The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

A Second Economic Stimulus Package?

Talk is ramping up in Washington about a second economic stimulus package in order to avoid a recession.  This is of particular interest to many of my elderly and disabled clients since one of the proposals is an increase in low income programs like energy assistance, food stamps, unemployment insurance and relief for economically troubled homeowners.  There is also a push for more Federal Medicaid reimbursement for states.

But let's not get our hopes up too high.  The early response from the White House is that we should wait to see what effect the first round of economic stimulus payments has on the economy.  I'll keep my ear to the ground on this one...

Seniors Beware of Investor Fraud

Unfortunately, as the U.S. population continues to age we will most likely see an increase in the number of scams and fraudulent activity directed at our vulnerable elderly population.  One poignant example of such predatory practices is known as "investment fraud" as con artists flock to where the money is, and the money is increasingly located in the pockets of seniors and baby boomers.  Investment fraud against seniors rose a whopping 40% last year, according to the North American Securities Administrators Association. 

Seniors and their families should note that some investment advisers tout their "certification" as specialists in the area of retirement planning or advising seniors.  But such designations sometimes require very little training to obtain and are occasionally altogether bogus. 

I find that the best way to find the legitimate advisers who specialize in helping seniors is not to attend free-lunch seminars, but to get referrals from people you trust: family, friends, colleagues, attorneys, accountants, etc.

If anyone in the Hartford County would like a referral for very competent investment advisers who are genuine specialists in assisting seniors, please contact me offline.

Time to Dust off the Fedora!

This is a brief, light-hearted, weekend tribute to one of the most inspiring seniors out there.  Harrison Ford is set to re-establish himself as one of America's foremost action-heroes in his role as Indiana Jones despite the fact that he is on the verge of becoming eligible for Social Security benefits.  In fact, if he could be receiving them right now if had elected for early benefits (I'm assuming he didn't). 

I loved the original Indiana Jones movies when I was a kid (well, the last two were so-so) and I'm looking forward to watching Indiana take his bullwhip to the cold-war Soviets in Indiana Jones and the Kindgom of the Crystal Skull when it comes out in a couple of weeks.  I just hope that Indy has beefed up on his calcium intake over the last 17 years! 

CT Nursing Home Reform Hopes Quashed

Everyone can calm down now...all of the hype and momentum that promised to culminate in sweeping and sorely-needed nursing home reform in Connecticut has disappeared into thin air.  The legislative session ended at midnight on Wednesday with all of the nursing home reform proposals left on the table.  Apparently the governor and a lot of legislators were scared off by the price tag in light of the ever-worsening state revenue outlook.  So, it's a sad day for those of us in Connecticut who are directly and indirectly involved in the long-term health care scene.

Click here for the full article in the Hartford Courant.

May is "Older Americans" Month!

This is a friendly reminder that May is "Older Americans" Month and Senior Citizens Day falls on May 20th this year.

Of course, we should celebrate the enormous contributions provided by our seniors on a daily basis, but let's try to make a concerted effort this month to express our appreciation and support of this fast-growing age group!  Click here to find some ideas about how you can celebrate Older Americans Month in your community.

My Battle With Lance Armstrong

Please note that this has absolutely nothing to do with Elder Law, but it's a neat story and if you are a running and/or cycling enthusiast you might get a kick out of it.  And yes, it's a true story...

I ran in the Boston Marathon last month and it took me only two minutes to spot and catch up to Lance Armstrong.  I then spent most of the race running right next to, slightly behind or slightly in front of one of the most amazing athletes in the history of sports.  At one point he expressed dismay to me over how many "Yankees Suck" comments I was receiving since I was sporting my Yankees cap, apologized for accidentally elbowing me, and he even took a cup of water that I offered. 

But the most unforgettable memory took place at the 12-mile mark when Lance looked around and found that his two training partners had disappeared.  At that point I was running slightly off one of his shoulders and decided to pull ahead of him a little bit.  Once I did that I heard him say, "OK, here we go!" loud and clear just before he tucked in directly behind me.  I thought to myself, OK, I might be hallucinating, but it appears that Lance Armstrong is drafting off of me!  So I experimented and gradually floated over to the right side of the road and, sure enough, Lance followed me.  Then I gradually headed back over to the middle of the road and he continued to follow me, staying no more than a stride and a half back!  Then I came up on a slower runner and passed him on the right.  At the same time Lance passed the guy on the left and then quickly tucked back in behind me!  That's when I decided that, regardless of the outcome of the race, all the intense training that I've done over the past 20 years that has gotten me to the point where I could be a legitimate pace-setter for Lance Armstrong was well worth it.  Due to the pure excitement I was feeling, I cranked up the pace some more and Lance was game.

Then, shortly after assigning me pace-setting duties, he moved to the left and stayed directly next to me.  I assumed he was offering to do some of the work and slowed down a tad to allow him to take over, but he slowed down too and stayed beside me.  Thinking I must have misread him, I sped up to resume my role as pace-setter, but he sped up as well and continued to stay next to me!  I thought this was a little strange, but then suddenly realized what he was doing since we were approaching Wellesley College...he wanted nothing to do with the screaming, psychotic Wellesley women and was keeping me between him and them as a human shield!  I figured hey, if you have a chance to help Lance Armstrong out with something then you go ahead and do it, and for the first time in ten Bostons I stayed in the middle of the road going by Wellesley and didn't slap a single hand.

Alas, this thrilling experience, which I won't soon forget, came to an end just past the 17-mile mark where I joined the thousands of athletes who have not figured out how to effectively deal with Lance Armstrong on the hills.  After sticking with Lance for a full 17 miles, he silently bade me farewell as he successfully converted his hill-climbing prowess in the mountain stages of the Tour de France to the Newton Hills of the Boston Marathon.  I was toast after pushing the last 4-mile stretch too hard but not caring since I played a small part in helping out the 7-time Tour de France champion.

I ended up walking through the water stations at the 24 and 25-mile markers and then finished solidly in 2 hours 58 minutes (Lance ended up nipping me by 7 minutes).  It was my fourth fastest Boston finish and my best Boston time since 2001.  So I was exhausted but pretty happy with the overall results and thoroughly enjoyed the once-in-a-lifetime Lance Armstrong experience.

After the race, I heard Lance mention to the Media that he would love to run Boston again next year.  Sounds like Round #2 to me! 

Thanks, Lance...it was a blast!

Long-Distance Caregivers Should Look Into On-Line Banking

I work with a lot of elderly here in Connecticut who have a child or children helping them out from far-off places like Florida and the west coast.  In cases like these there is almost always a need for help with money management and that is where on-line banking becomes indispensable. 

All of the major banks (and most of the not-so-major banks) offer on-line banking that can give you instant access to the current account balances, the ability to transfer funds between accounts, pay bills on-line and some banks even allow you to transfer funds from their bank to an account in a different institution.  I'm a big fan of ING's Electric Orange Account, which is a completely paper-free, interest-bearing checking account where literally everything (including mailing paper checks) can be done on-line. 

All of this technology makes long-distance care-giving and money management a lot easier than it used to be!  If you're a caregiver in such a situation you may want to take a tour of the on-line offerings of mom and/or dad's bank and see if it makes sense for you.

Check Out CT's Food Stamp Program

If you are elderly and living in the community, or if you have a loved one who is elderly and they are feeling the pinch of recent increases in food prices then it may be worth it to check out the eligibility rules for Connecticut's food stamp program.

As of October, 2007, the monthly gross income limit for a couple is $1,484, and for a single person it's $1,107.

But the limit for liquid assets (not including the house) is only $3,000.

If you qualify, the monthly benefit is close to $300 for a couple and $162 for a single person.

Consider Supermarket Gift Cards as Medicaid Spend-Down Items

Big supermarkets have recently offered a new alternative to Medicaid spend-down planning when there is a spouse in the community.  The community spouse can now purchase gift cards to buy groceries, and to the tune of four figures! 

This makes sense since it's a necessary expense that the community spouse will definitely have for an indefinite length of time. 

If you're in New England, I found an offer from Shaw's Supermarkets which offers a 5% discount when you spend more than $5,000 on Shaw's gift cards. 

Bridging the Generational Gap with "Wii"

If you're a grandparent looking for ways to connect with the grandkids, it's time to check out Wii, the latest and greatest in video games which incorporates physical movement well beyond fiddling with a joystick.  "Wii" is a common word in just about every grandchild's vocabulary and it's a fantastic alternative physical therapy approach for seniors.

Check out an article on the subject here.