JUNE 2026 SENIOR SAVERS NEWSLETTER
Did you know you can get unbiased reports on the quality of care you would receive at a rehab facility or a nursing home? It is probably a very difficult decision so having this information can help you or your family make an informed decision.
Go to https://www.nj.gov/health/ltc/nursing-homes/ You can select 4 and 5 star rated facilities and Monmouth county for high quality and close facilities . You can also customize by type of care needed and financial programs that are accepted. Then select some to review. At the top there are 5 tabs : Overview, Quality of care, Staffing , Infections and complaints and FAQs for each facility.
After doing this it is still advisable to have a tour of the facility. Do not judge by the lobby. Ask to see the rehab area, dining room, nursing units, resident rooms and activity areas. Check for cleanliness, resident appearance, noise level and how the staff responds to the residents.
Ask questions about your particular needs like rehab, memory care, cardiac or stroke rehab. Finally you should already have checked the financing accepted on the website but it’s always good to double check in person as things change and the internet may be behind.
Did you know that you can complete a program called FIVE WISHES, thru www.fivewishes.org ? This program assists you to communicate in writing how you wish to be treated if you become unable to care for yourself. The five wishes are
1. Who you want to make healthcare decisions if you can’t
2. What treatment you would want or not want
3.How comfortable you would like to feel
4.How you want people to treat you
5. How you want your loved ones to remember you
Five Wishes is user-friendly, easy to understand, legally valid in all fifty states, and available in 32 languages plus Braille.
An individual copy costs the same as 25 years ago – just $5. It can be done online for $7.50 which comes with an ID card that your doctor or medical facility can access your wishes online.
After you complete the five wishes you need 2 witnesses to see you sign it. They don’t have to see the wishes, just see you signing the booklet. The witnesses should not be your family or person you named for your healthcare representative. They should be able to say that you knew what you were doing when you signed. You should give a copy to your healthcare representative and keep a copy handy for others that may be caring for you.
That is all you need to do! No lawyers fees, no notary needed.
SIDE NOTE FOR PARENTS OF 18 YEAR OLD AND UP
Also this is available and I highly recommend it for parents of children who have turned 18.
Since I was a pediatrician I can tell you of the nightmare parents go through without this document. The doctors and hospitals will not speak to parents without it. And unfortunately there is nothing you can do after your child is unconscious and can not speak for himself. Or also if they are admitted to a psychiatric facility, you, as a parent of a legal adult, have no rights to speak with the doctors about treatment.
You can find a similar form but less complicated and detailed for your teen at https://www.nj.gov/health/advancedirective/documents/proxy_directive.pdf Your 18 year old or older must sign and it must also be witnessed by 2 people.
Did you know there is a new scam which targets older individuals whose homes are paid off?
It’s called Property Fraud. It involves forging a new Deed on your home and then obtaining a new mortgage on your house or even selling your home. Of course this takes time to obtain the loan or sell the home so to get time on your side you can sign up to be notified whenever there is a change on your deed. This service is available from the Monmouth County Clerk's office and there is no cost to do this. You may sign up online at https://www.propertyfraudalert.com/about or call for help signing up at 800-728-3858
Did you know about the discount beach badges you can get for the summer?
Avon-by-the-Sea $65 per senior at avonbytheseanj.com
Manasquan is only $35 per senior at manasquan-nj.com
Handicapped at half price
Veterans are free and active military and their family are free.
Belmar badges are $32 per senior at belmarbeachbadges.com
Military is the same as Manasquan but also is free to Gold Star families
Did you know there is a new program to assist with senior loneliness? See below
Have questions on how to stretch your money? Or suggestions to help others? Or to suggest topics that might be of interest to you or others.
Email seniorsaversofacce@gmail.com or call or text 856-441-2447
APRIL 26 SENIOR SAVERS OF ACCE
Do you want to exercise but don’t want to pay for the gym? There are several different programs available from AARP.
1 AARP has a youtube channel with exercises you can follow from home. Look under aarp/answers
2 They also have an online exercise videos at aarp.org/stayingfit
3 Want chair yoga or tai chi or Zumba? Go to http://aarp.org/wellnessworkshops
4. Want to focus on flexibility and balance? Go to http://seniorplanet.org/fitness
Still need some additional real estate tax rebate? There is a senior $250 deduction that was set up years ago but you apply to it locally through Wall township. It’s a little tricky to get this deduction but I’ll try to explain who might be eligible. If you have a pension of say $9999 and social security of any amount you would be eligible for this deduction. If you have social security of $9999 and a federal or state pension of $50,000 you would be eligible for this deduction. It is complicated. You can find more information and examples at https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/lpt/lpt-seniordeduction.shtml. Applications must be filed before December 31 of the year before you would like the deduction and you must update the application every year or you lose it. Contact Ted Lamicella at 732-449-8444 Ext. 2238 This deduction is also good for a surviving spouse of a veteran if they are 55 or older or any age disabled person.
Don’t want to go to your mailbox every day if it’s only junk mail? You can sign up for daily emails which show you a photo of your mail. Sign up for Informed Delivery. You will be alerted early if an important piece of mail has gone missing allowing you to take action early to prevent a problem. Also if you’re away and a family member is picking up your mail they would only need to bother when something important arrives. Sign up here https://reg.usps.com/informeddelivery/welcome
Did you know that some of your medical bills can be wrong!! Insurance companies have made medical billing so complicated that no one really knows how to get paid by the insurance, even medicare insurance. If you get a bill from a hospital or doctor the first thing you should do is check your insurance claim to see what they say you owe. Even hospitals seem to send out the bill before the insurance has a chance to process it for payment. Great business practice; get paid twice once by the patient and once by the insurance company. Never pay any medical bill til you know your insurance has received it and paid or processed it and if not paid what was the reason. Many times it is coding errors that cause the rejection. Even Medicare on the phone will explain why the bill was rejected. Your next problem is to get the billing department to understand what Medicare told you was the problem. They will try to get you to call Medicare to fix it. That is not your job. That is the billing department’s job but you have to get someone there to understand that and have them put in a case review in their department. Don’t pay any medical bills until you are sure they are your responsibility and not just a billing error !
Did you know you can get money to buy fruits and vegetables this summer?
Participation in the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program is limited to those senior citizens who are 60 years and older and whose gross income (i.e., income before deductions for income taxes, Social Security taxes, insurance premiums, bonds, etc.) is equal to or less than the income poverty guidelines increased by 185%.
Family Size 1 2
Annual $28953 $39128
Monthly $2413 $326
Call for your application Monmouth 732-431-7450
Have questions on how to stretch your money? Or suggestions to help others? Or to suggest topics that might be of interest to you or others.
Email seniorsaversofacce@gmaol.com or call or text 856-441-2447