Category archives: Jacksonville
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3 years ago
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In order to be eligible for Medicaid benefits a nursing home resident may have no more than $2,000 in "countable" assets (the figure may be somewhat higher in some states). Note that Medicaid is a state-run program, so the rules are somewhat different in each state, although there are federal guidel... [read more]
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3 years ago
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Britney Spears’s legal fight to wrest back control over her personal and financial affairs has flooded the issue of guardianship in Klieg lights. While a full guardianship may be necessary for many individuals who are incapable of managing their own affairs due to dementia or intellectual, developme... [read more]
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3 years ago
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The Senate Democrats' proposal for a $3.5 trillion spending plan includes expanding Medicare to provide dental, vision, and hearing benefits. The proposal is now being negotiated in Congress.
Currently Medicare does not offer much in the way of dental, vision, an... [read more]
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3 years ago
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Qualifying for Medicare hardly means free health care -- there are still premiums and deductibles. However, people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid (called “dual eligibility”) receive help paying their out-of-pocket costs.
Medicare is a federal program available to anyone 65 or olde... [read more]
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3 years ago
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In December 2018, the Social Security Administration (SSA) had a nasty surprise for Laura Marshall (not her real name), a 74-year-old woman just scraping by while living in senior citizen housing in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood: The agency demanded that she repay more than $10,000 in benefits... [read more]
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3 years ago
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Medicare prescription drug (Part D) plans can have a coverage gap—called the "donut hole"--which limits how much Medicare will pay for your drugs until you pay a certain amount out of pocket. Although the gap has gotten much smaller since Medicare Part D was introduced in 2006, there still may be a ... [read more]
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3 years ago
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One of the greatest fears of older Americans is that they may end up in a nursing home. This not only means a great loss of personal autonomy, but also a tremendous financial price. Careful planning can help ease the financial burden.
Depending on location and level of care, nursing homes cos... [read more]
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3 years ago
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To qualify for Medicaid coverage of long-term care, you must satisfy very complicated financial eligibility rules—rules that often can be traps for the unwary. One of the most significant traps is Medicaid's right to recover its expenses from your estate after you die – a practice known as “estate r... [read more]
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3 years ago
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As many of us are preparing for the fall and family members going back to school, some people are experiencing the excitement of children or grandchildren starting college. Other adult children are perhaps entering the work force or traveling to enjoy a break from academic demands. Regardless of the... [read more]
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3 years ago
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The federal government has expanded access to protections for spouses of reverse mortgage holders who are not named in the loan document, allowing more such spouses the ability to stay in their home if the borrowing spouse dies or moves to a care facility.
A reverse mortgage allows ho... [read more]
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3 years ago
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President Biden has introduced a plan to spend $400 billion over eight years on home and community-based care for the elderly and people with disabilities. The money would go to expand access to care and support higher-paying caregiving jobs.
As the elderly population grows, our long-term car... [read more]
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3 years ago
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Some conversations are more awkward than others, and while discussing illness and death with our loved ones can feel uncomfortable, it is also important and helpful to do so.
A difficult part of life is that accidents, illnesses, and death are inevitable, and unfortunately often unexpected too. N... [read more]
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