A Medicare Primer

Free preventive care services begin in 2011

Understanding Medicare can be quite a task. I’m going to briefly explain the basics, as well as what some of the new changes will mean. Most of this information is from Medicare.gov, which is an excellent, but often overwhelming, resource.

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Getting Help: Part 2

Experience is a huge factor

Once you’ve made the decision to hire someone to help take care of your elder and determined what level of help is required, the next step is to interview applicants. Always consider several candidates for the job. It’s the best way to find a good match. When interviewing prospects, ask the following questions:

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I Have the Power to Withhold Mom’s Medical Treatment

So why can’t I exercise her political voice?

Can I complete my mother’s mail-in ballot, voting as her proxy? While the answer may seem obvious, I wasn’t sure if it was legal or not. I know how she would vote in most cases. For those candidates and issues in doubt, I would not cast a vote. Read More >>

Long-term Care Insurance: Before You Decide to Buy

Understand the pros and cons

Buyers’ biggest motivation for purchasing coverage is to ensure that their estate won’t be depleted for their heirs. If your primary aim is to pass on an inheritance, then buy coverage. If this isn’t one of your estate-planning goals, consider saving your premium money and forgo coverage. Read More >>

Long-term Care Insurance: What Are Your Odds of Needing It?

And remember that unpaid care always involves other costs

The following statistics are from materials prepared by the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: For folks turning 65 in 2005, 79% of women will need long-term care, while 58% of men will need it.  Read More >>

All by Itself, Managing the Money Is a Full-time Job

Lessons learned . . .

I have job, a full-time job. Since I manage two adult day service associations—Washington Adult Day Services Association and National Adult Day Services Association—it sometimes feels like I have two full-time jobs. And I have been managing my mother’s finances and care for about two years, which means I essentially have three jobs. Read More >>

Reduce Medicare Expenditures?

What does the Obama administration intend to cut or eliminate?

I try to read almost all of the articles I come across that focus on pending health care reform and its potential or proposed impact on aging services and long-term care. Almost without exception, the articles I have read discuss how important it is to cut Medicare so that we can afford to pay for health care for the millions who have none. Sounds like the same old saw: old people have an obligation to get out of the way and make room for younger generations. Read More >>

The Government Will Take Everything When Mom Goes into a Nursing Home

Misconception #8 of "The 12 Biggest Misconceptions of Estate Planning Clients"

This statement is untrue, IF you know what you’re doing. All states have Medicaid programs. I emphasize the name only because most of my clients confuse Medicare with Medicaid. They are two completely different government programs—with one exception, which will be covered in my next blog.

Medicaid is a federal- and state-funded program that pays for the costs of more than half of the nation’s nursing home residents. These costs currently average more than $75,000 per year. Positioning yourself to be eligible for this program is a complex endeavor, fraught with pitfalls and “gotchas.” If ever there was a time to hire an attorney, this is it. A competent elder law attorney can advise you on structuring your financial affairs to attain eligibility as fast as possible. Read More >>

Obama Wants to Reduce Entitlements

How will this impact services to old people?

Most people have little interest in budgets and policies that impact services to older adults—until the issue becomes personal. When Mom or Dad needs home care or adult day services or a nursing home, families suddenly sit up and pay attention. And that is a good thing.

Obama is the latest in a long line of politicians who have talked about reducing entitlements—code for reducing Medicaid long-term care and Medicare expenses. I am betting that within the next four years, Americans will see strong efforts to shrink federal dollars that pay for services for older and disabled adults. Read More >>

I Hate Using Medicaid for Mom’s Assisted Living

Some Medicaid bureaucrats and state legislators have it all wrong. The commonly encountered misconception that families sock away the elder’s financial resources and eagerly await eligibility for Medicaid is a misguided perspective at best. More likely, it’s a point of view born of personal inexperience.

I just wrote a check for $6,000 to pay my mother’s February care at the assisted living. The check for February represents the end of Reva’s money. After years of independence, thrift and pride, my mother is broke, flat broke. Read More >>