FREE health checkup?

Is your health provider right for you?
qualitycheck.org/
provides review of health services in your area. Quality rating gives you some
idea of how your provider is servicing customers. This check should be part of
your research on where to get the best care. Members use our Guide to buying health insurance to compare services and benefits. amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp

How long ago did you have a FREE health checkup?
One of the benefits of exploring life insurance is that the insurer pays for
comprehensive health testing. Blood and urine are tested for a broad range of
issues. Even if you don’t buy insurance, the tests will tell you if there is a
problem. In 1991, NBA All-Star Earvin "Magic" Johnson was diagnosed
with HIV after a routine life insurance examination. Dr. Joan Schaefer, chief
medical officer of Nebraska's Health and Human Services System, learned she was in the early stages of a rare developmental liver disease called congenital hepatic fibrosis due to the lab
results of a simple life insurance medical exam. At the time of the discovery,
she had otherwise believed she was healthy and was in the middle of training
for a marathon. "An examiner may find an abnormal reading on an
electrocardiogram or their blood pressure is extremely high or low and they
realize something has happened and encourage the person to contact a medical
professional saving the applicant from a significant episode or serious medical
condition. This may not be publicly recognized, but it is a reality and it does
uncover significant illnesses that do save peoples lives." In most states,
you can obtain a copy of the results FREE. http://www.lifequotes.com/articles/lifeinsurance/how-a-life-insurance-examination-can-save-your-life/


Have you been cheated by a business?
The Federal Trade Commission, the nation's consumer protection agency, collects complaints about companies, business practices, identity theft, and episodes of violence in the media. FTC is supposed to resolve complaints using the form at http://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/

FCC adopted changes to its telemarketing rules that:
-- Require telemarketers to obtain prior written consent before placing robo-calls to consumers,
-- Eliminate the exemption for companies that have an "established business relationship" with consumers,
-- Require telemarketers to provide an automated, interactive opt-out mechanism
during each robocall so consumers can immediately tell the telemarketer to stop
calling and
-- Strictly limit the number of so-called dead-air calls in which consumers
answer phones and hear nothing.
If you want to complain, first step is register your number
on the DO NOT CALL list https://www.donotcall.gov/register/reg.aspx.
Second, complain if you know the caller’s number or name. https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
Unfortunately, Congress has not banned its own calls so turn
off your phone in November.
I give them my warning: “You are being contacted by my
attorney because I have not authorized you to call me on this recorded line.
The fine is $16,000 per call. Please stay on the line for two minutes so he can
trace this call to your home. Have nice day.”

Do you know where your tax refund is?
Check your fed and state refund. http://www.efile.com/tax-refund/where-is-my-refund/
Some states have data online. You need to know when you
efiled or mailed them. Some states are set up to receive your state return like
your fed from the efile company you used. Some do not have a database yet. If
you are having both refunds directly deposited, you can check your bank online
or by phone. It takes 1 to 3 weeks depending on when you filed. IRS only runs the refund program on Tuesdays: Efile by 2/22 then your bank will have it Wednesday 2/29. It takes a couple of days to mail it so you will see it when the PO delivers.
Members try to limit the refund since there is no point in giving Congress more money than we have to. They will just give it to some ‘worthy’ cause like swine waste management in North
Carolina. http://endingspending.com/fixing-the-budget/earmarks/map-2011/#state:NC


Is a Stand-Alone Living Benefits (SALB) account right for you?
This product offersa guaranteed stream of income without purchasing a traditional annuity. The
product acts like an insurance policy on an investment account, with income
benefits kicking in if the account is depleted during the insured’s lifetime. You
give cash to an investment account connected to an insurer and thus is eligible
for coverage by SALB. The SALB provide a 4 percent to 8 percent lifetime income
guarantee, calculated over the Retirement Income Base–essentially the account
value–in place when the SALB are purchased. Fees associated with SALB range
from .75% to 2%, in addition to advisory fees of the underlying account. This
puts SALB in the 3-4% range just like annuities. It is offered only by insurance companies so it really is an variable annuity but not in name. Annuities have a bad rep so they just changed
the name. Members use cheaper alternatives: Do Not Buy That Annuity: Create
a Guaranteed Income plus Build your Wealth Reserve https://www.createspace.com/3716857

Do you have all your tax documents?
IRS thinks everyone should have all their forms by Feb but
many employers and security firms are late sending them. There is no fine so ….
Before you do your taxes, either yourself or with someone, check last year’s return to see if you have what you had last year.
You can also use the checklist at major prep firms: http://www.jacksonhewitt.com/Do-your-Taxes-In-Office/What-to-Bring/
http://www.hrblock.com/taxes/tax_tips/tax_planning/tax_checklist.html
If you want to pay for it, don’t forget to bring a coupon!
Each accepts the others:
http://www.jacksonhewitt.com/index-in-office-savings.aspx
http://www.retailmenot.com/view/hrblock.com
http://aiprx.libertytax.com/?teng=go&geng=taxprepcoupon&aeng=a9&keng=coupons%20tax%20preparation&meng=b


Are mini-med plans for you?
Consumer Reports found the mini-med plans offer little coverage. They are the only affordable
policies out there. You will be out of luck should you become seriously ill
under mini-med plans, which are also offered to the unemployed via television
and Internet ads.
Judith Goss, 48, of Macomb, Mich.,said the Cigna plan she gets through her job at the Talbots retail chain was "some type of insurance that would cover something." "I was aware that it wasn't a great plan, but I wasn't concerned because I wasn't sick," Goss told Consumer Reports.
When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2011 she found her policy's annual limits of
$1,000 a year for out-patient treatment and $2,000 for hospitalization would not come close to paying the $30,000 hospital bill she was told to expect. She delayed treatment. "It was 3 centimeters when they found it and 9 centimeters when they took it out," Goss said.
In 2014 the low-wage workers will be able to obtain comprehensive subsidized healthcare coverage on their own or qualify for Medicaid, Consumer Reports said.

Are you using your gut or your head for financial decisions?
Personal Finance for Smarties Not Dummies: Use your brains not your guts for financial decisions
Make sure your taking all the discounts you can for your insurance, 401k, banking, and all your needs. 204 pages provide savings of $3,000 a year or more. amazon.com/Personal-Finance-Smarties-Not-Dummies/dp/

Obama wants to lower corporate tax rate to 28% -- Surprise, GOP not pleased!
Obama would pay for the reduction by eliminating "dozens" of special tax breaks. There are currently more than 130 on the books. Republicans want to lower the corporate rate even further to 25% AND keep the breaks for big corporations like GE and Facebook. They got refunds from us. Most of the largest corporations end up with effective tax rates far below 35%. Indeed, in many cases, they may pay far less than 25%. Most pay ZERO! The administration said a 28% U.S.
corporate tax rate would be in line with the average rate among other advanced economies. Obama would like to discourage companies from moving their assets abroad and parking their profits there for years on end. Global corporations that pay tax to other countries not US rely on US military if their assets are attacked, employees kidnapped, need protection from terrorists, etc, etc. However, they don’t pay taxes for the services, we do. WORSE: GE, Facebook others got
refunds from us. http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/14/news/economy/corporate_tax_reform/index.htm?source=yahoo_hosted


SCAMS
Which tax plan do you prefer?
If elected, here are the candidates’ plans: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/election-2012-candidates-tax-plans-;assuming they can get Congress to go along. On second thought, forget these changes. !??!#^&

Congress gives itself fat pension checks – cuts militarysupport
Members of Congress will get more lucrative pensions than new federal employees under a little-known provision in the bill that extends payroll tax relief and unemployment insurance. Congress hides better pension in a tax cut that can’t fail to pass. And everyone else gets to pay for it. They have no shame. Why would they want to let their voters know?

Keystone pipeline another political wedge issue? Canada wants to raise price eventually.
1/3 of its oil would be exported from US. It creates only 20 permanent jobs and lowers price 3 cents only.
http://www.businessweek.com/top-news/the-questionable-economics-of-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-02172012.html

Why are we paying the legal bills and bonuses of execs that sunk Freddie/Fannie?
Tax payers are paying lawyers to fight legal action against the same guys who helped kill mortgage business. Execs from Countrywide and Washington Mutual got off with fines
– amounts less than their last paychecks. We did not even HAVE to pay the legal bills since the execs drove the firms into the ground. ttp://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/02/23/taxpayers-foot-legal-bills-for-fannie-and-freddie-execs/
What is wrong with this picture?

IAN
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Montclair,
NJ 07042
973.746.2014
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