More and more "investment advisers" are selling Trusts as vehicles for preventing probate, avoiding taxes and providing for estate management. Approximately 40 million baby boomers soon will require increasingly expensive medical care during a longer life expectancy than their parents. As they become ill with Cancer, Strokes, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and other debilitating illnesses, that care will in many cases be delivered in a Skilled Nursing Home setting. The average stay at a nursing home...

HOW TO PAY FOR NURSING HOME CARE

Over 70% of the American population will need some form of Nursing Home Care at some point during their life. The average Nursing Home stay can easily cost $7,500 per month. Add a Respirator in order to breathe and the cost could escalate to $25,000 per month. Whether a serious injury or a sudden or progressive illness, few people are prepared to handle the high cost of Nursing Home Care when a loved one is struck with a Catastrophic Illness.

Catastrophic Illnesses...

AVOIDING THE LOSS OF OUTLIERS

What is an outlier? This term refers to a Medicare recipient who has remained in an acute care facility beyond the allotted days anticipated for a particular illness and who has charges in excess of the total DRG reimbursement. This is usually someone who is catastrophically ill, with many needs, such as ventilator respiratory support, dialysis, feeding issues, etc. Who pays for outlier services to an acute care hospital? These services are factored in to a cost...

“MEDI-CAL” THE WELFARE MYTH

Unfortunately families, with loved ones suffering from a Catastrophic Illness such as Dementia, Parkinson’s, Stroke, or Alzheimer’s and in need of Long Term Nursing Home Care, labor under the mistaken notion that Federal funds from Medi-Cal are only for low-income patients. In fact, many Nursing Home operators are equally suffering from the same mistaken beliefs. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Private Pay Myth Many nursing home operators prefer...

Long-Term Care Insurance,

A BITTER PILL THAT CAN BE HARD TO SWALLOW



LTC insurance can protect your or your loved one in the event of a long-term illness. According to the LTC industry it can protect your assets and provide you with peace of mind. Like all insurance, long-term Care insurance was created to help with the costs of nursing home care. Typically, when insurance of any kind is sold, it is presented as a “cure-all” for every problem and need. Given that the cost of nursing home...

Q: Steps that families need to take to care for their elders?

A: While it is always best to seek competent advice from an experienced professional, there are some simple things that you can do in preparing to care for ill loved ones. Families face an overwhelming amount of confusing information, emotional issues and decisions ranging from Nursing Home Care to protecting one's life assets. Therefore, it is important to have systems in place so the appropriate decisions are made at the appropriate time....

 

A major illness or accident is more than just a health problem for the elderly. Financial assets can be devastated, and families thrown into havoc when a person is rendered incompetent or incapable of executing financial and medical decisions. A simple way to avoid the cost and crisis of such a situation is by planning ahead with “advance directives,” and assigning Durable Power of Attorney to someone that can be trusted.

Advance directives are as varied as the individual’s situation, and can...

The Immediate Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Seniors

In theory there should be more accountability over the medical care that you receive. Your interaction with your health care provider should be far simpler.

The following is a very generalized out line of some of the more important changes that will effect you:

Medicare Benefits, either through Medicare or Medicare Advantage should remain the same. Medicare Advantage will be phased out over time.

Lifetime limits will no longer...

Living Trusts can Jeopardize Nursing Home Care

More and more these days “investment advisers” -- who may or may not be practicing law without a license -- are selling Trusts as vehicles for preventing probate delays and expenses, avoiding taxes and providing for estate management. Yet many of those marketing Trusts either do not recognize, or intentionally avoid discussing, a serious problem inherent in using Trusts in the context of an aging population: Trusts are a useful estate-planning tool but can...

WITH A LOOMING HEALTH CARE  CRISIS, WHAT’S A BOOMER TO DO OR NOT TO DO





“TO DO LIST”

After World War II, we along with the rest of the world entered a time of economic growth, scientific advancement, industrial revolutions and we welcomed a new and large population of our most important product. Babies!! And more babies! The war was over, and good had vanquished evil. Soldiers, heroes were returning home to a nation and a world that sorely missed them. The result was what...