The Connecticut Elder Law Blog

Special Needs Fairness Act Moving Along

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an amended version of the Special Needs Fairness Act. The next stop is the U.S. Senate.

The prominent feature of the bill is that it would allow a disabled individual to establish and fund her own special needs trust, assuming she has the competency to do so. Current federal law provides a short list of persons and entities with authority to establish such "first party" special needs trusts, and the disabled person herself is not on that list. This sadly communicates a presumption that a disabled person lacks the mental capacity to set up a trust for herself when that is certainly not the case with all disabled persons. 

Click here for an online article I ran across at Chron which summarizes the legislative updates. 

Our New Headquarters...

I'm thrilled to announce that we have moved the law firm from a large office complex near downtown Glastonbury to the charming village center of South Glastonbury, less than 5 miles south of our old site.

The new address is 787 Main Street, South Glastonbury, CT 06073. All of our other contact infomation, including the phone number, remains the same. 

 

 

Our single-floor, newly-renovated building is in a quiet spot, set well back from Main Street. We are the only occupants of the building and parking is a cinch. In fact, clients with mobility challenges will be happy to find that they can pull right up to the front door of the office and be inside after just a few steps (although I am still happy to make house calls for homebound clients!). 

This is also a home-based office. My wife and I have spent the last four months converting our old, beat-up garage into the new home for Keenan Law. The building is detached far from the house and 100% devoted to the law practice. Yet clients will still enjoy a warm and comfortable environment as we discuss their legal concerns. 

If you're an existing client then please give us a call. We'd love to show off our new home with a 30-second tour and then catch up on any new developments on your end. And new clients are always welcome (of course)! Just give us a call at (860) 657-2683.

Click here to see a photo album of the building's evolution from "nasty garage" to "cute little law office".  

Small Social Security Bump

A  cost-of-living-adjustment means that Social Security recipients will get a 1.7% increase in retirement benefits for 2012, which should translate into an extra $21 per month.  

That's a minor bump compared to the 3.6% increase in 2012.

But don't lose sight of the big picture; the 2013 cost of Medicare Part B premiums will be announed later this month.  That cost increase might wipe out the Social Security income increase, and then some.  Stay tuned!

National Alzheimer's Plan is Off and Running

President Obama signed legislation in January 2011 which called for a national plan to address Alzheimer's Disease.  On May 15th the "National Alzheimer's Plan" was unveiled and it hones in on five main goals, perhaps the most ambitious of them: prevent and treat Alzheimer's by 2025.

It's a relief for me, my clients and their families to see this initiative really get off the ground.  Alzheimer's is truly one of the worst diseases out there and it's clearly time for a strong, comprehensive effort to address this national health crisis.  Now comes the tough part; making sure that the plan realizes forward progress on a long-term basis.

All the details of the plan, including all of the planning that led up its finalization is here.

Health Care Reform: Senate Bill Addresses Long-Term Care

While the concepts of the public option and universal coverage are stealing all of the headlines I'm doing my best to keep track of what the proposed Senate bill is saying about long-term care issues.  And so far, I like what I see.

First, there's the Community First Choice Option which I posted on earlier.  Since then the House bill has added a "statement of support" for this option.

The Senate bill also offers increased Medicaid funding for states that establish community services for individuals who would otherwise require institutionalization.

The bill also extends the "Money Follows the Person" project (which has been taken up by 31 states) for another five years.  This program provides incentives for states to transition Title 19 beneficiaries out of the nursing home and back into the community with appropriate services whenever possible.

All of this seems to point towards an encouraging trend; making it financially possible to keep our elderly in the community (or get them back there) if medically possible. 

So, if you're inclined to voice your opinion on this bill to one of your U.S. Senators, please keep these provisions in mind. 

Health Care Reform Bill Encourages Home Care

It's a little challenging to digest all the moving parts of the current proposals for health care reform.  But one aspect of the Senate Finance Committee's proposal kinda jumped out at me: the "Community First Choice Option". 

This option provides partial federal Medicaid reimbursement to states that establish community support programs for people with disabilities.  Such programs would only apply to people who require an institutional level of care, caps on the number of people under the program would not be allowed, nor would waiting lists for services. 

Please note that the proposal does not make programs for home health care mandatory and it provides funding only for the next five years.  Nonetheless, this certainly falls under the "step in the right direction" category!

Click here for more detailed information on the proposal from the National Coincil on Independent Living (NCIL).

Medicaid Expansion in the Health Care Debate

While the national debate surrounding the overhaul of the health care system has increasingly focused on whether or not to offer a "public option", there are many other important issues that have not received nearly as much of the public's attention.  One of those issues which is particularly important to my clients is the proposed expansion of the Medicaid system.

The current House bill would add 11 million people to the Medicaid program, triggering a $438 billion price tag over ten years with the federal government covering all of it until 2015, at which point federal funding would drop to 90% and the states would have to pick up the remaining 10%.  For some reason I'm having trouble finding what the current Senate bill says about Medicaid.

In any case, click here for an interesting report from Kaiser Health News, and here for Missouri's perspective on this.  Arizona doesn't sound thrilled about the Medicaid expansion here.

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...

AARP Offers Online Help with Stimulus Payment

If you have had no reason to file an income tax return recently and you're still not clear on how to ensure that you get your payment from the economic stimulus plan, then it's AARP to the rescue!  They have an excellent online tool that prompts you to enter the necessary information on a worksheet, and then they plug the information into a 1040A form for you and voila!  You print out your 1040A, sign it and mail it in.  Kudos to AARP for coming up with this idea!  The government is saying that the checks will go out in either May or April.

Again...please spread the word because I am running into a frighteningly large number of fixed-income seniors who are not aware of this opportunity!

Take Advantage of the Economic Stimulus Plan Payments

I have a LOT of elderly clients who will be eligible for at least a $600 windfall from the federal government in a couple of months, including those who do not earn enough income to file an income tax return, but they just don't realize it!  So I am spreading the word as far and wide as possible about this opportunity.  If you read this post and know someone on a fixed income then it would be greatly appreciated if you would pass the word on.  A $600 check is a rather big deal for most of these individuals.

The key form for US citizens who are not normally required to file a tax return is "1040A".  That form is designed specifically for those who are filing an income tax return solely to receive the stimulus payment.

On Saturday, March 29th, the IRS will open hundreds of locations for an event they have dubbed "Super Saturday" in an effort to reach people who fall into the above-mentioned category. 

Detailed information provided by the IRS about the big stimulus package is here.

All US locations for Super Saturday can be found here.

Click this for a list of Connecticut locations: Download super_saturday_03292008_ct_locations.xls

A big "thank you" to my training buddy, Jay M. Sattler, CPA, who is a partner at BlumShapiro in West Hartford, Connecticut.