The Social Security Administration has authorized a 3.6% cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase which became effective on the first of the year. At the time this increase was announced there was speculation that the expected increase in Medicare premiums would significantly reduce, and possibly completely offset, any benefit increase. That has not happened, and the recently announced increase in Medicare Part B premiums has been much smaller than originally anticipated. As a result, most seniors will see an increase in their income in 2012.
The Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act (CLASS Act) established the first national, government run long-term care insurance program to be a consumer financed insurance pool overseen by a government trust. A primary goal of CLASS was to reduce to the role of Medicaid, which currently spends one-third of its entire budget – more than $100 billion a year – on long-term care, and that number is only set to increase as the population ages.
More often than not, when we hear about elder abuse in the news, it is because something tragic has happened. However, now and then there is a glimmer of hope amidst the gloom. In September, Marie-Therese Connolly, an elder law attorney based in Washington, DC, was honored with a Genius Grant from the MacArthur Foundation as a result of her efforts relating to the prevention of elder abuse in the United States. The MacArthur Foundation awards $500,000 fellowships to those they describe as “extraordinarily talented and creative individuals” to use toward their work.
On February 22, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services, JudyAnn Bigby, indicating that MassHealth must allow a MassHealth recipient to use their Patient Pay Amount (PPA) to pay for medical expenses incurred prior to eligibility. The policy change essentially allows the individual to use their income that would otherwise be included in the monthly PPA, in order to satisfy outstanding medical bills which were incurred prior to the date of eligibility. Although this letter was issued last winter, it is only in recent months that practitioners have been successful in forcing MassHealth to comply with the CMS directive.
Should a husband and wife who are competent and confident regarding their end of life decisions be obstructed for choosing to die? Recently, The New York Times discussed a couple’s plan for death in an article entitled “Deciding to Die, Then Shown the Door.” The article highlighted an elderly couple who had implemented a plan for their death after discussing the various options for over a decade.
Hardship Waiver, Senate Bill 490
Under current MassHealth regulations there is a so-called Hardship Waiver which is intended to ensure that an applicant will continue to receive necessary nursing home care even if they have transferred assets.
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for seniors and one-quarter of its allotment is spent caring for elders during their last year of life, according to the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice. Public debate over end of life decisions has been extremely contentious and political. Any attempt to civilly discuss this issue especially in relation to costs quickly veers off into sound bites regarding "death-panels."
Last week we alerted you about proposed legislation which would eliminate MassHealth coverage paying for a nursing home resident's bed in the event of a temporary discharge.
Change to take effect on July 8, 2011
In a recent Massachusetts state budget cut set to take effect on July 8, 2011, Massachusetts legislators voted to eliminate a long-standing policy which requires the MassHealth agency to pay for a nursing home resident's bed in the event of a hospitalization or a short-term discharge from a long term care facility.
Many people have health care proxies, sometimes called advanced directives, that authorize another person to make health care decisions for them once they are no longer able to do so. How many, however, have actually discussed the difficult topic of end-of-life decisions with that person? More often, this discussion is avoided until it is too late. Health care proxies are often vague as to specific interventions or treatments that would or would not be agreeable to the person who is to be treated.
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