Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

$7.9 Billion in Improper Social Security Payments in FY 2012

Excerpt from: CNS News (click for full article)

 

The Social Security Administration (SSA) needs to focus on "program integrity," a polite term for reducing fraud and payment errors, the agency's inspector general told Congress last week.

Reducing improper payments is one of the challenges facing the next SSA commissioner, Patrick O'Carroll, Jr., the agency's inspector general, told the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security on April 26.

In fiscal year 2012, the Social Security Administration reported $4.7 billion in improper payments in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, a 9.2 percent improper payment rate. (SSI is funded by general tax revenues, not payroll taxes. It helps elderly, blind, and/or disabled people who are poor.)

Protecting yourself from the costs of long-term care

Excerpt from: Chicago Tribune (click for full article)

 

There's no denying it: Most of us are going to need some form of long-term health care during our golden years. And costs of such care are rising.

Genworth Financial recently released its long-term care Cost of Care Survey for 2013, and the results are sobering. The costs of home care providers, adult day health care facilities, assisted living facilities and nursing homes have been steadily rising over the past 5 years.

That being said, the cost increase varies depending on what type of service is necessary. For instance, in 2008 the median annual rate for a private nursing home room was $67,525; in 2013, it's $83,950 (though prices vary widely across the country). This increase reflects a 4.45 percent compound annual growth rate, more than twice the annual rate of inflation during the same time period.

The cost of care

Excerpt from: Life Health Pro (click for full article)

 

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Genworth Financial's Cost of Care survey and it's a great time to discuss long-term care in all its forms with your clients. By minimizing their risk, you can help them prepare to meet the challenges of tomorrow before the task becomes too monumental to achieve.

Here's how.

Get to know what your clients value.

Small Business Owners Sue IRS Over ObamaCare

Excerpt from: TaxProf Blog (click for full article)

 

Objecting to what they term an "Obamacare power grab," a group of small business owners and individuals in six states filed suit today against the IRS over a rule that expands health insurance subsidies.

The plaintiffs say the IRS regulations "actually serve to financially injure and restrict [their] economic choices" and are arbitrary and capricious, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by Jones Day partner Michael Carvin, who co-argued the U.S. Supreme Court cases challenging the Affordable Care Act in March 2012.

The suit against the IRS focuses on health care exchanges - state-level clearinghouses that are supposed to make it easier for people to buy insurance. The federal government doesn’t have the power to force states to set up such exchanges, but the law provides incentives for them to do so.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides $11 million under Section 811 Program

Excerpt from: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (click for full article)

 

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Secretary Raymond A. Skinner has announced that the State of Maryland will receive approximately $11 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through HUD's Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (PRA Demo).  The PRA Demo program provides rental assistance to extremely low-income persons with disabilities, many of whom are transitioning out of institutional settings or are at high risk of homelessness.

 

"In Maryland, we believe in the dignity of every individual and that there is no such thing as a spare American," said Governor Martin O'Malley. "Working together with our local, state and federal partners, we've set out to build a strong, multi-faceted approach to combat homelessness in our State and protect the needs of our most vulnerable Marylanders. Thanks to the support of President Obama and our partners at HUD, Maryland now has additional resources to provide rental assistance to our neighbors with disabilities."

 

"We are pleased to support the Department of Housing and Community Development in its efforts to offer lasting solutions for persons who might otherwise be institutionalized or living on our streets," said Jane C.W. Vincent, Regional Administrator of HUD's Mid-Atlantic Region.  "Through the combined efforts of federal and state agencies, real progress is being made in preventing and ending homelessness."

 

Top 10 Cheapest States for Long-Term Care Costs: 2013

Excerpt from: Advisor One (click for full article)

 

The study, running for its 10th year, indicates that over the past five years the median annual rate for a room in a private nursing home has increased by 4.45% (compound annual growth rate), so that the room you might have had in 2008 at a cost of $67,525 will now cost you $83,950—an additional $16,425 per year.

If that news isn’t cheery enough, the cost of care just for Alzheimer’s disease, which affects 5.1 million Americans, is projected to rise to $1.2 trillion annually by 2050. That figure is just for paid care—health care, long-term care and hospice—and does not include the cost of unpaid care from such caregivers as family members. According to the study, unpaid caregivers’ contribution was some 17.5 billion hours of care, valued at more than $216.5 billion—just in 2012.

With Genworth’s mobile app and interactive map, advisors and clients can keep abreast of what care is likely to cost, and where they might get the most for their care dollars—there is, after all, considerable variation among states in cost. The 2013 Cost of Care Survey, conducted by CareScout, includes nearly 15,000 LTC providers from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., divided into 437 regions across the country.

Automatic Sprinkler Systems Now Mandatory in Ontario’s Long-Term Care Facilities and Retirement Homes

Excerpt from: 570 News (click for full article)

 

Automatic sprinkler systems will be mandatory in long-term care facilities and retirement homes in the province.  The new regulations were announced Thursday morning but will not be implemented until January 1, 2014.  Currently only new facilities are required to have automatic systems.

Over one hundred facilities in Kitchener and 12 facilities in Waterloo will be impacted by the new provincial legislation.  Public Education Office with Waterloo Fire Rescue, John Percy tells 570 News that once the new regulations are implemented into the Ontario Fire Code, education for owners, operators and staff at facilities will start.

“There will be a little bit of an education and awareness process for each fire department across the province to work with their facilities to first make them aware of the changes…and then adopting that and then the implementation period will be the next one [step].”

Medicaid Spend Down

Excerpt from: caring.com (click for full article)

 

The cost of nursing home care is extraordinarily expensive, and Medicaid won't help pay if you have more than $2,500 in "countable" assets. Sometimes people decide to "spend down" their excess assets to qualify for Medicaid benefits. But this can be risky. If the Medicaid agency thinks you're bending the rules, you risk losing eligibility for five years. And current crackdowns by Medicaid are much more common than in years past.

Estate Planning In A Second Marriage

Excerpt from: Huffington Post (click for full article)

 

Love may be lovelier -- but it is also a whole lot more complicated the second time around.

Record numbers of us will, one day, be in a second marriage. The pool of eligible second marriage candidates is vast as a result of both the high divorce rate and increased longevity.

But before saying "I do" (again), there are a few legal issues that merit consideration.

How should the new spouse be provided for in the estate plan? The competing interests here are typically one's adult children and the new spouse. There is an expectation that assets accumulated in the first marriage will, in some measure, inure to the benefit of the children of that marriage. On the other hand, the new spouse may not have sufficient assets to provide for retirement needs in the event that he or she is widowed.

Historically, the compromise solution was to provide that the estate be held 'in trust' for the lifetime benefit of the surviving spouse. During widowhood, the surviving spouse received income from trust assets. Some trusts also provided for distributions of principal, in the discretion of the trustee. Then, upon the survivor's subsequent death, the trust terminated and all remaining assets reverted to the adult children of the first to die.

Inherited IRA Rules: What You Need To Know

Excerpt from: Forbes (click for full article)

 

Michael Twersky, a 26-year-old consultant in New York, asks:

I inherited a $15,000 traditional IRA from my father. As a child beneficiary, will I avoid income tax upon withdrawal if I wait until I’m 60? If not, would it be better to withdraw now while I’m still in a pretty low tax bracket?

You don’t have the option of waiting until you are 60 to take withdrawals. Generally, non-spousal IRA heirs must withdraw a minimum amount each year, starting by Dec. 31 of the year after the IRA owner died. Note: This is true whether it’s a traditional IRA or a Roth (a common misconception).

To calculate this distribution, you take the balance on Dec. 31 of the previous year and divide it by the inheritor’s life expectancy, as listed in the IRS’ “Single Life Expectancy” table. (You can find the table in IRS Publication 590, “Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs),” which downloads here as a PDF.) Unless the account is a Roth, there is income tax on this required payout.