America is aging. As life expectancy continues to increase, so too does the need for nursing home care. The older we get, the more likely it is that we will require around the clock assistance nursing homes are supposed to provide. Some experts estimate that 75% of all Americans age 85 and older will one day need nursing home care. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that 85 plus age group will be over 7 million by 2020 doubling the number of people in nursing homes. That can make a bad situation worse. Nursing homes today are often understaffed and under…
The decision to move a family member into a nursing home is one of the toughest and most difficult decisions you can ever make. Over time, caring for an aging or disabled love one can deplete your energy, time and finances. The legal and financial ramifications can cost you plenty. Your income, assets and financial security can be a serious risk. Stop, before it’s too late. If you and your family are overwhelmed or confused by all the decisions you have to make. If you want to know your individual rights, or this is an urgent matter, please call us…
Fewer than 1-in-5 older adults treated at long-term facilities live beyond five years, according to research published Monday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. And those who do survive often go on to develop cancer or other deadly conditions. Source/more: UPI For a complete list of upcoming seminars, visit our website at www.davidwingate.com. Peace of mind is only a call or click away! For an Initial Consultation call Estate and Elder Planning by David Wingate at (301) 663-9230 or visit www.davidwingate.com David Wingate is an estate planning and elder law attorney at Estate and Elder Planning by…
On the same day, CMS also released a final rule on Long-Term Care Facility Requirements allowing Arbitration Agreements (84 Fed. Reg. 34718). The final arbitration rule reverses the ban on pre-dispute arbitration agreement mandated in the 2016 rules. Permitting pre-dispute arbitration places consumers at a disadvantage during the admission process, usually a time of crisis and great stress for individuals and families; binds them to arbitration for any dispute – whether it be a financial issue or abuse or neglect; and strips consumers of their constitutional right to have their dispute heard by a jury. Asking individuals and their families…
Strong, resident focused regulatory standards are critical to addressing and preventing poor care. The July 18, 2019 issuance by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposing rollbacks to the revised nursing home rules published in 2016 and final rules allowing pre-dispute arbitration are steps in the wrong direction. Proposed Rules: Nursing Facility Requirements CMS states that the goal of the proposed nursing facility rules (81 Fed. Reg. 34737) is to increase provider flexibility and reduce excessively burdensome regulations. The agency believes its proposal balances resident safety and quality of care, with regulatory “relief” for facilities. From Consumer Voice’s…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has published a list of more than 400 poor performing nursing homes that are candidates for federal intervention, six weeks after pledging to make the secret list publicly available following its disclosure last month by Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators. Source/more: Trib Live For a complete list of upcoming seminars, visit our website at www.davidwingate.com. Peace of mind is only a call or click away! For an Initial Consultation call Estate and Elder Planning by David Wingate at (301) 663-9230 or visit www.davidwingate.com David Wingate is an estate planning and elder law attorney at…
The NBC News Investigation looked into a nursing home chain collapse amid allegations of unpaid bills and poor care. “We need to have very strict rules about who is eligible to operate a facility, what the standards are for them, (and) what their financial backgrounds are,” Toby said in the interview. Watch the NBC News segment here. For a complete list of upcoming seminars, visit our website at www.davidwingate.com. Peace of mind is only a call or click away! For an Initial Consultation call Estate and Elder Planning by David Wingate at (301) 663-9230 or visit www.davidwingate.com David Wingate…
On July 18, 2019, The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) and three nursing home residents who sued California for ignoring their own administrative orders. The residents’ nursing homes dumped them in hospitals and then illegally refused readmission. Each of the residents successfully appealed the eviction and received a State order for readmission, but the residents were not readmitted. The nursing homes ignored the order, and the State did not enforce it. The Ninth Circuit found that California cannot provide “meaningless show trials that allow nursing homes to persist in improper”…
The Trump administration on Tuesday released a final rule banning nursing homes from requiring residents to sign binding arbitration agreements as a condition for admission. Full Story For a complete list of upcoming seminars, visit our website at www.davidwingate.com. Peace of mind is only a call or click away! For an Initial Consultation call Estate and Elder Planning by David Wingate at (301) 663-9230 or visit www.davidwingate.com David Wingate is an estate planning and elder law attorney at Estate and Elder Planning by David Wingate. The Estate and Elder Planning office services clients with powers of attorneys, living wills,…
On April 25, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on fiscal year 2020 payment and policy changes for Medicare-certified skilled nursing facilities. Source/more: Center for Medicare Advocacy Access the proposed rule Comment on the proposed rule For a complete list of upcoming seminars, visit our website at www.davidwingate.com. Peace of mind is only a call or click away! For an Initial Consultation call Estate and Elder Planning by David Wingate at (301) 663-9230 or visit www.davidwingate.com David Wingate is an estate planning and elder law attorney at Estate and…
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