Family Comes First 2010 Fall Season

The moment has arrived.....

The Fall 2010 Season of Family Comes First™ Exclusively on Telecare TV

Cablevision, Channel 29 and 137 / Verizon FiOS TV, Channel 296

Family Comes First 2010 Fall Season

The moment has arrived.....
The Fall 2010 Season of Family Comes First™ Exclusively on Telecare TV
Cablevision, Channel 29 and 137 / Verizon FiOS TV, Channel 296

A Break Thru - On Reverse Mortgages

Seniors want to live at home and independently and why not? In our experience, the most important and valuable asset is one's home. So, how does one protect the home while also accessing Medicaid for long term care and a Reverse Mortgage for living expenses?

Ask The Expert

Thanks to Lynn Brenner of Newsday for her column, Ask the Expert. On November 5, 2010, she responded to a question regarding how to protect mom's home if mom needs Medicaid nursing home care. The daughter informed Ms. Brenner that her mother is 93 years of age, in failing health and her daughter has lived in mom's house since 1995.

Medicaid Home Care - NYC

It has come to our attention that CASA has begun requiring that applicant's applying for community Medicaid coverage need to complete a Resource Verification Attestation form. This form requires that the applicant/representative check off the type of coverage that is being requested.

Medicaid Approved

With DRA, there were significant concerns regarding the Medicaid transfer penalty. Immediately, we focused on exempt transfers and in particular, transfers made for full consideration.

In a recent case in our office, we had a senior ("Mom") seeking Medicaid nursing home care. Mom's daughter had paid for her mother's home repairs and furnishings, medical equipment and medical supplies prior to entering the nursing home. The daughter had used credit cards to pay for these expenses and she had outstanding bills. Mom made payments to the credit card companies over a period of time in excess of one year for the expenses incurred by the daughter.

Questions for Aging Parents

A recent Real Simple magazine article examines how adult children and their parents can have an open discussion about their concerns, and together face the challenges of aging.  This discussion is often not an easy one to have; a 2001 AARP study revealed that three-quarters of adult children think about their parents' ability to live independently, but one-third of the children surveyed have avoided discussing the topic with their parents.  The results for parents are similar; a little over two-thirds said they think about their ability to live independently, but more than one-third said they do not discuss the subject with their children.  The article provided several conversation-starting questions that adult children can ask their parents.

Planning Tip of the Day

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

I love this mantra -- Today, life comes with many challenges: health care, finances and family matters. Sometimes, you can't control what happens.

Another Budget Bill Behind Us

A very strong effort was made this year by the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Elder Law Section to combat proposed cuts that would adversely affect our seniors and those with disabilities. The following are two provisions that were in the original proposed Budget Bill.

Part D Recipients Must Repay Mistaken Refunds - Second Court Ruling

A federal appeals court has again ruled that 230,000 Medicare Part D beneficiaries who were erroneously mailed a premium refund do not have the right to apply for a waiver excusing them from repaying the money. Action Alliance of Senior Citizens v. Sebelius (D.C. Cir., No. 09-5191, June 18, 2010).