Millennium CARES FUND
Employee Assistance Policy
Millennium CARES Fund, Inc. (the "Fund'') will expend a portion of its charitable grants to provide monetary support to employees, families and patients of Millennium Physician Group / Millennium Healthcare Management Services, LLC and its affiliated subsidiaries ("Millennium”) who have experienced losses related to hardship. The Fund's primary focus is responding to emergency needs in order for its employees, families and patients to meet basic living necessities and to support their immediate needs. The Fund seeks to provide financial assistance to address uninsured needs not covered by other government programs.
The Fund is supported by contributions from employees and others wishing to assist during financial hardship, as well as discretionary contributions from time to time by Millennium. The Fund will also make grants to the general public and to organizations that are assisting with disaster relief, and will be supported by fundraising.
Eligibility
All active, regular employees, family members or patients impacted by hardship are eligible to apply for assistance from the Fund regardless of how long they have been employed. However, Millennium executives or those considered highly compensated are not permitted to apply or receive a grant hereunder.
In order to receive grants from the Fund, employees, families & patients must be in need of immediate assistance for basic living necessities in connection with a hardship not otherwise covered by insurance or community programs.
Determination of Need
The Fund will rely on an independent selection committee made up of non-management employees to assess an applicant’s "need" in an objective, non-discriminatory fashion after full consideration of the circumstances particular to the employee experiencing the hardship. The independent selection committee will determine if the employee, family member or patient's situation is of such a magnitude or severity that it is unlikely that the employee has sufficient resources to satisfy basic needs without assistance.
Hardships Covered by The Fund
Employees may apply for financial assistance in connection with hardship related to or arising out of one of the following:
- Loss and or damage caused by a natural disaster (hurricane, fire) to a home or automobile;
- Medical expenses related to a hardship;
- • Death in the immediate family related to a natural disaster (defined as parents, including mother and father-in-law, and children).
The Fund may consider awarding financial assistance to applicants experiencing other forms of hardship on a case-by-case basis.
Grant Awards
Financial assistance will be awarded according to the available funds in the account and the need of the employee, family member or patient. The amount of the grant will be at the sole discretion of the selection committee following careful consideration of the employee's circumstances and total available funds.
Assistance provided by the Fund will generally be administered by checks payable to the employee from the Fund. These awards are generally non-taxable.
Limitations
The Fund will not provide monetary support for employees, family members, or patients experiencing financial hardship in connection with or arising out of the following situations:
- Indebtedness caused by an employee's financial mismanagement;
- Vacation expenses or voluntary leaves of absence from work;
- Income tax liability;
- Cosmetic surgery, including dental and eye procedures;
- Attorney fees;
- Divorce, marriage or adoption fees;
- Insured losses or payment of insurance premiums;
- Phone bills or cable TV fees;
- Utility expenses;
- Normal health maintenance costs
- Car maintenance or payments; or
- Any other expense covered by other means.
Selection Criteria
The Fund shall prioritize applications based upon the following criteria:
- Applicants who have or had water in their home as a result of a hurricane
- Applicants with no permanent housing or in danger of losing permanent shelter
- Applicants who lack the financial resources to provide basic living necessities such as food and clothing
- Applicants who are temporarily not self-sufficient as a result of a natural disaster
- Applicants who have incurred sudden extraordinary medical expenses due to a hardship caused by a natural disaster
- Applicants who suffered the loss of a family member due to a natural disaster
Proof and Documentation Required in Application
In order to receive emergency assistance from the Fund in an amount of $500 or less any required documentation is minimal.
In order to receive assistance from the Fund in an amount greater than $500, documentation must be provided that the emergency situation has caused the financial hardship that cannot be covered by their income. In considering financial need, the Fund shall consider evidence of employees', family or patient’s financial condition such as photos of their home, auto damage, medical information, death notices, and anticipated cash flow issues. This information will be considered to determine whether personal resources are insufficient to provide for payment of existing obligations and meeting basic living requirements (food, housing, clothing, medical care, transportation, household repairs or other similar necessities). The Fund may request documentation of all income and all expenses, as well as a written, signed explanation of how the hardship has impacted household finances. The Fund will work with employees who have lost needed documentation during a natural disaster.
Required documentation may include:
Documentation of the employee's household's total monthly income including spouse's income (if applicable), including copies of:
Last two paystubs, if not in company payroll system
Official documentation of related incidents which has caused financial hardship, including (if applicable):
- Health care provider bills
- Home and or auto estimate on repairs
- Physician's statement (including dates when unable to work)
- Co-pays for doctor’s visits and prescription drugs
- Police report
- Death certificate
- Eviction notice or
- Notice of utilities cut off.
Application Process
The application form must be completed. The completed application and requested documentation will be submitted to the Fund for review.
Under circumstances where the employee, family member or patient is incapacitated and unable to apply personally, a representative of the employee (such as a spouse, child, parent, or friend of the family) may submit an application on behalf of the employee.
Contributions
Contributions may take the form of check, credit card, cash designated to the fund, wired funds or online donation options. Checks must be made payable to the Fund. Contributions to the Fund may not be earmarked for a specific individual.
Millennium may, at management's discretion, contribute to the Fund and/or may set a prescribed amount of matching contributions.
Privacy
The privacy of employees requesting assistance from the Fund will be maintained to the extent practicable.
Disclaimer
The Fund is separate, independent, and apart from Millennium. The Fund is not owned by Millennium. Millennium, its officers, employees, and agents disclaim all liability for any obligation or liability of the Fund. The failure of the Fund to observe any formalities or requirements relating to the exercise of its powers or management of its business or affairs shall not be grounds for imposing liability on Millennium and its officers, employees, and agents.
By making a contribution to the Fund, a contributor acknowledges and accepts the foregoing pro
visions governing the Fund.
It is intended that the Millennium’s operation of the Fund will at all times comply with all applicable laws, standards, rules and regulations of those federal, state, and local agencies having jurisdiction over its operations. There is no obligation of any employee, family member of patient who receives compensation from the Fund to refer patients or other healthcare items or services to Millennium or any affiliate of Millennium, and referrals of patients or other healthcare items and services will never be considered when making a determination regarding eligibility to receive payment from the Fund.
- Also, if Millennium will seek outside donations, including form vendors or providers that receive referrals from Millennium, some addition language may need to be added to the policy in this regard to prevent the perceived or actual payment from outside providers for referrals. Also considering referencing any Millennium existing policy on gifts and gratuities from vendors or referral sources.