Wealth Law Blog : Oregon Asset Protection Lawyers & Attorneys : Samuels Yoelin Kantor Seymour & Spinrad Law Firm : OR Estate Planning, Fiduciary Litigation

As a board member for the non-profit Housecall Providers Inc. ("HPI") in Portland, Oregon, I recently had the good fortune to meet with Oregon Senator Ron Wyden when he was meeting with the organization to discuss the Independence at Home Act ("IAH").  

 HPI is living proof how in-home primary care can deflect ever growing medical costs.  As HPI explains, "In-home medical care allows for proactive management of chronic health conditions that would otherwise result in costly emergency care and hospital admissions."  

The federal governement is finally catching up with this non-profit, as IAH launches a new chronic care coordination benefit in a three-year demonstration project for primary in-home care of Medicare beneficiaries who have difficulty getting to and from a physician's office - which HPI has been successfully providing for 18 years.

The statistics evidence the need for such a program when Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic illnesses:

• see an average of 13 different physicians
• fill 50 different prescriptions a year
• account for 76% of all hospital admissions
• account for 88% of all prescriptions filled
• account for 72% of physician visits
• are 100 times more likely to have a preventable hospitalization than someone with no chronic conditions

It will be interesting to see how this new federal program develops.  Hopefully they learn from the efforts of the good people at HPI. 

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ABC News reports on an amazing woman that left her hometown millions, after quietly tucking away her modest wages and making savvy investments.

Creating a lasting legacy through charitable giving is a tremendous accomplishment.  Calling your estate planner and making sure your ducks are in a row is part of that process.  Too often people dread facing their own mortality in properly preparing an estate plan, but it's not nearly as challenging when you find good people to work with.  Take the time to do it right.

As Winston Churchill said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." 

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I had the pleasure of attending a meeting for The Link for Women and Sunny Kobe Cook was the guest speaker.  For those of you that do not know her,  "The Mattress Queen" Sunny Kobe Cook - a secretary with a high school diploma - founded Sleep Country USA with $5,000 in 1991, serving as CEO and company spokesperson for many years, with stores in the US and Canada.  She completely changed the business of how mattresses were sold. 

She then sold it for a gigantic pile of money and never has to work another day in her life, retiring at the ripe old age of 42.  So the woman knows a thing or two about business. 

Here are her three top tips for success, that are definitely worth sharing:

1.     Talk to Everyone.  Chat up people in the elevator.  Talk to people as you wait in line for your coffee.  Have no expectation that you will make any sort of business connection – just talk to people.  The goal is to keep your social muscles exercised by using them repeatedly, so that when you do have to go to that marketing event and work the room or when you do have to speak to someone important, you will feel comfortable.  She says the reason we don’t like to go into a room and talk to people we don’t know is because it’s scary, but the more you do it, the less scary it becomes.  

2.     Do Something New Every Day.  Even if it is something simple like taking a new route to work or buying a different coffee at Starbucks, do one new thing every single day.  We all get stuck in ruts.  We all get to a point where we choose inaction and passivity over change, because – again – it’s a little scary.  By taking a small step in a new direction every single day, when you do have to make a bigger leap, it won’t be that daunting.

3.     Be Grateful.  People do not begrudge others’ success stories, if those with success are grateful.  People want to help those that are grateful.  It is a positive energy that should be routine.  For the last 30 years, before going to sleep, she has identified three things that she is grateful for – and she said that on some days, she was just grateful that the day was over.  She used to write it out, but then she and her husband changed it so that they tell each other and it has become a part of their routine – and as she pointed out, when you are sharing your grateful list with your significant other, you normally include something about them, which is a pretty good way to live as well.  Also, if you end your day with thoughts of gratitude, you will sleep better and awake with a positive mindset. 

It was a terrific presentation and she is a remarkable woman. 

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Conveniently tucked between April Fool's Day and Tax Filing Day is the little heralded "National Be Kind to Lawyers Day."

You can participate in a variety of ways.  A few suggestions from the N.B.K.T.L. website:

• Switch your ring tone to the "dah-dah" sound from NBC's "Law & Order."
• If you accidentally say something wrong or inappropriate on this day, just follow it up with the words, "Strike that from the record."  Then continue talking as if nothing happened. 
• Do some simple repairs around the house with a gavel instead of your trusty hammer.

Here's to hoping this turns into the next best thing to the Fourth of July, including requisite parades, fireworks, and good friends and family gathered around the backyard barbeque. 

Cheers. 

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