Hands to Help Seniors

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

I wanted to remind everyone of the seniors luncheon which is put on once per month at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepard on 301 Corral de Tierra Road.  Dubbed the "Double Nickels & Up Lunch Club," anyone 55 and older is welcome to come by between noon and 1:30 p.m. on the 2^nd Wednesday of each month.  There is typically a guest speaker.  At the next event on October 9, Meg Clovis, the president of the Monterey County Historical Society and Cultural Affairs Manager for the Monterey County Parks Department, will speak.  She's the author of two books, "The Salinas Valley" and Monterey County's North Coast" and she should have a lot of interesting things to talk about.  There is no fee for the luncheon although a $5 donation is suggested.  Fore more information, call 484-2153 or go to www.goodshepherdcorral.org.  At the October 9, Jane Russo of the Visiting Nurse Association will attend to offer flu shots to anyone who would like one.

About Richard Kuehn & Hands to Help Seniors:

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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Veterans have done so many great things for our country and many of them are struglling to get by.  I was happy to read that there will be a fundraising event tomorrow at North Salinas High School to benefit Vietnam Veterans.  It's a great way to show support for people who have served their country.  For more invormation or reservations please call 424-4002, 594-4413 or 206-3413.  You might want to bring a folding chair in case the event gets crowded.

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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

The new health care exchanges were expecting to open for business in less than two weeks (October 1), although the U. S. House of Representatives has tossed a monkey wrench into that by pulling funding for the Affordable Health Care Act, also known as Health Care Reform.  If the health care exchanges roll out schedule, the new insurance plans would kick in starting on January 1, 2014.  However, there has been scant information available about drug coverage.  According to the New York Times, few companies offering the health care exchanges have released details on what will and won't be covered and for the few that have, some plans require those covered to pay 50% of the cost of the most expensive drugs.  "I had frankly expected a higher level of transparency by this point," Brian Rosen, SVP for government affairs at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, told the New York Times.  This is a shame.  There's no way people can compare the plans being offered without detailed coverage information, and now they will just have a few months to do so.  Further complicating matters is that with the House pulling funding for Health Care Reform, many insurance companies may delay offering details of the plans until this battle is settled in Congress.

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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I wrote a blog yesterday about the massive cuts being made to our nation's food stamp program.  The statistics are dire.  A release from the U.S. Census Bureau said that a whopping 13.6% of homes in America are on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), called CalFresh in California.  That's up 5 full percentage points from 8.6% in 2008 when the recession cloud was moving in.  Some small businesses lament the House of Representative's attempts to make massive cuts to the food stamp (SNAP) program, telling reporters that their business dries up mid-month when people's food stamp supplements run out.  Many hope that an economic recovery will reduce the need for having so many people on food stamps, but I wonder how long this will take given the high unemployment rate.

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

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday which would cut $39 billion over the next decade from food stamps, also known as the CalFresh Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) program.  The vote was close at 217-210, and allows food stamp recipients to be tested for drugs and would allow states to put broad new work requirements in place.  They would require all food stamp recipients to work 20 hours per week if they are able bodied and have a child over age 1 if that person has child care available.  It would also apply to parents with children over the age of six which are in school.  No democrats voted for the House bill, which many said would cut a safety net needed for low-income seniors, the unemployed and families with children.  The Senate passed a bill earlier in the year that would cut one-tenth of the amount of the House bill, or $400 million.  President Obama has said he would veto the House bill, which would remove 3 million of the 47.8 million people enrolled in the  program and cause another 850,000 to see their benefits reduced.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told a reporter, "The Senate will never pass such hateful, punitive legislation."  As if that weren't bad enough, the House of Representatives threw out funding for President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (health care reform).  Although there's almost no chance that the Democrat-led Senate would vote in favor of the new bill (which is linked with keeping the government afloat until mid-December), it does once again set up a giant battle on Capitol Hill between Republicans and Democrats.  This throws a wrench in the plans of many insurance companies who planned to go live with online insurance marketplaces on October 1 for policies set to be effective on January 1, 2014.     This is a rerun of the political battle which played out last year.  Budget funding currently only lasts until the end of September, but even if a new budget is agreed upon, Congress will have to increase the debt limit in October or we will once again run out of money. 

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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