Voting is the foundation of any democratic system, but it isn’t easy if you’re in a long-term care facility. Residents of nursing, assisted living and other facilities face a number of challenges in voting, from registering to actually casting a ballot. When you move into a nursing home or assisted living residence, your address changes, which means you’ll probably need to re-register to vote based on your new address. You can register in person, by mail,

When Judy Hanttula came home from the hospital after surgery last November, her doctor’s office called with bad news: Records showed that even though Judy had signed up for Original Medicare, she was nevertheless enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. Original Medicare wouldn’t pay for the surgery because she now had an Advantage plan, and the Advantage plan wouldn’t pay for it because her doctor and hospital weren’t in its network. So Judy was on the

Medicaid’s look-back period can be confusing, but it’s important because it can have a very significant effect on your ability to pay for long-term care. Unlike Medicare, Medicaid is a system that’s available only to people who have very few assets. As a result, the government is concerned that people will “game the system” by giving away all their assets to family members and then applying for Medicaid shortly afterward. That’s obviously not fair to the taxpayers

The growing problem of adult guardianship abuse is giving rise to calls for reform, as vulnerable elderly people caught up in this system sometimes end up being harmed and exploited by the very process that’s supposed to protect them. A guardian is someone appointed by a court to make decisions on behalf of an incapacitated person, known as a “ward.” The process usually starts when a family member or social worker notifies the court that someone can

Medicare prescription drug plans can change which drugs they cover, possibly leaving you without coverage for a drug you need. Or you might switch plans, and find that your new plan doesn’t cover your medication at all. In these circumstances, it’s good to know that Medicare drug plans are required to offer you a 30-day transition supply of the drug you’re taking. All Medicare Part D plans must offer these transition refills, including Medicare Advantage plans

The oldest of America’s 75 million baby boomers are turning 70 this year. That means the IRS will soon be requiring them to start cashing out their tax-deferred retirement savings accounts. How you handle these withdrawals can have a profound effect on your own retirement and on what you leave to your heirs. As a general rule, if you don’t need the money in these accounts to live on, it can be wise to keep as much

It’s not uncommon for seniors to name one person in their power of attorney document to handle their finances if they become incapacitated, and to name someone else to make decisions for them in their health care proxy. For instance, a senior might live with one child or be very close to him or her, and trust that child to make medical decisions – because the child is familiar with the senior’s day-to-day health issues. On

If you don’t pay your debts, creditors can generally obtain a court order to garnish your wages. But what if your income comes from Social Security? In that case, the answer is a bit more complicated. For most types of debts (including credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans), Social Security benefits cannot legally be garnished to pay them off. But how this actually works in practice can be tricky. Suppose you receive $1,500 a month

On average, long-term care premiums are decreasing for men and increasing for women, according to a study by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, an industry trade group. For instance, a healthy 55-year-old man can expect to pay an average of $1,015 annually for a new policy offering $164,000 in long-term care benefits, which is down 4.2 percent from last year, according to the group. But for a woman in the same situation, the average

Did you know that 40 percent of people over age 65 haven’t written down their wishes regarding life support and other end-of-life treatment? One reason for this may be that people haven’t had a conversation with their doctor about the options that are available. In the past, Medicare didn’t cover these doctor-patient conversations – except during the patient’s initial “Welcome to Medicare” visit, a time when the topic might not seem very relevant. Under new regulations,