The Supplemental Security Income program, known as SSI, is a federally administered program. Unlike Medicare or Medicaid, SSI is a federal welfare program that pays monthly cash benefits to individuals who fall within 1 of 3 categories: Aged - over…
Last Wednesday, March 30, 2016, we were inspired by Dr. Susan Farella-Busch’s most thoughtful discussion on “life with dementia.” You could hear a pin drop in the room of over 70 health care professionals at our Round Table Luncheon at…
Oftentimes when creating an estate plan, it is requested that a family member or friend be disinherited. There are many reasons why one would chose to disinherit someone: Perhaps the person creating the estate plan has already provided the family…
Caring for a loved one at the end of his or her life is both a duty and a privilege. Hospice is a type of care for individuals who have 6 months or less to live. Instead of trying to…
The federal government recently addressed a very expensive glitch in the systematic treatment of patients in hospitals throughout the country, which mandates that hospitals provide notice as to a patient’s observation status.
As we discussed in our blog post on May 31, 2013, “Status Does Matter: Observation v. Admission”, there is a big problem that many Medicare recipients have been facing: patients are footing the bill. The problem is that patients are footing the bill for rehabilitation services in a skilled nursing facility when they are under the impression that these services are covered by Medicare. At the heart of the problem is that the hospital never actually admitted the patient, and coded them with a status of “under observation.”
Hospitals will soon be required to provide information to caregivers about their loved one’s discharge and instructions for administering medical aftercare.
Thanks to the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act, patients in New York hospitals will be allowed to designate a caregiver in their medical record. Once the caregiver is designated, the hospital is required to inform the caregiver when the patient is to be discharged and provide the caregiver with education and instruction of the medical tasks the caregiver will need to perform for the patient at home.
Often times when clients make an appointment with our law firm, they have a very specific estate planning concern or issue. They may have a particular focus in mind, such as updating a will or avoiding probate. With a plethora of details to consider, it is often challenging for individuals to adequately address all aspects of their personal “big picture”, i.e. their complete estate.
For most seniors, obtaining Medicaid to pay for nursing home care is a must. Very few people can afford to pay privately for extended long-term care, which is not covered by Medicare.
The nursing home may provide you with a list of attorneys to assist with the filing of a Medicaid application. It is suggested that you obtain three attorney references in writing.
A key question for the family to ask is: Do any of the attorneys on the list currently represent the nursing home?
Are you and your family prepared for the unexpected? In the event of a sudden illness or injury, advanced directives can save you and your family time, money, and emotional distress.
The three advanced directives everyone should consider are health care proxies, living wills, and powers of attorney, yet these precautions are often overlooked by married couples.
This year I have had the pleasure of working with a married couple who suffered an unforeseen and life-changing event: the wife suffered a debilitating stroke while undergoing a simple medical procedure, and she needed the type of care that is only available in nursing homes.
Henry Montag, CFP, CLTC, is a guest author for the Russo Law Group P.C. blog.
Do you want to establish a trust? There are many different reasons people do so:
While there are many factors for an individual or family to consider the benefits of establishing a trust, it is equally important that grantor’s/parents review the trusts they have chosen and make certain that the trustees are knowledgeable about their duties and are continuously still operating in the beneficiary’s best interest.