A Guide To Women's Health: Fifty and Forward

From Harvard Medical School:

For both men and women, many of the things we need to do to stay healthy are one and the same: Eat right, exercise, don't smoke. But women have health concerns that are unique to them: Mammograms, bone density tests, menopause, ovarian cancer. Some medical conditions—like heart disease—may present different symptoms, or different degrees of risk in women. And for a woman at midlife, medical decisions are changing and need to be made more frequently.

That's why the experts at Harvard Medical School have created A Guide to Women's Health: Fifty and Forward, a comprehensive report to help women take stock of their health at midlife, understand their health risks, and discover the things they can do to stay healthy and strong. Women's health studies have shown that it's never too late to feel better by living better. Whether you're just entering midlife, or are in your 80s and beyond, there are steps any woman can take today to ensure the best possible health tomorrow.

This report also includes a Special Bonus Section: 10 steps to a longer, healthier life, which outlines ten things a woman can do to reduce her risk of many major degenerative diseases.

A Guide to Women's Health: Fifty and Forward is every woman's blueprint for good health today, tomorrow, and for the years ahead. It can help you make important health decisions, improve your quality of life, and greatly reduce the likelihood of landing in a nursing home

Health Care Reform Provisions Affecting Older Adults and People with Special Needs

The National Association of Elder Law Attorneys has modified their document "Health Care Reform Provisions Affecting Older Adults and People with Special Needs" to include information on Medicaid maintenance of effort provisions. You can access the updated document at the link above and by visiting the "Health Care Reform Information" section on the "Government Affairs" page of the NAELA website. Other helpful resources released in the last few days are: The Scan Foundation Policy Brief Kaiser Family Foundation Summary of the New Health Reform Law Small Business Administration Health Care Reform Resources Chris Jennings' article on health care reform implementation in the New England Journal of Medicine Register now!: Thursday, April 15 from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. ET NAELA will host a telephonic training entitled "The New Health Care Reform Law: Understanding Its Impact on Older Adults and People with Special Needs"featuring presentations by experts on the Medicare, Medicaid andlong-term care provisions of the new law. UPDATED: Health Care Reform Provisions Affecting Older Adults and People with Special Needs (March 30, 2010) Text of H.R. 3590 (Now P.L. 111-148) Text of H.R. 4872 (Now P.L. 111-152)

FIve Big Myths - Free Podcast Series from ABA

Health Law Section Podcast Series | Free to the General Public

Five Big Myths of Advance Care Planning and How to Stay Anchored in Reality (4/13/10) | Podcast
Click here to download slides and materials for the teleconference.

This program addresses the five biggest myths that plague advance care planning and how to steer clear of them and make advance care planning more effective.

Myths:

1. People should use their state’s official advance directive form(s).
2. Your advance directive should include as specific instructions as possible.
3. Advance Directives are legally binding so doctors have to follow them.
4. Doing everything possible for dad means keeping dad alive at all costs.
5. A written advance directive is better than talk.

National Healthcare Decisions Day

On the eve of National Healthcare Decisions Day, President Obama issued a memorandum that asked his administration, among other things, to:

Ensure that all hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid are in full compliance with regulations, codified at 42 CFR 482.13 and 42 CFR 489.102(a), promulgated to guarantee that all patients' advance directives, such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies, are respected, and that patients' representatives otherwise have the right to make informed decisions regarding patients' care.

You may find the full Memorandum here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-hospital-visitation While this Memorandum was specifically directed at dealing with GLBT patient visitation issues, the reference to advance directives is important for all patients.

Improving the Lives of America's Elderly Poor

The National Senior Citizens Law Center advocates before the courts, Congress and federal agencies to promote the independence and well-being of low-income elderly and disabled Americans.

Since 1972, the National Senior Citizens Law Center has worked to promote the independence and well-being of low-income elderly and disabled Americans, especially women, people of color, and other disadvantaged minorities. Because we believe in publicly-funded safety net programs, we work to preserve and strengthen Medicaid, Medicare Part D, Social Security and SSI. To guarantee fair treatment, we work for greater access to federal courts for citizens and for better enforcement of consumer’s legal rights in safety net programs.

NSCLC works toward an America in which elderly people and people with disabilities can live in dignity and safety, free of the worries and pain of poverty, able to afford health care to the end of their days, and able to contribute to their families and societies to the best of their abilities.

Check out more at www.nsclc.org/consumer.

When Harry Met Sally

The Today show recently interviewed a national elder law expert, Hy Darling, about the topic of Divorce and Medicaid. How do those topics align, you wonder? As unsavory as it may sound to any of us, divorce is sometimes the chosen course for a couple when one of the two faces long term care.

Before passing judgment on this choice one must fully grasp the scenario. What does this situation look like? Well, when Harry met Sally they were both young and healthy and very much in love. Time has passed. Sally is now 68. Sally was diagnosed with Alzheimers five years ago. Her decline progressed rapidly. She now requires 24 hour supervision. Harry is a devoted husband; he has had 40 wonderful years with Sally. He is suffering on many levels. He misses his wife; he is terribly lonely and he is riddled with guilt. The Sally he knew is no longer there; there are many days when Sally does not even recognize Harry, but still he goes to visit her with the hope that she will be having a "good" day. He tried to keep Sally at home, but this became unsafe for Sally and extremely stressful for Harry: Sally would go for walks and get lost. Sally would take three days worth of her medications on one day because she forgot she had already taken the first and then the second dose.

Harry and Sally are "upper middle-class" Americans. They worked hard during their working years and were frugal with their spending. They own a modest home and had other assets, including IRAs, retirement funds, CDs and savings accounts totalling $600,000. Will it be enough? Sally's monthly cost for care in the long-term care facilitytops $6000 a month. Long term care is not paid for by Medicare. Long term care is not paid for by Medical insurance or Supplements. Harry and Sally, like most Americans, do not have Long Term Care Insurance. After five years of paying for Sally's care in the Alzheimer's unit of the Long-term care facility, Harry and Sally's funds are nearly depleted--they have spent $400,000 on care and prescriptions. Sally is only 68 years old. She has a life expectancy of 78. What is Harry to do? He needs the support and guidance of an elder law attorney who will guide him through his options for paying for Sally's care.

Married couples are legally obligated to support one another. Medicaid will not help Harry and Sally until they are broke. Is this true? Yes, sadly, this is accurate. Harry can go through a Division of Assets process to prevent complete impoverishment; the question of whether this is the chosen course is Harry's decision. The most that Medicaid rules permit Harry to retain is approximately $100,000---and this assumes that Harry is sufficiently savvy to fully utilize the Division of Assets process to its fullest. And in addition, Harry can live in his house, but when Harry dies Medicaid will have to be repaid from the sale of Harry's house. As attorney Hy Darling mentioned in the Today Show interview, on rare occasion divorce is the answer. I think Harry would rather poke out his eye and go broke, but I believe in love over money.

Alzheimer's to Double Every 20 Years

Alzheimer's Disease International released a new report indicating that the number of people with Alzheimer's or another dementia, currently 35 million worldwide, is expected to nearly double every 20 years, to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050.

According to the 2009 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report, issued by the Alzheimer's Association, someone in the United States develops the disease every 70 seconds, and an estimated 5.1 million Americans over age 65 have the disease. This report also states that about 2.7 million people over age 85 have Alzheimer's, and that by the time the first of the baby boomer generation reaches 85 in 2031, an estimated 3.5 million seniors in that age group will have disease.

These statistics highlight the need for estate planning in general and incapacity planning in particular, as well as disability, long-term care, and special needs planning.