What Is Respite Care? Can It Help With Caregiver Burnout?
It is easy to burn out when you are responsible for providing full-time care to an aging or disabled loved one. In some cases, caregiver burnout can result in resentment toward the individual they care for, despite their love for them. The fact is, we all need a break...
Aging Care: 6 Tips for Caring for Elderly Parents
Many adult children wonder what their aging parents may need and how can they can help provide it for them. You may constantly worry about your parents or other older loved ones, especially if you live far away from them. You can, however, take some simple steps to...
States Due to Ensure Medicaid HCBS Participants Basic Rights
As of March 2023, states are on the hook to ensure that home- and community-based housing services for its participants are meeting the federal government’s minimum standards. This includes protecting certain basic civil and constitutional rights of the individuals...
2023 AARP Report Recommends Supports for Family Caregivers
Many older Americans choose to have their family members care for them as they age. Despite the comfort a familiar face may provide, there is a significant cost for the loved ones who sacrifice their time, and often their upward economic mobility, to ensure that they...
Charities May Now Be Named As SNT Remainder Beneficiaries
Many parents and families planning for the care of their loved one with special needs will consider setting up a special needs trust. (Special needs trusts are also often referred to as supplemental needs trusts and SNTs). These trusts allow assets to be left to a...
Medicaid’s Attempt to Ensure the Healthy Spouse Is Not Impoverished: The CSRA
Medicaid law provides special protections for the spouses of Medicaid applicants to make sure the spouses have the minimum support needed to continue to live in the community (i.e. at home) while their husband or wife is receiving long-term care benefits, usually in a...
5 Reasons Why It’s Good to Be a Senior in 2023
It has been a tumultuous few years. Amid a continuing pandemic, tense midterm elections, and a war in Ukraine, we have grappled with more than our fair share of grim news. However, in 2023, there are some silver linings — in particular for seniors, and here are 5 of...
Deducting Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums in 2023
Are you a taxpayer who has purchased long-term care insurance (LTCI)? Take note of your policy details and your premium amount, as you may be able to deduct the cost – or at least part of it – from your income. If your total eligible medical expenses (including your...
Denial of SSI or SVB Benefits from Social Security – How to Appeal
If you have been denied Supplemental Security Benefits (SSI) or Special Veterans Benefits (SVB) from Social Security, there are 3 ways to appeal this decision: online, in writing by completing a Request for Reconsideration, or through your local SSA office.
Turning 65? What You Need to Know to Sign up for Medicare
The first of the 78 million baby boomers turned 65 on January 1, 2011, and some 10,000 boomers a day will reportedly reach that milestone between now and 2030. If you are about to turn 65, then it is time to think about Medicare. You become eligible for Medicare at...
Keeping Medicare Solvent Could Mean Higher Taxes
With the 2024 presidential election in the not-too-distant future, coverage of heated debates over the nation’s government budget, including how to secure the future of public benefits programs like Social Security and Medicare, has started to dominate the headlines....
What Is Hospice Care at Home?
Hospice care is a type of health care that patients with terminally ill conditions rely on at the end of their lives. This type of care focuses on pain management and emotional, spiritual, and familial support for patients nearing the end of their lives. There are...
Does Medicaid Cover Self-Measured Blood Pressure?
According to the American Heart Association, high blood pressure contributes to many significant health conditions, including heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and kidney failure. In the United States, 121.5 million adults suffer from high blood pressure, also...
Medicaid Expansion: What Might It Mean for You?
As of late 2022, more than 84 million people were enrolled in Medicaid — a number that has steadily increased in recent years. Amid the pandemic, total enrollees climbed by 20 million people from 2020 to 2022 alone. Meanwhile, the debate among lawmakers on further...
This Tax Season, Seniors Can Get Free Assistance
When it comes to filing your 2022 federal tax return for the 2023 tax season, you may be able to access several forms of assistance for free. Filing Online: IRS Free File In January 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s Free File service opened to taxpayers....