll.  It's not perfect, but the government is aggressively working on it.  Advocates of the Affordable Care Act had hoped that Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) would be a bigger part of the law than many had expected. Not all states are participating in the Medicare expansion but California is.  Some states have reported that more than 80% of new enrollees are being added to Medicaid plans.  It's great to see that California is one of the more aggressive states in trying to raise awareness and get people enrolled in Medi-Cal.  They are doing this by contacting low-income people who are enrolled in programs like food stamps (CalFresh SNAP) as well as getting the word out at farmers markets and other local events.  There will be so many people helped by this program and it's likely to significantly reduce stress on local area emergency rooms.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors

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Monterey, CA  Hospital CEO Pay Not Correlated With Patient Outcome Based On Harvard Study Of Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services Data : View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

The term non-profit is often used to describe companies doing good for others, staffed by volunteers or workers paid at the low end of the salary spectrum.  Unfortunately, this isn't always the case.  A recent study found that CEOs at nonprofit hospitals made, on average, $600,000 per year and some made as much as $3 million per year.  The report, which looked at data put out by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did find that highly paid CEOs ran hospitals with high patient satisfaction scores.  However, they did not get high scores for patient outcomes.  That's unfortunate.  The results of the study were called "a little disappointing," by Ashish Jha, a health policy professor of Harvard's School of Public Health.  He said that not holding CEO's accountable for whether patients live or die within 30 days of treatment "doesn't quite make sense."  I agree.  At the end of the day, the ultimate measurement for hospitals should be how patients fare after treatment compared to other hospitals across the country. 

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Seniors In Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

The First United Methodist Church in Pacific Grove needs your help.  Their Church Mouse thrift shop is looking for household accessories, jewelry, books, furniture, clothing and electronics that they can sell to the public to raise money for charities.  This great organization gifted $1,000 to Hands to Help Seniors and we appreciate the help they are giving to a number of local non-profits.  Please support them if you can.  Twice per year, they choose a number of groups (depending upon how much money the thrift shop has generated) and honor them before their congregation and pass out donation checks.  In the last round, they supported VNA Community Services, Friends of Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Science, Kernes Adaptive Aquatics and the Fund for Homeless Women.  These are all great causes.   

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Seniors In Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

Some financial planners are recommending that if you have no heirs that might need the proceeds from your life insurance policy, you should donate it to charity.  One way to do so but still retain the cash value while you are alive is to simply change the name of the beneficiary on the policy to the charity.  That way, if you need to tap into part of the value, you can still borrow against the value of the policy.  You can also change your mind later if you feel that the nonprofit doesn't stick to its vision, or if you decide some other person or organization is more worthy of receiving the proceeds.  If you don't believe there is any way that you would need to tap into the proceeds, a better way is to simply give the policy to the charity who then becomes the owner and the beneficiary.  This way, you will be able to write the gift off on your tax return and you will also be acknowledged by the charity for being a big donor.  If premiums still need to be paid on the policy in the future, you could pay those yourself and those would also be deductible as a charitable donation. 

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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