Maybe you have to move to a nursing facility or perhaps you need the assistance of a home health aide. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Why? Because, you’re prepared! How? You came to our office to plan. One of the planning strategies is long term care insurance. As an elder care attorney, in Maryland we cannot sell insurance products, like long term care insurance. Consequently, we are completely impartial about these products. Therefore, if you obtained a long term care insurance policy years ago you that your finances are in order. Funding your long term health care doesn’t have to…
Medicare does not pay for long-term care, except for 100 days of rehabilitation in a nursing home. Nursing home care falls primarily to Medicaid, the jointly funded state and federal program. The program now is shouldering 40% of the country's long-term-care spending, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. To be eligible for Medicaid in Maryland, can have no more than $2,500 in cash and investments. (Spouses are allowed to keep a home, a car and up to approximately $110,000.) In the past, regulators looked at any gifts you made up to three years before applying for Medicaid. However, in 2006,…
According to the New York Daily News, the will leaves the entire estate, which is comprised of $8 million in stocks, bonds and cash and $1 million in real estate, to Mr. Rooney's four children, Brian Rooney of Los Angeles, identical twins Emily Rooney of Boston and Martha Fishel of Chevy Chase, MD, and Ellen Rooney of London. Mr. Rooney's wife, Marguerite "Margie" Rooney, died in 2004. They had been married for 62 years. When asked about his father's estate, Brian Rooney said that his father lived "frugally" and "wasn't into fancy estate planning." So based on this statement, apparently…
A settlement has been reached in the dispute over the estate of legendary New York socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor. The settlement gives $100 million to charity and cuts in half the amount going to her son, who was convicted of stealing from her. The Westchester County Surrogate's Court approved the settlement, which ends a civil case between Astor's descendants and the charities she supported in her will. The case centered on whether Astor's assets should be distributed according to her most recent will, executed in 2002, or an earlier version, which gave more money to charity. While the dispute…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched its “National Initiative to Improve Behavioral Health & Reduce the Use of Antipsychotic Medications in Nursing Home Residents." The initiative aims to raise awareness of antipsychotic misuse, improve regulatory oversight and train nursing home workers on non-drug treatments for aggressive and agitated dementia behaviors. When prescribed inappropriately, resident advocates have argued, antipsychotics can increase the risk of death for nursing home residents with dementia. They say increased nursing home staffing levels and extra training, among other measures, can help curb the use of such drugs. Groups such as the American Health Care…
While long-term care insurance can be a good way to pay for a nursing home stay or a home health care worker, it doesn't come cheap. Annual premiums vary significantly, depending on your age, health, and the type of policy, but policies can run as high as $5,000 per year. You do not need to pay that much, however. The following are some ways to reduce your costs. Shorter benefit period. The most significant cost-saving step you can take is to not purchase a lifetime policy. Unless you have a family history of a chronic illness, you aren't likely to…
Some of the largest long-term care (LTC) underwriters are asking state regulators for large increases on some policies this year. The current ultra-low interest rate environment is a key reason for the rate hikes. Low rates have cut sharply into the investment earnings that insurance companies depend upon to fund benefit payouts. Investment returns fund up to 60 percent of the funds used to pay benefits, according to the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance (AALTCI). Another factor is the rising longevity of policyholders, and their tendency to hang on to their policies. Insurers expect a certain percentage of…
A U.S. bankruptcy court finds that a woman who was contractually bound through a nursing home admissions agreement to apply for Medicaid benefits on her husband's behalf and failed to do so cannot discharge the debt owed to the nursing home through bankruptcy. In re Plybon (U.S. Bankr. E.D. Ky., No. 11–10146, March 9, 2012). When Glenna Plybon admitted her husband to a nursing home, she signed an admissions agreement as the responsible party. The agreement stated that Mrs. Plybon was required to pay a co-insurance amount and apply for Medicaid benefits on Mr. Plybon's behalf. Mrs. Plybon applied for…
When facing Alzheimer's disease, it helps to connect with others who relate to your experiences. ALZConnected (alzconnected.org), powered by the Alzheimer's Association, is a new online social networking community where people with Alzheimer's, their caregivers and others affected by the disease can share questions and form new connections. On ALZConnected, you don't have to explain what it means to live with Alzheimer's. The other users know, and are willing to offer their advice and solutions to common challenges. We'll help you to form "connections" with other users, matching you based on common criteria. Tap into a diverse community via our…
Planning for assisted living costs should be at the top of your aging parent’s mind, or your mind. Because nursing home, assisted living, and adult day care costs are constantly increasing. As stated in the MetLife Mature Market Institute’s annual survey the cost of these types of long-term care have increased by 5.6 percent since the previous year. A private room in a nursing home averaged $87,000 a year and adult day programs cost $42,000 a year. Assisted living costs increase as your parents require additional care. Therefore, facilities can charge hundreds more a month for bathing, incontinence care, and…
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