Articles Posted in Elder Law

Proposed work requirements to Medicaid eligibility could result in some family caregivers losing their vital coverage, according to a recent analysis of Kentucky’s reforms by advocacy group Justice in Aging. Medicaid is vital to helping caregivers take care of their own health while caring for a loved one but depending on how states implement work requirements or defines “work,” family caregivers may end up losing their health insurance or face additional hurdles to keep it.

Caregivers are unpaid individuals like  spouses, partner, family members, friends, or neighbors involved in assisting others with activities of daily living and/or medical tasks. The selfless work they do for others in need is vital to the health and wellbeing of the individual and cannot be taken for granted or impeded by barriers that would cause widespread hardship.

According to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, an estimated 43.5 million caregivers have provided unpaid care to an adult or child in the last year and of that number, 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the same time period. The majority of caregivers care for one other adult while about one in six care for two-adults. About 15.7 million adult family caregivers care for someone who has Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia.

The country’s largest trade group for health insurance companies is sounding the alarm on proposals from President Trump that would expand the sale of plans that cover fewer services to people who cannot afford some of the current short term plans. America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) claims the proposal would lead to more Americans becoming uninsured or underinsured, resulting in higher healthcare costs in the future.

The rule proposed by the Trump administration would lift restrictions from the previous administration that limited short term health insurance coverage to a maximum of three months and allow individuals to purchase short-term health insurance for up to one year. The administration claims the move would create an alternative for those unable to afford plans compliant with ObamaCare covering a comprehensive list of services.

Opponents of the plan say the rule changes would mean insurance companies could end up charging individuals with pre-existing conditions more for their health care coverage, a major restriction placed on companies under current statutes of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Instead, members of the AHIP suggest the short term health insurance plans be limited to only six-months of coverage, ensure clear disclosures to consumers about what short term plans do and do not cover, and inform consumers of the potential availability of discounted coverage through the marketplace.

For 55-years, Older Americans Month has been observed to recognize older Americans and their contributions to our communities. Led by the Administration for Community Living’s Administration on Aging, every May offers opportunity to hear from, support, and celebrate our nation’s elders. Ways to show your support for Older Americans Month include taking selfies and group shots while participating in activities that improve your mental and physical well-being then posting the image to social media using the hashtag #OAM18.

The 2018 theme for Older Americans Month is “Engage at Any Age” and emphasizes that that you are never too old (or young) to take part in activities that can enrich your physical, mental, and emotional well-being and celebrates the many ways in which older adults make a difference in our communities. Older Americans can get involved in the celebration by participating in activities promoting mental and physical wellness and offering their wisdom and experience to the next generation.

President Kennedy first declared May to be Senior Citizens Month in 1963 as a way to honor citizens 65-years and older and since then, every president has proclaimed May to be a month to show support for older Americans.  In 1980, President Jimmy Carter changed the name to Older Americans Month and as a show of support, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys declares the month of May to be National Elder Law Month.

State regulators recently took control over dozens of nursing homes owned and operated by a New Jersey-based company that is responsible for over 100 facilities in eight states across the country, including three in New Jersey. In addition to operating homes in the Garden State, Skyline Health Care, LLC, owned by Joseph Schwartz, is the parent company for nursing homes and other facilities in Arkansas, South Dakota, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Kansas, and Florida.

According to reports, the company has failed to make its payroll in both Nebraska and Kansas, prompting state health department officials to take receivership of a combined 36 nursing homes, adult day cares, and assisted living facilities serving thousands of patients in those states. New Jersey Health Department officials acknowledged they are aware of the issues with Skyline Health Care facilities in Nebraska but has not received any reports of problems in New Jersey.

Nebraska health authorities placed 21-nursing homes and 10-assisted living facilities owned by Skyline in receivership in late March after determining that Skyline became unable to pay staff and ensure the future care of residents. Around the same time, Kansas state courts authorized a temporary receivership and are seeking a permanent one for 15-skilled nursing facilities with 845 patients, making it the largest takeover ever by that state’s Department for Aging and Disability Services.

The New York Assembly health committee recently held the first of two meetings on a proposed legislation that would allow some terminally-ill individuals with less than six-months to live the option to use medication to die in their sleep in cases where their suffering is unbearable. The committee members heard testimony from a variety of individuals including patients and their families, health care providers, legal experts, medical ethicists and religious leaders.

The committee’s exploration comes in the wake of a ruling by the New York Court of Appeals last year that ruled against three terminally-ill patients asserting they had a Constitutional right to die under their own conditions. The petitioners asked the Court of Appeals to shield their doctors from criminal charges in cases where physicians prescribe patients a lethal medication to end their lives.

New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act, sponsored by Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and Sen. Diane Savino, would permit terminally-ill patients deemed mentally fit to end their lives by using medication provided to them by a physician. Proponents of the law assert that doctor-assisted dying is oftentimes the only alternative to a long and agonizing death, during which the patient may experience complete loss of their bodily functions and mental faculties.

Retirement is a time to relax and enjoy the things you have worked hard for all of your life. For many people, that means spending more time at the golf course or spoiling grandchildren. For others, it means adventure and traveling to places they have always wanted to go. In many cases, a person or couple’s objectives in retirement can best be met by retiring abroad. Whether you are doing so for the cost of living, to be closer to family, or just because you want to there are important considerations to keep in mind when it comes to your comprehensive estate plan.

Taxes

No matter what country they live in, citizens of the United States are still required to pay taxes to Uncle Sam. If you maintain residence in a state, that state may also continue to impose taxes on you. While you would likely be paying those taxes if you remained in the United States, living abroad could also subject you to taxes in the host country. That means you may face issues of double taxation, and that can have a significant impact on the assets you retain within your estate.

Promising statistics recently came out early this year indicating the mortality rate for older Americans is down from 2015 to 2016, perhaps due in part to the greater access to healthcare our elders enjoy now that insurance companies cannot deny individuals with pre-existing conditions. For Americans age 75 to 84, the mortality rate improved by 2.3 percent between 2015 and 2016, or twice the rate of improvement seen between 2011 and 2016. The figures come from the Society of Actuaries and is based on data provided by the Centers for Disease Control.

Mortality also improved for those 85-years and older by 2.1 percent, which is more than three times the rate of improvement between 2011 and 2016, according to new analysis from the Society of Actuaries. However, Americans aged 25 to 34-years old saw their mortality rates increase by 10.5 percent in 2016 which represented the highest of all age brackets.

The Society of Actuaries believes the uptick in mortality rates for younger Americans is due to a spike in accidents and the nationwide opioid epidemic. According to the report, opioid deaths are up almost 25 percent across the country in 2016, which constituted the highest increase for any single type of death.

When someone passes away, he or she typically designates an individual as the executor of the estate in a last will and testament. As the executor of the estate, that individual has tremendous responsibility to fulfill his or her duty to the deceased and carry out that person’s final wishes to distribute property as desired. Unless executors fully embrace their responsibility to act as the representative of an estate and gather all the necessary documentation, complications can arise that may delay what should otherwise be a relatively simple process.

One of the most important primary steps the executor of the estate will have to take is filling the estate with the appropriate probate court in New York State. The proper venue is in the probate court of the county where the deceased lived or intended to return to if he or she was away from their residence at the time of death. If the will is filed with the wrong probate court, the judge hearing the case will likely be forced to reject the will’s entrance to probate.

If the deceased had more than one home, the proper county would be the one where the individual primarily lived or intended to live before passing away. Often times, older people live out their final days in nursing homes or assisted living facilities in counties outside of where there home actually is. Again, the proper jurisdiction to file probate would be where the person lived or would have lived had he or she not been a resident at the nursing home or assisted living facility.

When someone dies, a death certificate records on paper the time and place where the decedent passed away. While the funeral director where you lay your loved one to rest will usually obtain several copies for your records, it may be necessary to obtain a certified copy that has a raised seal and can be used for matters like settling an estate or claiming insurance benefits.

If someone passes away in New York City, Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, you can obtain a copy from the New York City Office of Vital Health either online or through the mail. If the decedent passed away outside of New York City but in the state of New York, you can order a certified copy of the death certificate online or by mail from the New York State Department of Health.

It is important to note that death certificates can take anywhere from three to four weeks to receive once ordered and are comprised of two parts: the standard certificate of death and the confidential medical report detailing the cause of death. To obtain the confidential medical report with the death certificate, you must be a relative of the deceased. That person can be: a spouse, domestic partner,parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, informant listed on the certificate, or person in control of disposition.

A recent article by the New York Times covered some of the trends in aging and the economy that could have a tremendous impact on how families, particularly women and millenials, care for elder family members in the future. While it is no secret an increasing percentage of America will become older with the wave of Baby Boomers entering their golden years, the societal and economic impacts are less discussed and more profound.

According to data cited in the article, an estimated one in five working age adults in the U.S. is retired, approximately 15 percent of the population. Of those retirees, as many as 14 million adults may not be able to live independently and require some sort of in-home or skilled nursing care to survive.

Experts studying the issue believe the burden of caring for older family members may be one reason by women have less earning power over all than men. The article points out that about a quarter of women 45 to 64 years old and one in seven of those 35 to 44 are caring for an older relative.

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