CHECKLIST UTILITY CONSUMERS

CHECKLIST OF KEY PROTECTIONS FOR UTILITY CONSUMERS

1. SERIOUS ILLNESS: ALWAYS ask your client if there is ANY person in the household (adult or child) who has a serious illness. Utilities cannot shut off (and must restore) utility service if anyone in the house has a serious illness. An illness can be physical (pneumonia, etc.) or mental (depression, bipolar, ADHD), short-term (e.g., flu) or long-term (cancer). The utility company does NOT get to decide what is a serious illness. All you need is a letter from a doctor. A phone call from the doctor to the company is initially ok, if later followed by a letter. We should expect and demand that utility service be restored the same day (at worst, the next day) whenever we document a serious illness, by phone, fax or letter from a doctor. You will also need to document that the client has a “financial hardship” in paying bills. The regulations are 220 CMR 25.03 (see #8 below). Any client who receives LIHEAP (fuel assistance) is automatically presumed to have a financial hardship.

3. CHILD UNDER 12 MONTHS: ALWAYS ask if there is a child under the age of 12 months in the household. A utility company cannot terminate service if there is a young child in the home, and must restore service that has been terminated if the child was in the home at or prior to the time of termination. The child’s age can be documented by birth certificate, baptismal certificate, or any other reasonable means. “Financial hardship” must also be shown. 220 CMR 25.03 (see #8 below).

4. WINTER MORATORIUM: Utilities cannot terminate service that is heat-related (meaning: natural gas service, if used to heat the home; or electricity, if the tenant pays for heat because electricity is needed for furnace/boiler controls) between Nov. 15 and Mar. 15, if the household has a “financial hardship.” These dates are often extended to April 15 or April 30. 220 CMR 25.03 (see #8 below).

5. ELDERLY CLIENTS: If every person in the household is age 65 or over, the company needs the explicit approval of the DPU to terminate service, which is almost never granted. ALWAYS notify the company if everyone in the household is age 65 or over. If service has been terminated, it should be restored. 220 CMR 25.03 (see #8 below).

6. DISCOUNT RATES: ALWAYS determine if your client is on the low-income discount rate. However, many clients will not know. When in doubt, call the company to see if your client is on the rate. It’s very easy for the company to check. Many advocates have been able to get their clients on the rate retroactively to the date that the client became income eligible. This can be extremely helpful if the client has been terminated and owes a large amount because a retroactive adjustment will reduce or eliminate the arrearage. However, get advice from NCLC if you are trying to do this. Discount rates are mandated by law, and all companies have them. Clients on LIHEAP and with income at or below 200% of poverty are eligible for the discount and will usually get the discount automatically via the fuel assistance agency notifying the utility (but worth checking). Clients on TAFDC, Food Stamps, Mass Health, WIC, and other income-tested programs with income at or below 200% of poverty are also eligible, but may have to apply to the utility directly; some of these are being automatically enrolled as of 2005. Some of the companies post their discount rate applications on the web).

7. PAYMENT PLANS: ALL clients are entitled to PAYMENT PLANS. This allows a client who is behind on her bills to spread the payments over several months. If the client has NOT yet been terminated, the company MUST offer a payment plan of AT LEAST four months. Some payment plans go 12 months or longer. If the client has been terminated, the rules are not as favorable, and are strictest during the fall (because the winter moratorium is about to begin and companies are most aggressive in trying to shut off service). ALWAYS insist on a payment plan that your client can afford. 220 CMR 25.01(2), 25.02(6).

8. GO TO http://www.mass.gov/Eoca/docs/dte/cmr/220cmr2500.pdf AND BOOKMARK THIS PAGE. (If you don't know how to bookmark, ask someone in your office). This page includes the most relevant state regulations governing the billing and termination practices of utility companies. In this Checklist, the regulations are referred to as “220 CMR, (section #)” because these regulations are found in Title 220 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations.

9. If you have trouble getting a utility to comply with any of the protections or programs described above, call the DPU’s Consumer Division at 800 392-6066. The front-line phone representative should intervene on your client’s behalf. If not, ask to speak to his or her supervisor. Ultimately, you can speak to Karen Robinson, Director of the Consumer Division. If you need to take the complaint this far, contact Charlie Harak (see below).



Charles Harak, Esq.
National Consumer Law Center
77 Summer Street, 10th flr.
Boston, MA 02110-1006
617 542-8010 (voice)
617 542-8028 (fax)
charak@nclc.org

Old man McCain

view of democratic party?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages

Fannie and Freddie of effectively buying off activist groups by making charitable contributions to them. By providing much-needed grant money to the nonprofit groups, it made it hard for them to criticize the mortgage titans, said Jonathan GS Koppell, an associate professor at the Yale School of Management

Malden Government registered voters

GOVERNMENT

Municipal Offices
Main Number: (781) 397-7116
Telephone Numbers for Public Information

Form of Government
Mayor-Council
Year Incorporated
As a town: 1649
As a city: 1882
Registered Voters (Secretary of State 1994)

Number %
Total Registered 25,319


Democrats 12,853 50.8 %
Republicans 1,793 7.1 %
Other parties 2 0.0 %
Unenrolled Voters 10,671 42.1 %
Legislators
Senators and Representatives by City and Town

Firing bad teachers

Firing bad teachers may seem like a rather obvious solution, but it requires some gumption to take on a teachers union. And cleaning house isn't necessarily the only answer. There are three basic ways to improve a school's faculty: take greater care in selecting good teachers upfront, throw out the bad ones who are already teaching, and provide training to make current teachers better. In theory, the first two should have more or less the same effect, and it might seem preferable to focus on never hiring unpromising instructors—once entrenched, it's nearly impossible in most places to remove teachers from their union-protected jobs. But that's assuming we're good at predicting who will teach well in the first place.

Caring for America Elders‏
From: Howard McGowan (maldensenior@gmail.com)
Sent: Wed 4/16/08 7:51 PM
To: Malden asst to Mayor Debbie Burke (dburke@cityofmalden.org); Pam Edwards (topamedwards@hotmail.com)
Cc: Hcmgowan@hotmail.com

I hope you have looked over the Geriatric Center material that I left with you. This information plus a worksheet have been furnished to all the City Councilors (Now they don't need to "be in the dark" need more information etc.
When I was at the Statehouse for "Senior Action Day{ I was able to talk to M Festa the Secretary of Elder Affairs after he informed the assembled that he was funnelling money directly to the council on aging for general support of the Senior Centers and a travel program for Seniors. I invited him to the Senior Center when it opens to let him know we are getting the church ready. I cleared it with Chis DePietro on return
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE THE MAYOR as soon as the dust clears on the city hall issue. MSAC have some Senior issues to discuss regarding the Senior Center and their concerns. Hope we have your support!
We need better service from the non-profits charged with serving Malden
Here is what is happening on the national level.:
1. Sen. Boxer Introduces Health and Long-Term Care Workforce Bill
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced S. 2708, the Caring for an Aging America Act, on March 5. The bill would address the emerging gap between the increasing number of older Americans and the serious lack of providers trained in caring for their medical, health, and social support needs. NCOA supports the proposal.
The bill would provide $130 million over five years to recruit and retain trained healthcare professionals and direct-care workers by providing them with loan forgiveness and career advancement opportunities. Specifically, the legislation would:
• Establish a Geriatric and Gerontology Loan Repayment Program for health professionals who complete specialty training in geriatrics or gerontology and agree to provide full-time clinical practice and service to older adults for a minimum of two years.
• Expand eligibility for the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program to include registered nurses who complete specialty training and provide nursing services to older adults in long-term care settings.
• Offer specialty training in long-term care services through the existing Career Ladders Grants Program.
• Create a Health and Long-Term Care Workforce Advisory Panel for an Aging America to identify incentives for recruitment and retention of new populations of clinicians and providers to serve vulnerable older adults

Howard McGowan
349 Pleasant Street
Malden Ma 02148
781 324 8076

Masachusetts Health Care Reform Act

Health Care Access and Affordability
Conference Committee Report
Summary:
This Conference Committee Report contains a comprehensive plan for increasing
health insurance coverage for all residents of Massachusetts. This bill is a bridge
between principles in the House and Senate bills, H 4479 and S 2282. The bill
would redeploy current public funds to more effectively cover currently uninsured
low-income populations, and would make quality health coverage more affordable
for all residents of the Commonwealth. The bill promotes individual
responsibility by creating a requirement that everyone who can afford health
insurance obtain it, while also responding to concerns about barriers to health care
access. Provisions in the bill aim at achieving nearly universal health insurance
coverage, but also maintain a strong safety net that has historically distinguished
the state. Finally, the bill would ensure that the Massachusetts Medicaid program
complies with the terms of the new federal waiver, maintaining continued receipt
of annual payments from the federal Medicaid program.
A) Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector
The bill creates the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector, to connect
individuals and small businesses with health insurance products. The Connector
certifies and offers products of high value and good quality. Individuals who are
employed are able to purchase insurance using pre-tax dollars. The Connector
allows for portability of insurance as individuals move from job to job, and
permits more than one employer to contribute to an employee’s health insurance
premium. The Connector is to be operated as an authority under the Department of
Administration and Finance and overseen by a separate, appointed Board of
private and public representatives.
B) Insurance Market Reforms
The bill merges the non- and small-group markets in July 2007, a provision that
will produce an estimated drop of 24% in non-group premium costs. An actuarial
study of the merging of the two insurance markets will be completed before the
merger to assist insurers in planning for the transition. The bill also enables
HMOs to offer coverage plans that are linked to Health Savings Accounts,
reducing costs for those who enroll in such plans. Young adults will be able to
stay on their parents’ insurance plans for two years past the loss of their dependent
status, or until they turn 25 (whichever occurs first), and 19-26 year-olds will be
eligible for lower-cost, specially designed products offered through the Connector