Watch the video below of OWLSF’s March 25, 2023 Meeting, and read the chat HERE.
SAFE STREETS
What can we do to make our lives as pedestrians safer?
Saturday, March 25, 2023, 11AM to 12:30 PM
Zoom in and join OWL for a panel discussion on what is being done to make us safer as pedestrians, what more can be done, and what we can do to make a difference.
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Jodie Medeiros, WalkSF. As Executive Director she is responsible for leading Walk San Francisco’s strategic work.
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Jamie Parks, SFMTA Livable Streets Director. His organization leads the projects focused on creating safe and inviting streets and sidewalks for all who walk and use a bicycle
Note: The last 10 minutes of the meeting will be devoted to the re-election of the current OWL-SF Board
Zoom Link and telephone information to be provided
For more information, Call: (415) 712-1695; Email: info@owlsf.org
THE STORY AND FATE
OF LAGUNA HONDA
presented by former SF City Attorney, LOUISE RENNE
SITUATION: Located on a 62 acre campus, Laguna Honda has been serving seniors and adults with disabilities since 1866. A century and a half later, it remains a civic icon, representing San Francisco’s tradition of service to the underserved–and is gravely threatened by the actions of CMS.
ACTION: San Francisco Interfaith Council is hosting a virtual meeting with featured speaker, former SF City Attorney Louise Renne, to educate participants about both the history and current challenges of this crucial institution.
The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 9, from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m.
ZOOM REGISTRATION LINK
(Follow the link below to register for the call. SFIC is taking
this extra step to model best practices for holding virtual meetings).
https://us02web.zoom.us/
(if you experience issues opening the link,
please copy and paste the link into your browser bar or change browser)
For more information, go to San Francisco Interfaith Council, Events,
https://www.
NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION to
PROTECT, IMPROVE AND EXPAND
MEDICARE, MEDICAID & SOCIAL SECURITY
PROTECT, IMPROVE AND EXPAND
MEDICARE, MEDICAID & SOCIAL SECURITY
SITUATION: Republicans claim Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are “off the table” but their plans to weaken and privatize these valuable programs are far from over. Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, is a well known supporter of privatization and spending reduction on each of these crucial resources for older Americans.
ACTION: A National Day of Action, sponsored by CARA, is scheduled for Friday March 17 at Congressman McCarthy’s office in Bakersfield.
Join the national rally to tell Congressman McCarthy that older Americans are not buying it.
Buses to Bakersfield will be picking up supporters from all over the state. In San Francisco, the bus will load at the Main branch of San Francisco Public Library on Fulton and Larkin at 7 a.m. and load for the return trip at 3 to 3:15 p.m. Buses will also be leaving from the North, East and South Bay, as well as other parts of the state.
Click HERE to reserve your spot on a bus taking you to the NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION, or contact CARA Executive Director, Jodi Reid at (415) 515-2156, Jreid.cara@gmail.com
A rally and demonstration will start at 2:00 pm at:
Congressman McCarthy’s office
4100 Empire drive, suite 150
Bakersfield, CA
Participants will meet at 12:30 pm at:
Yokuts Park
4200 Empire Dr.
Bakersfield, CA
We are excited to share that registration for senior classes offered by San Francisco Recreation and Parks will now open with priority registration ahead of general registration dates. No more having to compete with adult, youth and tot registrations!
For the spring season, senior class registration will begin on Wednesday, March 1, at 10 a.m. In addition to online registration at sfrecpark.org/register , walk-in registration is available for senior classes at the Golden Gate Park Senior Center (6101 Fulton Street) beginning at 10 a.m. on March 1.
Senior classes are for ages 55 and over. To see the spring senior class offerings, click the link below.
SAVE THE DATE
Update on Protecting and Improving
Social Security & Medicare
SPEAKER: Jodi Reid, Executive Director of California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) returns to OWL with important updates:
- The facts on how Social Security & Medicare are funded
- Ongoing threats toward privatization
- Improving Social Security and expanding Medicare
- Action items for Members of Older Women’s League
DATE & TIME: February 25, 2022, 11 AM to 12:30 PM
Check out CARA’s video on Social Security
ZOOM Link to Follow
(415) 712-1695 info@owlsf.org
SITUATION: Despite the recent reprieve in discharges from Laguna Honda, discharges are set to start again on May 19. Past forced discharges have not only been heartbreaking but deadly due to transfer trauma of fragile residents who consider Laguna Honda their home.
Important issues remain. Laguna Honda is still at risk for loss of 1/3 of its beds due to new CMS regulations. Laguna Honda is also still under threat of closure if recertification isn’t achieved by Nov. 13, 2023.
ACTION: Email, call, or write to Xavier Becerra-Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, including CMS.
- Laguna Honda Hospital must stay open for San Franciscans in need.
- No forced discharges. Discharge and appeal rights of patients must be honored.
- The City must be allowed to apply for a waiver from CMS’s 2-bed per room requirement.
- No 120-bed reduction in light of San Francisco’s severe shortage of Medi-Cal beds and appropriate Skilled Nursing beds.
Also: Please share this message with colleagues, friends and family.
Xavier Becerra:
Email: xavier.becerra@hhs.gov
Call: 1(877) 696-6775
Write:
200 Independence Avenue, S.W
Washington, D.C. 20201
“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars, it’s where the rich use public transportation.”—Gustavo Petro, Mayor of Bogotá
RIDING PUBLIC TRANSPORATION
REDUCES CARBON EMISSIONS SIGNIFICANTLY
SITUATION: Saturday, February 4 is national Transit Equity Day.
SITUATION: Environmental organization 350 Bay Area is celebrating Transit Equity Day and raising awareness of public transit by distributing “I RIDE TRANSIT” sitckers to be worn on outer garments, encouraging riders to be proud and visible in their communities.
ACTION: Contact OWLSF (info@owlsf.org; (415) 712-1695) to request a sticker to wear or stickers to distribute–AND WEAR THE STICKERS.
ACTION: Come to Union Square on February 4th to help 350 Bay Area distribute stickers—Geary and Stockton, 5 p.m.
ACTION: Ride public transit—especially if you usually DRIVE.
ACTION: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues.
In order to plan ahead for 2023, OWLSF polled our Members.
Click the link below to view the results of the OWLSF January 2023 Member Survey.
SITUATION: Through the ACO REACH operational structure of Medicare, commercial insurance companies (as well as other profit-driven entities) are being allowed to “manage” the care of millions of Americans who signed up for Traditional Medicare.
Many of these “bad actors” have a documented history of harming patients or taxpayers, as well as a business model that financially rewards them for denying care. Their inclusion in REACH demonstrates that the program is fundamentally flawed, and should be cancelled.
ACTION: Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) has scheduled a webinar called Exposing the Profiteers Behind Medicare REACH, to be held Thursday, January 26th at 6 p.m. Learn how the Protect Medicare coalition is responding to the launch of the program; and how YOU can stand up to these profiteers and save Medicare for future generations. Register HERE for the webinar.
ACTION: Share this message with friends, family and colleagues.
Physicians for a National Health Program
29 E Madison St Ste 1412 | Chicago, Illinois 60602
312-782-6006 | info@pnhp.org
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OWL ANNOUNCEMENT : IT’S TIME TO NOMINATE BOARD MEMBERS FOR 2023 Serving on the OWL Board is a great way to meet new people and get involved with meaningful activities. We urge you to contribute to OWL’s future by nominating candidates to serve on the OWL Board. RESPONSIBILITIES FOR INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBERS:
NOMINATING CANDIDATES FOR BOARD MEMBERSHIP:
DEADLINE for Nominations is the January Planning meeting on January 28, 2023. Nominations from the floor can be made at that time. The list of nominees with brief bios will be sent by email or mailed to members who are not online. ELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS will be held at the beginning of the February 25 Membership Meeting. Up to 8 people may be elected. |
SITUATION: Seniors are most at risk when it comes to criminals attempting to steal money over the telephone and the internet. The need to be savvy and vigilant in protecting ourselves from these scams is ever greater.
ACTION: California State Senator Scott Wiener is collaborating with State Assembly Members Matt Haney and Phil Ting to present an online seminar, SENIOR SCAM STOPPER, on Wednesday, January 18 from 11 a.m. to 12 noon (with more time for Q&A if needed). Click HERE to register and receive the Zoom link. Registration is open until the event begins.
ACTION: Share this message with friends, colleagues and family: ALL ARE WELCOME.
For more information:
• visit Senator Wiener’s website: HERE
• Call: (415) 557-1300
• Email: sd11.senate.ca.gov/contact
LET 2023 BE THE YEAR OWL-SF TAKES FLIGHT!
OWL-SF ANNUALL PLANNING MEETING
Saturday, January 28, 2023
11 AM to 12:30 PM Zoom Meeting
Let’s make OWL more relevant, inclusive, and vibrant than ever!
Help us plan:
- Informative, inspiring activities and programs
- Political actions that support our mission to improve lives of midlife and older women
- Membership meetings featuring speakers who bring you the health information you need
- An outlet for our idealistic and creative spirit
- Opportunities for friendship, community and support
Email or call for Zoom or other information:
info@owlsf.org Phone 415-712-1695
info@owlsf.org Phone 415-712-1695
SITUATION: Created by Congress 20 years ago in order to provide better care at lower costs, Medicare Advantage has instead resulted in rising costs and private insurance companies siphoning off billions from Medicare.
SITUATION: A recent New York Times report found that of the private insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage Plans: 9 of the top 10 have overbilled Medicare between $12 and $25 billion, and 6 of the top 10 have been accused of fraud by the U.S. government and whistleblowers.
Health care providers have developed elaborate systems to make patients appear as sick as possible, often without providing additional treatment.
ACTION: In order to protect Medicare from corporate greed, we must get private insurance companies OUT of Medicare.
ACTION: Demandprogress.org has created a petition to urge Congress to ban private insurance companies administering Medicare. Sign the petition HERE.
ACTION: Share this message with family, friends and colleagues in the U.S.
Sheila Malkind, the Founder & Director, as well as her Board of Directors and reviewers, selected 40 long and short films, almost entirely documentaries–some whimsical, others serious—covering diverse themes on Friendship, Vitality, Later Life, Love, Creativity, Caregiving, and, inevitably, Death—and more.
Also included in the upcoming festival, are recorded interviews with several of the filmmakers–their chosen subjects, their challenges, and the messages their films impart. Director Norman Jewison explains his film adaptation of Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen, while Director Barbara Schock talks about her 2000 Academy Award as Director for Best Short Film (Live Action), My Mother Dreams The Satan’s Disciples in New York.
CLICK HERE FOR TIME AND PRICE DETAILS
The Legacy Film Festival on Aging celebrates the aging process as profound and meaningful, often challenging, and always courageous. Malkind: “Our films portray some of the many facets of this unique, ever-changing experience, honestly and artfully, and always with compassion and love for the subjects.”
Sheila Malkind, MA, MPH,
LEGACY FILM FESTIVAL ON AGING
(415) 515-2708
info@legacyfilmfestivalonaging.org
SITUATION: For two decades, Net Energy Metering has helped increase the installation of new solar panels by allowing new residential adaptors to receive financial credit for surplus energy they send to the electrical grid.
SITUATION: The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) proposes to slash this crucial credit to future adaptors by 75%, which would send rooftop solar off a cliff.
ACTION: December 15 is the day they vote the proposal up or down. Here’s what you can do:
- Email Governor Newsom. Tell him the CPUC’s most recent proposal is too extreme and he must step in. Suggested language can be found at this petition link.
- Call the Governor at (916) 445-2841 today. Say something like: My name is ___ and I live in ____. The CPUC’s latest rooftop solar proposal is still too extreme. We need you to step in. California should be doing more, not less, to promote rooftop solar. Please show us you are serious about rate hikes, blackouts and air pollution. Say no to the utilities’ profit grab, and yes to helping millions of working and middle class people get solar.
- Sign the petition
For more information, here is a recent article in the San Francisco Examiner: SF Examiner: New CPUC Rule Puts the Dimmer on Solar Power
SITUATION: SF has been slow to address our climate crisis—-and it’s going to be expensive. We need to continue to find new ways to plan, and fund planning and implementation. Relevant bond issues will be discussed at the Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday, December 6.
ACTION: Implore the Board of Supervisors to adopt the resolution urging the Capital Planning Committee to include Climate Action Plan (CAP) funding priorities recommended by the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) Report, in the proposed General Obligation (GO) Bond schedule.
Email letters should be received before the start of the meeting – preferably by close of business on Monday, Dec 5. Suggested subject line: File 221208: Support resolution to include Climate Action funding in Capital Planning. Email to the Clerk of the Board, bos@sfgov.org.
The following list was provided to OWLSF by Susan Pollack, November 2022
ESTATE INFORMATION – Outline
[Updated 11/2022]- Contacts
- Estate Attorney
- Financial Advisor
- Bank(s)
- Insurance Agent
- Accountant
- Doctors
- Pharmacy
- Estate Documents
- Will
- Trusts
- Powers Of Attorney (original and on file at institutions)
- Health Care Proxies (original and on file with doctors and institutions)
- Funeral/burial arrangements; draft obituary; photographs for obituary
- Long term care arrangements
- Information on family dynamics (guidance)
- Property to be dealt with
- Investments/Brokerage Accounts/Life Insurance
- Bank Account(s); safe deposit box
- Real Estate
- Personal property and other valuable assets, pets
- Automobile
- Where to find things
- Jewelry and other items of value (market or sentimental)
- Original executed documents (will, trusts, POA’s, health care proxies)
- Passport/medical/social security/insurance cards/driver’s license, birth and marriage
certificates
- Credit cards
- Bank and Investment Statements
- Evidence of tax payments/tax filings – federal, state and real estate –
- Insurance Policies
- Real estate documents
- Lists of friends/contacts
- Lists of service providers, including utilities
- Lists of passwords
- keys
- Stop/Monitor/Pay
- Social Security/Medicare/supplemental health
- Pension
- Credit Cards
- Auto-Pay
- CableTV/internet/electric/water
- Rent/maintenance/real estate taxes/income taxes
- Insurance premiums (property/liability)
- Social media
- Insurance
- Property and Liability (including driver’s)
- Medical
- Professional
- Automobiles
- Certificates of title (pink slips)
- Insurance
Update Periodically
SITUATION: It’s obvious that the 2002 Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) is no longer needed, yet the potential for the AUMF to perpetuate forever wars is ever-present.
Regarding the 2002 AUMF, to date:
- The Biden Administration has affirmed that it is not relying on it for any ongoing operations
- Senators Todd Young (R-Ind) and Tim Kaine (D-Va) have introduced a bill in the Senate to repeal it
- In June, the House had bi-partisan support to include repeal in their version of the National Defense Authorization Act
YET IT HAS NOT RECEIVED A VOTE
ACTION: Contact your Senators today and tell them to support repeal of the 2002 Iraq AUMF, and BRING IT TO A VOTE THIS YEAR.
Go to: https://www.senate.gov/
SITUATION: California’s Healthcare for All Commission is charged with determining how to fix our broken healthcare system through a unified financing system that would save money AND provide better benefits and access to providers. This is for our whole health care system in California- not just Medicare.
SITUATION: A coalition of labor and community groups working towards the creation of a guaranteed health care system in California, along with UCSF, created a calculator so that individuals can see how much they could save if we moved toward such a system. This calculator was expanded specifically for Medicare.
ACTION: Check out the calculator to see how much YOU would save: https://healthyca.org/medicare-for-all-savings-calculator/
ACTION: Check out the recording of the recent CARA meeting with some of the creators of the calculator: https://californiaalliance.org/
ACTION: Share this information with others!