Hands to Help Seniors

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

Regular readers of my blog know that in addition to supporting Hands to Help Seniors, I am also a major fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association.  It's a terrible disease which afflicted both my father and my grandmother.  I have been tracking all of the latest research developments on this topic, and am hopeful there will be a cure found within my lifetime.  Scientists at Stanford University have now revealed via an article in the journal Nature that they have made part of a human brain (and all of a mouse brain) completely transparent in an imaging system so neurons sending and receiving information light up in spectacular color and in 3D.  Dubbed Clarity by its inventors, the brain can be tested over and over again with chemicals which highlight specific structures which they hope may find previous activity that occurred.  I am hopeful this and other tests will lead to a cure someday for diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.  Both of our Platinum sponsors, Alliance Home Health and Family inHome Caregiving, see patients with these diseases every day and it's heart breaking to watch the suffering they go through.  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.

Comments (0)     

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

There have been a number of recent press articles regarding the efficacy of having heart surgery done with "robots" which are machines with surgical tools where a surgeon controls the actions via a screen and keyboard.  Although the jury is still out on that technology, there is recent evidence that a surgeon's knife for some procedures may soon become a thing of the past.  Everything from repairing heart valves, irregular heartbeats and repairing heart defects are now being done without invasive open heart surgery.  Now doctors are testing whether they can even treat high blood pressure using catheters, hollow tubes which allow doctors to whittle away and reshape heart tissue through small holes in blood vessels.  "This is the replacement for the surgeon's knife.  Instead of opening the chest, we're able to put catheters in through the leg, sometimes through the arm," Dr. Spencer King from the Vascular Institute, who is also the former President of the American College of Cardiology, told a reporter.  This allows patients to go home after a day or two and insurance companies like it because it's a much cheaper option than open heart surgery.  One upside is that these procedures are much safer for seniors.  Many surgeons won't even do this type of surgery on the very elderly for fear the procedure itself could kill them.  "You can do these on 90-year old patients," said Dr. King.  Both of our Platinum sponsors, Alliance Home Health and Family inHome Caregiving see these terrible situations every day where clients are in a pickle because their age makes treatment options limited.  What a wonderful breakthrough in technology which will not only help seniors but will save on medical costs.

Comments (0)     

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

I wrote recently on my blog about the Obama administration's plan to switch Social Security recipients from having their checks indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to the chained CPI (C-CPI).  Such a move will put a dent in the pocketbooks of seniors because the C-CPI makes a strange assumption.  It calculates that if the price of goods and services go up for one product, consumers simply switch to another to save money.  The most popular example used is if the price of steak goes up, people will start eating chicken instead.  The problem is, many seniors living on a fixed income spend most of it on things like housing, medical bills and energy costs.  There aren't easy substitutes for these things.  Granted, seniors could switch from one apartment to another apartment which is cheaper, but I don't think that was the intent of those who made the C-CPI index.  Many veterans, unfortunately, are in a similar pickle as seniors, and in many cases it's even worse.  Because they will likely live longer, a switch to the CCPI could cost veterans a huge loss in disability payments over their lifetime.  Lobbyists for veterans are descending on Washington D.C. in droves to lobby against a change to the C-CPI.  Although it's admirable, I don't see much hope.  Politicians seem intent on moving ahead with switching to the C-CPI.    If the government proceeds with its plan to link payments to the C-CPI, it will take a disproportionate toll on veterans, according to a study by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).  23 million veterans would lose $17 billion in benefits according to the AARP calculations.  The youngest disabled would be hit the hardest.  A 30-year old veteran would lose about $100,000 in disability payments, according to the study.  A 65-year old who is not a veteran, in contrast, would lose only $3,900 in benefits over the next decade.  In either case, it's a huge amount of money.  The stakes are high and politicians don't have any easy answers.

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. 

Comments (0)     

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

President Barack Obama is scheduled to release his budget this week.  Unfortunately, the dreaded switch from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to the Chained CPI, appears to be built into the new budget.  The move will hit government workers and retirees alike, with annual increases in their payments set using a lower inflator.  The good news is that the Obama administration appears to be moving towards a compromise with Republicans, although many Democrats are infuriated by some changes such as the move to the Chained CPI.  The bad news is that, once again, many poor seniors will suffer through more income cuts at a time they can afford them the least.

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. 

Comments (0)     

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

Many non-profit organizations are up in arms about a proposal expected to be unveiled next week which would limit the value of tax deductions to 28%.  Couples earning $250,000 per year, for instance, who now deduct 100,000 in mortgage, state and local taxes and charitable giving and get a $39,600 savings on these deductions.  If the new rules are adopted, this tax savings would drop to $28,000, which could cause the wealthy to cut back on charitable giving.  Worse yet, the program is being expanded so that all deductions count against the 28% cap.  So, for instance, if a couple making $250,000 per year each contribute $17,500 to their 401K (the maximum for 2013), this would be $35,000 less that they could give to charity, in some instances.  It's estimated that charitable giving could decline more than $9 billion per year if the new rules are implemented.  It could also cause sales of high-end homes to decline, since some people won't be able to deduct all of their interest expense on their primary home.   

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. 

Comments (0)