The Basics of Medicare

Many senior citizens and their families do not understand the basics of the Medicare program. My objective, here, is to provide a quick overview of the program. Future blog posts will discuss eligibility, coverages and costs.

Medicare is a health insurance program, established under the Social Security Act of 1965 and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. It provides insurance coverage for medical expenses for legal U.S. residents of age 65 years or older, for residents under 65 who are permanently disabled and for others who meet certain criteria.

The Medicare program is divided into four parts: “Part A,” “Part B,” “Part C,” and “Part D.” “Part A” covers in-patient hospitalizations and related costs, including a semi-private room, meals, medical testing and associated doctors’ fees. It also covers (limited) in-patient rehabilitation and nursing-home care, hospice care and some home heath care services.

“Part B” covers medical services such as doctor’s visits, out-patient hospital treatments, and home care; this coverage is optional and requires a separate premium payment for most participants.

“Part C” is an elective coverage called the “Medicare Advantage Plan;” this plan, which involves a monthly or annual premium payment, works like a regular HMO or PPO insurance offering.

“Part D” is the new (2006) prescription drug insurance coverage.

Typically, Medicare pays up to 80% of an approved medical expense, while the beneficiary pays the remaining 20%.

Click on the following links for additional resources to learn more about Medicare:

The Official U.S. Government Medicare Website

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

Remember, when you need help with Elder Law issues, including Medicare and life care planning, call DeLoach & Hofstra to get a Board Certified Elder Law attorney who will fight for you. Our firm is large enough to handle the most complex and sophisticated cases, but small enough to deliver the personalized service our clients need.

The Florida Legislature recently passed a bill drastically changing the existing durable power of attorney statute. Governor Rick Scott has yet to sign the bill but it is expected to become law shortly. When it becomes law, it will affect powers of attorney executed on or after October 1, 2011.

The new statute makes a great number of changes to the old law, clarifies some previously existing “gray” legal areas and greatly expands the previously existing statute. Some key provisions include:

•Powers of attorney must now be notarized as well as have two (2) witnesses for valid execution;

• Powers of attorney executed in other states are valid in Florida if validly executed in their state of origin;

• Special rules are provided for co-attorneys-in-fact;
• “Springing” Powers of attorney are eliminated after the effective date, although Springing powers executed before the effective date are still valid;
• Certain powers contained in the document must be initialed in order for the attorney-in-fact to perform such actions;
• Only qualified people can get paid to serve as the attorney-in-fact; and
• Much more specific standards of conduct must be followed by the attorney-in-fact.

You can view the contents of this bill here.

The net effect of this bill will provide for drastic changes to your average power of attorney. At DeLoach & Hofstra, we continuously work to improve and update our powers of attorney. This is another opportunity to make our documents even better and help our clients as best we can.

In its latest report on the status of the local residential real estate market for May 2011, the Pinellas Realtors Organization called it “strange.”

Citing the dwindling inventory of active home and condo listings (pegged at -22% and -12%, respectively), the PRO says that this situation would normally cause prices to rise. However, that didn’t happen in May, when the median sales price for single family homes dropped from $139,000 to $117,000 from year over year. Similarly, the median condo sales price was down from $139,000 to $117,000 from year over year.

Meanwhile, the overall residential market sales increased from 1,275 units to 1,316 units or up 3% from May 2010 to May 2011.

Legal Issue Insights

Having a real estate lawyer represent you in a home or commercial property sale or purchase can save you a lot of money. The contracts and multitude of forms and letters associated with a closing can be confusing. Review of a prospective real estate sale or purchase can give you real peace-of-mind that you will not have future legal issues resulting from the transaction.

Among the potential issues that could arise in any real estate transaction are concerns about having clear title to the property, including identifying potential property liens; property boundary disputes which might require a site survey; or Florida homestead issues.

Remember, real estate purchases frequently represent the most valuable asset a person has. Contracts and loan terms can be confusing. Call DeLoach & Hofstra to get a seasoned, reliable real estate attorney who will protect your personal and financial interests. Our firm is large enough to handle the most complex and sophisticated transactions, but small enough to deliver the personalized service our clients need.

One of the most misunderstood areas of Elder Law involves benefits from the Veterans Administration. We frequently receive phone calls from those inquiring about VA benefits, but they do not know where to go or how to begin. As part of our Elder Law and Life Care Planning, we frequently look to the VA to assist with the extraordinary medical costs for our clients.

The program we mostly used is the VA Pension program, which can help needy veterans and his or her surviving spouse with their medical bills. The Pension program is frequently referred to as Aid & Attendance, but this is actually a misnomer. The Pension program can provide up to $1,949 per month for married veterans and up to $1056 per month for the veteran’s surviving spouse. In our practice this extra money may be the best way to keep your loved one in an assisted living facility for longer.

When you need help accessing Aid and Attendance for your Veteran, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Local concert promoter Frank Giglio has filed for bankruptcy petition citing more than $300,000 in debts with $2,000 declared as assets. One of the creditors listed in the bankruptcy petition is the agency representing popular 80’s band Air Supply who are among a list of 28 creditors named in the petition. According to an article in the St. Pete Times, “Air Supply’s talent agency, the Los Angeles-based Agency for the Performing Arts, filed a lawsuit in Hillsborough Circuit Court earlier this month to recover $25,000 from Giglio.”

At DeLoach and Hofstra, our goal is help our clients and get their legal work done as efficiently and effectively as possible. We want our clients to understand their work product, what we are doing and why we are doing it. Estate Planning and other matters can be very complicated, but our goal is to make sure that your estate plan actually works upon your death or incapacity. Many estate plans fail because the client did not understand the implications of their will, the importance of funding their trust, or recognize the law of unintended consequences. An estate plan is more than a set of documents, it really is a plan for your death or incapacity.

Doing the right thing by our clients was instilled in me by my father. He has set the tone for creating a community law practice while giving the best quality legal care available. Being part of our community, we have a friendly law office. We do not screen our phone calls. We do not charge costs for faxes, copies or letters. Our fees are reasonable and we work with clients in paying for our services. We work every day of the week, return phone calls on time and will come in early and stay late to get your work done. When our clients are in need, we will do our best to help them – that is all there is to it.

Perhaps one of the country’s best known upscale furniture stores has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court. The Fort Myers-based company has been in business for 96 years but faltered when the housing market took a tumble in 2006.

In spite of the bankruptcy filing, company executives hope to make a rebound as the economy strengthens. In its bankruptcy filing, the company told the court that it was $57 million in debt and needed bankruptcy relief. Seeking comment on the bankruptcy, the News Press published these thoughts by a Florida business consultant:

“Orlando-based retailing consultant C. Britt Beemer said Robb & Stucky is a highly regarded, innovative company, but that when the housing crash hit in 2006, it hurt upscale furniture sales much more than furnishings at the lower end of the market.

“You look at a Robb & Stucky and some other high-end guys around the country, 50 to 60 percent of their business is directly or indirectly tied to new home sales,” he said. “When you lose that pace, it’s a slow death.”