2017-06 June

The American Healthcare Act (AHCA) passed the House. This is not what we want. However, we have a second chance to get rid of it once and for all. There is a toll free number we can call to let our Senators know how we feel about this really bad proposition. 1-844-866-1425. In case you missed it from last month, here are the highlights as to why this is a bad bill:

BAD NEWS FOR AMERICANS:

 Age tax would let insurance companies charge 50-to-64-year-olds five times more for health coverage than anyone else

 Older Americans with conditions like cancer, diabetes and heart disease could have to pay more than $25,000 a year

 Weakens Medicare, leaving the door open for benefit cuts and Medicare vouchers

 Jeopardizes essential care for seniors, children and Americans with disabilities

 Does NOTHING to lower prescription drug prices while Americans continue to pay the highest drug prices in the world

 GREAT NEWS FOR SPECIAL INTERESTS:

 Provides $200 billion in tax breaks for drug, insurance and medical device companies

 Allows insurance companies to overcharge older Americans by thousands of dollars AARP is committed to working with both sides to pass legislation that will lower health insurance and prescription drug costs for all Americans, but a bad bill is a bad bill.

Instead of giving tax breaks to drug companies and boosting insurance company profits, Congress should be reducing skyrocketing health care and prescription drug costs, especially for older Americans. Please! Make sure to call and let Senators Feinstein and Harris know how you feel about this travesty of a bill! 1- 844-866-1425

There is a new bill on the California Legislative floor: AB 806, the Family Caregiver Tax Credit. This one is important for anyone making less than $75,000 individually or $150,000 jointly and is a family caregiver. This tax credit would be 50% of the net tax paid up to $1000.00 and is scheduled to start for the tax year starting January 1, 2018. If you’re interested in the whole verbiage, you can read about it right here:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB806

Have a great summer and stay informed!

Opportunity Tickets…Barbara Robinson  June drawings at three for $1 are:

RED ROBIN  (Free Dessert w/purchase $5)
El Paseo de Saratoga
408-370-1236
(Thanks to Angie Jaggars)
DICKIE’S BBQ
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
Free BBQ Sandwish W/purchase of
Large Drink
(Thanks to Marlene Hruby)
BAG OF FRESH COFFEE
FROM WEEKEND COFFEE ROASTER’S
CAMPBELL EXPRESS (2)
(Thanks to Mr. Hansen)

May winners were:

Café San Jose: Ron
Dickey’s BBQ: Norman Schwartz
Weekend Coffee Roasters: Nancy Franks
Campbell Express: Nancy Franks & Jane Seed

GPS and Thieves
Someone had their car broken into while they were at a football game parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans.  Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.  When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.  The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house.  They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house.  The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house.  It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.  Something to consider if you have a GPS – don’t put your home address in it… Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.  The same thing holds true for airport parking (or actually anywhere). But there is still the car registration!

Get Well cards were sent out to Polly Vitvovich, Delphine Wishart, Mary Ziegele, David Hirsch, and Angie Jaggars.

Greg Hacker found his second career in the reverse mortgage industry, which has been his passion for twelve years now. He finds great satisfaction in his work with his clients, helping them to significantly change their lives with home equity release products that allow them to maintain their financial independence, keep their personal dignity, and enjoy peace of mind. Greg and his wife are such strong believers in the potential borrowing power of the HUD/FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage that they established their own growing HECM line of credit a few years ago. He will separate facts from fiction and describe the most common scenarios where a reverse mortgage makes the most sense as a financial planning tool.

Social Time 9:30 a.m.

Please bring books to share. Leave clean clothing and bedding and nonperishable food for Sacred Heart on the bench outside. Please do not bring garage-sale type items for Sacred Heart. Put new and used greeting cards in the box on the troop table. Bring your items for the GI’s into the meeting area. Put your volunteer hours in purple envelope at TROUP table.

Lunch after meeting:

Jack Holder’s Restaurant

3153 Meridian Ave, San Jose

(just north of Hillsdale) 408-613-2365

Program:

Greg Hacker, Certified Senior Advisor,

Home Equity Retirement

“Know the Truth About Reverse Mortgages”

A friend of mine posted or shared a story on Facebook of how a personal friend, let’s call her Carol, lost $50,000 in an email scam. Carol was buying her first home – the American Dream of homeownership. She was very excited. She had been saving for this her whole life. She was in escrow and about to close on the purchase. Carol received an email from the escrow person saying she needed to update the banking and routing information. Carol gladly complied. Seems that the banker or the escrow person’s email account had been hacked and Carol managed to transfer that life savings of $50,000 to the crooks. Her dream of homeownership was ruined, stolen from a crook! Never ever give personal financial information in email, never! Look at http://CampbellAARP.org for more useful posts and resources.