Medicare

Recently, I had to help a relative reinstate her Medicare Part D insurance coverage after she forgot to pay the premiums for several months.  The insurance company sent many notices advising that they would terminate coverage if the past-due premiums were not paid, but she either ignored the notices or could not comprehend what they said and eventually lost coverage.

After spending hours on the phone first with the insurance company and then with Medicare, I realized that Medicare is somewhat of a mystery to me.  Medicare is not yet my health insurance provider, so other than knowing that most of my clients are covered by Medicare and pay a monthly premium for the health insurance, I really had little idea of how Medicare works.  This blog post is a general guide to Medicare, while the next four posts will explore the alphabet of Medicare in more depth.

The VA provides “Community Living Centers”, or what used to be called Nursing Homes.  These are operated by the VA, and are usually in a Veterans Administration Hospital.  These Community Living Centers (CLC’s) provide rehabilitation for veterans recovering from injury and illness in the short-term, but also provide long-term skilled nursing care for veterans who need care for long periods of time for a service-connected injury.

For veterans rated at 70% service-connected or higher, or for those who need nursing home care for their service-connected injuries, the VA pays for their nursing home placement as part of their package of healthcare benefits.

The CLC’s are available for non-service connected veterans who are enrolled in VHA healthcare, and need short term services such as rehabilitation, hospice, respite, and for those waiting for placement in the community.

If so... 

Who pays what?  Do I need insurance if I’m eligible for VA healthcare?

You’ve been approved for VA Pension or Compensation, and you will be receiving healthcare and prescription drugs at the VA facility.  You also have Medicare part B and Medicare part D.

Come join us at the Tapestry House of Alpharetta Tuesday, March 26th at 6:30pm.

Patti will be speaking about the difference between being housebound with a  caregiver vs moving into an Assisted Living Facility. 

All are welcome!

Administering a "special needs" trust can be a challenge. The rules often seem vague, and they occasionally shift. What may seem like a simple question might actually involve layers of complexity. Sometimes expenditures might be permissible under the rules of, say, the Social Security Administration, but not acceptable to AHCCCS, the Arizona Medicaid agency -- or vice versa. Trustees work in an environment of many constantly-moving parts.

It is a new strategy for Georgia, one of several states responding to mounting pressure from the Justice Department, which in recent years has threatened legal action against states accused of violating the civil rights of thousands of developmentally disabled people by needlessly segregating them in public hospitals, nursing homes and day programs.

For a family with a loved one who is mentally disabled, one of the hardest decisions they will have to face is determining the proper care for their loved one. Until recently, many mentally disabled persons have been placed in hospitals to live for the rest of their lie. While they are under constant care, there are social elements that are missing when living in a hospital. These social elements, such as sense of community, friendships, and activities like dancing, are essential for personal growth.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is increasing the amount taxpayers can deduct from their 2013 taxes as a result of buying long-term care insurance.

Premiums for “qualified” long-term care insurance policies (see explanation below) are tax deductible to the extent that they, along with other unreimbursed medical expenses (including Medicare premiums), exceed 7.5 percent of the insured’s adjusted gross income. This threshold is rising to 10 percent on January 1, 2013, although it will remain at 7.5 percent for taxpayers 65 and older through 2016.

Just like with most things in life, salt is best in moderation. Salt has been around for thousands of years and has served multiple purposes from being a means to preserve meats to adding flavor to a dish. But did you know that too much salt can create health problems including high blood pressure and heart disease? It is not just the french fries or the potato chips that we have to watch out for, but items that are packadged and heavy card-based.  On National Eating Healthy Day, the American Heart Association developed a list of six items that we should be mindful of consuming because of their above average levels of sodium. Please click the link to find out what are the 'Salty Six'.

Medicare changed things up a bit this year by scheduling open enrollment early.  Because Medicare is in the news, I’ve been getting a lot of calls from clients to ask me about Medicare. While most people understand that they can become eligible for Medicare when they turn 65, they wonder about the types of Medicare plans available, and what plan they should choose.  Today, we’ll talk a little bit about the basics of Medicare, and about how to choose a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.

Here is the basic Medicare alphabet:

Medicare Part A covers hospital insurance that can help pay for inpatient care at hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, hospice, and home health care.