Google Scholar – Invaluable Tool for Veterans
While medical and scientific research cannot replace a nexus opinion from a licensed physician, it is an important tool for veterans to both understand the nature of their disability and advance their disability compensation claim before the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VA disability claims commonly address difficult issues regarding etiology for a disability or differential...
Count Down to ACA Enrollment!
With the news that Pennsylvania will be joining the ranks of states taking the federal Medicaid expansion, New Jerseyan can breathe easy that their neighbors on all sides will have expanded Medicaid just like they will. The ACA and the Medicaid program’s expansion will start open enrollment on October 1st for January 1st eligibility. Have questions about the Affordable Care Act and how...
Free Trip to DC for World War II Veterans
As the linked ParamusPatch article documents, a not-for-profit organization, Honor Flight Philadelphia, is offering a free trip to Washington, DC, for World War II veterans. The trip will include transportation, breakfast/lunch/dinner, visiting the WWII memorials, and a 1940s-style USO show. Contact information can be found in the above link.
Nehmer Training Guide – Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange
Many Vietnam veterans are unaware that they may be entitled to an earlier effective date of award for presumptive conditions related to Agent Orange exposure pursuant to Nehmer v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 712 F. Supp. 1404, 1409 (N.D. Cal. 1989). If a veteran filed a claim between September 25, 1985 and the date the VA published a presumption of service connection for one of...
NJ Veterans Bill to Provide Supplemental Unemployment Benefits
As the linked NJ101.5 article documents, Governor Chris Christie signed a bill into law to provide supplemental unemployment benefits to veterans who have exhausted their federal unemployment benefits. The law can extend unemployment benefits for an additional twenty-six weeks.
Ershow-Levenberg Discusses Cost of Aging with Gateway Chamber of Commerce
Check out this new article from the Gateway Chamber’s “Inside Business“ featuring our own Linda S. Ershow-Levenberg discussing the importance of financial planning for long-term care, including considering the costs and benefits of long-term care insurance. Read the whole issue of Inside Business–it features several great articles on aging, long-term care and health care!
Korean War Veterans Bike From NJ to DC
In celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, twelve Korean War veterans are cycling from the Fort Lee (NJ) Korean War Memorial to the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. More information can be found in the article from the Fort Lee Patch and considering the age of the veterans, distance they are cycling, and what they survived sixty years ago,...
Elder Law at the Movies: “Still Mine”
Any movie with Babe the Pig’s owner in it is sure to be worth seeing. It doesn’t hurt that the subject is an aging couple trying to figure out how to hold onto their independence, despite legal and medical conundrums. Check it out!
Will The Windsor Case Change Public Benefits for Gay Couples in New Jersey?
Seth just reported on the brand-new Supreme Court decision that declared certain parts of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. I previously wrote about the state of Medicaid benefits in the DOMA era here. Now, post-DOMA, all eyes are on New Jersey to see if we will stick with civil unions or pass an actual gay marriage bill. If we stick with civil unions, it would appear to me that...
United States v. Windsor – Impact on Benefits Before the VA
On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___ (2013), holding that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional because it is “a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment.” Section 3 of DOMA essentially defined “marriage” and...