long-term care insurance Tag

Consumers of health care in old age likely consider nursing home care to be part of the continuum of health care that a patient may require. Yet health insurance plans do not pay for nursing home care because it isn’t defined as “treatment.”  Instead, it is classified as long-term care rather than “health care,” because the care is maintaining the individual and...

Generally speaking, the Medicaid program is the payor of last resort. If an individual is eligible for Medicare as his or her primary health insurance, Medicare would be the primary payor for medical needs, and Medicaid would become the secondary payor for any remainder. If an individual maintains a “medi-gap” insurance policy, that policy would be secondary and Medicaid would be...

There’s no doubt about it, long-term care insurance is expensive, and the premiums can be steep if you wait until after age 70 to first buy a policy. Some companies have gotten approvals for big premium increases on old policies. The marketplace has shrunk as companies have left the business, and some companies create bureaucratic barriers to paying claims. However, there’s also no...

You’re 55 to 70 and your kids are all over 21 and starting to find their way in the world. It’s been 20 years since you last made an estate plan, and that may have only been a Will. Sounds familiar? I see these situations all the time. There can be loads of issues for baby boomers  to think about as you bring your estate plan in sync with your real life circumstances: (1) NJ...

Tuesday evening I was privileged to participate in a lively panel at the JCC in Scotch Plains that was answering  questions on a wide range of elder care/ elder law issues. The panelists were terrific — Michele Morandi, D.O., geriatric physician based in Union and affiliated with Center for Hope Hospice https://centerforhope.com/ ; Chris Kaiser, MSW, LCSW, Director of the Older Adult...

It is axiomatic that aged individuals would prefer to remain in the comfort of their familiar surroundings rather than finish their lives in an institutional setting. This is the case whether the person lives in a mansion or a little apartment, in a house with their beloved  front porch or a home with their comforting tiny living room or sunny little back yard. Federal initiatives exist that...