News
Planning Ahead for the Medicaid Look-Back Period
What is a Medicaid Look-Back Period, and why should you be concerned about planning ahead for Medicaid benefits? We encounter the following factual scenario on a regular basis, which will shed some light on why you may want to start planning now. Mom can no longer live independently. Mom sells her house and moves in with her son and his family. Son uses mom’s money to remodel or add an addition to his home and to help pay household expenses, such as utilities, food, maintenance. Mom never puts anything in writing indicating son can use her money for such expenses. [...]
Self-Directed Medicaid Home Care Options
For a multitude of reasons, even once approved for Medicaid, many families have been hesitant to move their loved ones to an Assisted Living or Nursing Home environment, opting instead for home care. However, home care through an agency comes with issues of its own, primarily rooted in staffing shortages. It is no secret that the United States’ aging population is growing, an impending crisis exacerbated and exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Philadelphia Inquirer recently called out Pennsylvania’s lack of comprehensive eldercare solutions, rating their “level of preparedness at a ‘C’ or ‘D,’” not nearly good enough to match [...]
Recognizing and Avoiding Caregiver Burnout
In addition to advocating for the needs of our clients, the Rothkoff Care Coordination team often addresses the need of the caregiver with whom we communicate, including the impact of caregiver burnout. A caregiver is typically a spouse or adult child who is assisting with tasks ranging from meal preparation and medication management to physically assisting their loved one with activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, and grooming. Sometimes caregiving simply involves concern over the aging loved one’s wellbeing and checking to make sure this loved one is okay. Caregivers provide this support out of love, respect, and a [...]
Walk to End Alzheimer’s: Love for Lois
Every year, thousands of Americans lace up for the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s—the world’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research. And every year, our team walks for our dear friend and former co-worker Lois, who is living with this disease. Lois’s grandson, Jared Fisch, pens an anecdotal essay on what it looks like to be on the other end of Alzheimer’s watching a loved one change before you. Read on below and join the Rothkoff Law Group – Love for Lois team in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. She’s Not Who She Used to Be I [...]
Preventing Falls: Tips on Caring for Aging Parents
As our loved ones age, it's important to help in preventing falls in an effort to help save them from devastating effects on their health. There are steps you can take to lower the risk. It is always a good idea to have a conversation with your loved one’s doctor about what might be appropriate. Here are a few talking points for preventing falls to discuss with your loved one and/or their doctor. Start by asking your loved one’s doctor whether they are at high risk for falls. Ask your loved one’s doctor whether they are any steps you can [...]
Nursing Home Visitation
Unfortunately, nursing home visitation and visits to long-term care communities in NJ, PA, and beyond are once again being limited or restricted due to residents and/or staff contracting the COVID-19 virus. We have seen the devastating consequences of visitation restrictions on long-term care residents. During the past year, long-term care advocates have called for each community to allow for an “essential caregiver” during a health care emergency. In June 2021, a bill was introduced in Congress to recognize essential caregivers. The Essential Caregivers Act (H.R. 3733) is bipartisan legislation that would give nursing home residents the right to have access [...]
Pennsylvania Updates Nursing Home Regulations
Acknowledging that current statewide nursing home regulations are insufficient to meet the physical, psychological, and social needs of residents, Pennsylvania announced a number of changes this past week. One of the most significant being a 35% increase in direct care provided to each nursing home resident - 4.1 daily hours, up from 2.7. Although lessons learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic contributed to these new nursing home regulations, studies show that raising the number of care hours improves the quality of care, prevents infections, falls, malnutrition, and dehydration. In short, more care creates better outcomes. Of course, any new law, regulation, [...]
Qualified Income Trust for Medicaid
Applying for Medicaid for yourself or a loved one can be a difficult process. Many people believe they have successfully navigated all clinical and financial criteria, only to discover that the applicant requires a Qualified Income Trust, or QIT. Prior to December 1, 2014, all Medicaid applicants in the State of New Jersey with a monthly income in excess of the annual income limit, $2,382.00/month in 2021, were ineligible for the benefit. The creation of QITs has allowed for a wider range of applicants but has further complicated the Medicaid application process. Improper use of a QIT can result in [...]
LGBTQI+ Senior Bill of Rights
New Jersey is one of four states leading the charge against discrimination based on sexual orientation in long-term care facilities. In March of this year, Governor Murphy signed S2545/A4388, known as the LGBTQI+ Senior Bill of Rights, into law. The new law, similar to those in Massachusetts, California, and Illinois, bans discrimination in long-term care communities based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The significance of the LGBTQI+ Senior Bill of Rights is twofold. First, it mandates the staff and administration of long-term care communities receive training on caring for and preventing discrimination against LGBTQI+ seniors. Secondly, the law establishes [...]
LGBT Advocacy for the Senior Population
In a recent post, our client Services Director, Manon Adcock, referenced the challenges of LGBT advocacy among the aging population. Two years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a SAGECare training Manon had mentioned, along with attorneys Bryan Adler and Roxane Crowley of Rothkoff Law Group. SAGECare is a national organization that offers resources and LGBT advocacy for aging adults. We attended an all-day program that offered cultural competency training for advocating for these individuals. It was an eye-opening experience to hear the history of LGBT advocacy groups and the ongoing challenges LGBT seniors experience. Their trainings are available [...]
Update on Rothkoff Law Status
After almost a year and a half in a virtual setting, our team is in the process of returning to the office. We also are doing more in-person appointments. We will continue to offer virtual appointments for those who wish to meet via Zoom. Additionally, although we will be continuing with other virtual professional and consumer education series, we will be beginning to offer in-person continuing education presentations beginning this summer. We have updated our professional and consumer seminars and webinars for 2021. You may review all our updated 2021 professional and consumer events by clicking here. We hope you [...]
Virtual Elder Care Symposium Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for this year’s Elder Care Symposium on October 21st. The Virtual Symposium will be held on a customized virtual event platform featuring virtual presentations and an interactive exhibit hall with virtual booths. Each booth includes videos, downloadable documents, and event product information. You don’t want to miss this exciting experience! Our keynote speaker is Dr. Jason Karlawish, physician, writer, and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and the co-director of the Penn Memory Center. Breakout sessions will include institutional racism in senior healthcare, virtual reality with seniors, pain management in the elderly, and more. You can [...]
The Value of Home Modifications for Older Adults
The focus of our elder care law firm is to offer a multi-disciplinary approach to address the issues associated with the aging process. Traditional legal services such as drafting estate planning documents, trust planning, and guardianships are important legal tools that everyone should plan for. However, these purely legal tools do not prevent seniors from falling in their home and subsequently requiring a hospital stay and possible nursing home placement. As such, we provide both legal and non-legal care advocacy services to keep seniors at home, where most older adults want to be. COVID-19 and its aftermath have made senior [...]
Medicaid Crisis Planning: Paying for Long-Term Care
COVID-19 has been devastating to long-term care residents. Although the situation has improved greatly after the availability of vaccines, family members are still hesitant to make the decision to place their loved ones in a nursing home setting. Nonetheless, there was and continues to be an important need for assisted living and/or nursing home care. Should placement in a long-term care community be necessary, it is important to adequately prepare for the significant financial costs of care. Medicaid crisis planning is a crucial step in preparing for the future and taming the unexpected. Medicaid crisis planning can help turn an [...]
FDA Approves New Alzheimer’s Drug
On June 7, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Aduhelm (aducanumab), a new Alzheimer’s drug for the treatment of the disease. Aduhelm was approved using the “accelerated approval pathway,” which can be used for a drug for a serious or life-threatening illness that provides a therapeutic advantage over existing treatment. According to the FDA, “accelerated approval can be based on the drug’s effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict a clinical benefit to patients, with a required post-approval trial to verify that the drug provides the expected clinical benefit.” Was the approval of [...]