Image Courtesy of Pixomar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Music-based exercise programs may help Seniors improve balance and reduce frequency of falls, according to a report online that is expected to be published March 28, in Archives of Internal Medicine. Read the Senior Journal article which references the report here. The study was organized by University Hospitals, and […]
Physicians and social media: AMA weighs in
Recently, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a policy aimed at educating physicians on the use of social media. Many industries use social media to gain attention, but the AMA is taking steps so that the integrity of the medical profession remains intact, and so that the patient-physician relationship is not undermined. The AMA issued […]
Bride-to-be paralyzed after prank gone wrong: Forced to choose marriage or Medicaid
Although this tragic story does not involve “elder law” per se, it does highlight the strict eligibility rules that Medicaid recipients must adhere to. Moreover, it perhaps calls into question some of the policies that may bring about unintended restraints. In this case, tragically the restriction is the ability to get married. In just an […]
Power to the Patients! New Rules Forbid Discrimination in Medicare Facilities
Patient advocates have commented by the thousands in an effort to end any real or perceived discrimination. In April, 2010, President Obama echoed these pleas…as of this week, new rules have been established and will go into full effect very soon. In a press release released yesterday by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]
How New Health Information Technology Will Save Money and Lives
Why is it that our most sensitive, personal data is often in an unorganized state of disarray? Most of us probably could more quickly pull a given DVD or book from our collections than proffer to a doctor a condition or illness we may have suffered 1, 2, 5, or 10 years ago! The electronic […]
Elder Abuse: A Crime Against the Disadvantaged
Abuse can come in many forms, and can affect a variety of individuals. Whether it be a child, nursing home resident, or incapacitated person – there is a common thread in most cases. Usually, the abused is a disadvantaged person in that they have some physical, emotional, or cognitive disability. In the case of children, […]
A Mixed Bag in Virginia: Federal Law Prohibits 2011 Social Security Increases, but Federal Agency Grants Millions to Disadvantaged Groups
As Halloween approaches this year, I can’t help but draw an analogy between the nights I spent meandering my neighborhood as a kid looking for handouts, and our current economic times. I recall my grade-school friends and I operating our minds at their collective capacities, as we planned the best streets to target and the best […]
Personal Invitation to Godspell
To My Friends and Clients in the Northern Virginia area: If you’re a fan of the musical “Godspell,” I would like to invite you and your friends and family to attend a wonderful local youth production this weekend of this much-beloved classic Broadway show. Based on the Gospel of Matthew, the show combines comedy, drama, dance and […]
Reverse Mortgage Rules Changing Again
I’ve written several times over the years on the topic of Reverse Mortgages. My first article explained the concept and requirements of a Reverse Mortgage and how seniors can use a reverse mortgage. My second article, entitled Using a Reverse Mortgage to Pay for Home Care, explained how the Reverse Mortgage can be used as a tool […]
Be Prepared
In my last blog post, I mentioned I’d be spending a week and a half working as a member of the archery staff at the BSA National Scout Jamboree, helping the Boy Scouts of America celebrate its 100th Anniversary. Well, I’m happy to report that I made it back to work last week, safe and sound despite having […]
Happy 4th of July!
I hope everyone has had a wonderful 4th of July Celebration with family and friends. I have not written for quite a while because I’ve been swamped — both with work (helping so many elder law and estate planning clients that we’ve had to bring in 3 new staff members this summer) and with summer activities that […]
Huge Problem with Reverse Mortgage Industry
I have always praised the use of Reverse Mortgages as a way for seniors to pay for Home Care so they don’t need to leave their home and move into a long-term care facility. See, for example, my January 30th, 2010 blog posting on this subject at: http://blog.virginiaelderlaw.com/2010/01/using-reverse-mortgages-to-pay-for-home-care/ Now I’m Troubled. Unfortunately, I must now retract my […]
Survey Shows Some Nursing Homes May Bill For Services Not Provided
A recent Washington Post article concludes that many nursing homes have been “up-coding” billing for care of residents for years, meaning that some nursing homes sometimes bill a resident more than they should be billed by using a special billing category intended to be used only for the five percent of nursing home patients who need highly […]
Health Reform: Changes in Store for the Elderly
After a year of legislative wrangling and premature forecasts of death, historic legislation overhauling the nation’s health insurance system passed the Congress and has been signed into law by President Obama. Among some of the highlights, this legislation contains: The nation’s first publicly funded national long-term care insurance program, the Community Living Assistance Services and […]
New Medical Conditions — Including Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease — Now Qualify for Automatic Disability Benefits
Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits are paid to individuals who, after having worked for many years, develop a disabling condition, prior to their normal retirement age, that is so severe that they are no longer able to work. Applicants for Social Security disability benefits often have to wait months, and sometimes years, for approval from the government, […]
How to Make the Best Nursing Home Placement for Your Loved One
Most nursing home admissions happen under extremely stressful circumstances. If you are faced with the overwhelming task of finding the best nursing home placement for a loved one, where do you begin? Although this is a job that no one wants, it can be done with forethought and confidence that the best decision was made for everyone involved.
Upcoming Seminars for Lawyers and Clients
I’m conducting two seminars this week on the topic of Income Only Trusts. The first one is a teleseminar for attorneys around the country who are members of the professional group ElderLawAnswers. Entitled Using Income Only Trusts for Medicaid (and General) Asset Protection, this teleseminar is Thursday, Feb. 11, at 2pm Eastern. If you’re a member of ElderLawAnswers, you […]
Using a Reverse Mortgage to Pay for Home Care
Many of my clients ask me how I feel about reverse mortgages, and even more so this past week because of a favorable story that appeared in last week’s Washington Post entitled “Reverse Mortgages are Not the Next Subprime.” This excellent article was written by the “Mortgage Professor,” a Professor of Finance Emeritus at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (incdientally, my Alma Mater), and clears up much of the confusion and myths and fears surrounding the reverse mortgage. I encourage all of you to read it.
Important Elder Law and Estate Planning Numbers for 2010
Under current law, there will be no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in Social Security in 2010 — the first time that has happened since automatic cost-of-living adjustments began in 1975. Several bills before Congress would grant a special increase in Social Security payments for 2010. In addition, when no Social Security COLA is provided, Medicare Part […]
Who Was Supposed To Be Watching Grandma?
There is a popular tune played this time of year called “Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer” which relates that Grandma — after drinking too much eggnog — went out into the winter cold to get her medication and was run over by a reindeer. The question is . . . “Who was supposed […]