Hands to Help Seniors

View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

I was inspired to start an in home private duty caregiving service called Family inHome Caregiving several years ago after taking care of my grandmother for five years prior to her death two years ago.  I had many happy times and many sad times, as she went through the considerable ups and downs (both health wise and emotionally) that anyone fighting a long battle with dementia or Alzheimer's disease faces.  Although Family inHome Caregiving quickly became very successful, I soon realized that the county has both large pockets of very wealthy people and many even larger pockets of people that are extremely poor.  With all of the budget cuts at both the state and federal levels, we were inundated with calls from people who were in bad need of care to stay at home and remain independent, but simply couldn't afford it.  Many people believe that Medicare covers private duty in home care.  Unfortunately, my company and our Platinum Sponsor Alliance Home Health (which does something similar to Family inHome Caregiving but they focus on the medical aspect) know very well that it doesn't.  And even with home health, the number of hours of care which are reimbursable is very limited.  For private duty caregiving, Long Term Care Insurance (LTC) is the only type of private insurance which will cover some of the charges.  Unfortunately, it's extremely expensive and few people get it.   Explaining this situation to people is very challenging.  They simply do not understand why Medicare isn't there to care for them or a loved one when they are having physical difficulties. There have been rumblings that Medicare may eventually change its policy as health care reform gets rolled out and radical changes are made to our country's health care system.  I certainly hope so, but I wouldn't hold my breath given the poor financial condition of the Medicare and Social Security funds.  It was nice to read an article about a woman who turned a terrible situation into a good one.  It profiled Karen Thomas, whose mother qualified for Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California) but didn’t receive it right away.  Rather, she was put on a waiting list.  This did little to help with the $1,000 a month that she was paying for a caregiver, and her daughter decided to change her career because she couldn't work 70 hours per week as CFO of a food company and care for her mother as well.  She started a non-profit and in the process signed up for a policy so that her employees could get LTC.  This makes it much more affordable when employers do this, and I am happy Ms. Thomas was able to find a new career in the non-profit sector while still taking good care of her employees.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

The latest issue of AARP, The Magazine, had an article about how expensive medical insurance is and what a nightmare it can be if you don't have insurance and have a major medical emergency.  Although the Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform) will change that for many, it hasn't been fully implemented yet and until it is you need to make sure that you prepare for the worst, even if you feel healthy.  The article profiled 67-year old Bettye Jenkins.  When her private insurance policy raised her rates to $300/month back in 2000, she simply couldn't afford it and dropped the policy.  She went without seeing a doctor from 2000-2007 and thankfully didn't have any major medical problems.  In 2007, she found a community health center which charged her just $60 for a check up.  They found that she had hypertension and high cholesterol and put her on a diet and exercise regimen and got her prescriptions which only cost $8.  Unfortunately, she ignored follow up calls from the medical center and later ended up in the emergency room, which didn't hesitate to bill her full price, which was $6,500.  I didn't realize until I read this article that about 60% of people who file for bankruptcy protection in the United States do so because they have run up medical bills that they can't afford.  Many are baby boomers (there are 9.3 million uninsured boomers between the ages of 50 and 64).  Don't get yourself in this situation!  According to the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, public health centers equal or exceed the standard of care when compared to physicians in private practice.  They charge you on a sliding scale based on your income.  To find out more, check out the web site of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), there are 18 in Monterey county. According to Amy Simmons Farber of the NACHC, many people are unaware of this resource.  "Once they go, they are often surprised at the quality of care they get." 

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

Many senior citizens and their adult children struggle with financial problems when health problems kick in and they require significant in home care.  Although children and other relatives pitch in, it's often times not enough.  Paid in home private duty caregivers often have to be hired by the family, which can be very expensive.  California recently introduced legislation which would have Medi-Cal (called Medicaid in many other states) institute a program which would help those with a life insurance policy pay for in home private duty caregivers, while also saving money for the state.  Many people have life insurance policies but when times get tough, they just stop paying the premiums, which can be a huge mistake (as this Wall Street Journal article points out).  Even if you ask the life insurance policy issuer to give you what is called the cash surrender value which you are entitled to, you end up getting only a fraction of what you or your loved one have paid in over the life of the contract.  Another option you have is to sell the policy to a third party, who then continues to pay the premiums and receives the proceeds from the policy after you or your loved one passes away.  Although you may struggle with the concept of not having anything to leave to your heirs, if you are in the financial position which is going to force you to go on Medi-Cal, you will lose the benefits of the policy anyway (unless you have set up a living trust and the policy is in the trust).  Therefore, what are called "life settlements" may be a viable option for senior citizens that are in a financial pickle due to health problems or the simple fact that they are having mobility problems and they need someone to watch over them in order to be safe at home.  One company in this business told the Journal they paid out, on average, about 45% of the face value of the policy, depending on the age and the health of the policy holder.  Although these intermediaries (which will buy the policy and then resell it to investors) do take hefty fees, it may be worth it to you in the long run.  Most of the states which have passed legislation to facilitate people cashing in on life insurance policies force you to have the money flow into an account which is used only to pay for in home caregivers.  I have not yet read the California bill which is pending, however, apparently this is fairly common.  This is done in order to ensure that the money isn't squandered.  However, if you are the trustee or are taking care of the finances of a parent or are a senior citizen in this situation, you can do this on your own without the assistance of Medi-Cal.  They are implementing the program to drive public awareness of this option which many people aren't aware of.  However, they also have a selfish motive.  If they can get you to tap into your life insurance policy, this will stop you from going on Medi-Cal, at least temporarily.  This will save the state a lot of money because you will be paying for your caregivers, not the state of California.   Although this is not exactly a noble cause, I appreciate the state of California and others which are publicizing this option, because many people simply aren't aware of it and will just let the policy lapse.  In that case, unfortunately, it becomes completely worthless. 

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California Historic legislation which was voted in over last weekend vastly expands the number of people eligible for Medi-Cal in our state.  Although the Affordable Care Act (health care reform) set the rules for this implementation, some states have decided not to vote positively on legislation to expand Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California), despite the fact that the federal government is picking up most of the tab.  Many states are so cash strapped that any dollars added to the budget just can't even be considered.  Just one day after passing our state budget, legislators in Sacramento voted to add a whopping 1.4 million new residents to the Medi-Cal eligibility list.  After the bill was voted on, Senator Mark Leno (Democrat, San Francisco) told the Monterey Herald, "We don't know for certain that this will contain the costs, that's certainly the goal.  But…we also make sure that health care is not considered a privilege of the fortunate few but as a basic human right."  He continued, "That's what we're implementing today.  This is a big deal."  The federal government had originally said they would cover 100% of the costs but later said they would do this just for the first three years.  Following that, it gradually drops to 90% starting in 2020.  The bill which passed in California has a provision to drop the coverage if the federal government's share drops below 70%.  It's great to see so many Californian's getting access to health care.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors

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View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

I've written a number of times on my blog about the controversy surrounding the veterans cemetery which is supposed to be built on the old Fort Ord site.  One hot topic which was brought up at the Seaside City Council meeting last Thursday was the fact that in order to fund it, the backers are going to have to sell a parcel of land to those who want to build Monterey Downs.  This project will have a racetrack, retail and housing.  "There will be no cemetery if the endowment fund is not developed," Deputy City Manager Diana Ingersoll told those attending the public meeting.  This drew howls from some in the audience.  Bill Weigle, a resident of Seaside, said "I think it's totally out of place for her to be saying that," according to the Monterey Herald.  "It's creating the impression she is really in the lap of Monterey Downs," he said.   Regardless of your view on the racetrack, one positive is that the developer has committed to making 600 of the 1,500 planned residential units which are to be built available to low-income residents.  There's a dearth of these units on the Monterey Peninsula, and seniors living on a fixed income would welcome them with open arms.  They may even be able to save enough money to be able to go over and enjoy the races.  The racing will only take place 36 days per year, and on other days there will be many other fun events if the venue is built, one of which may be a Cirque du Soleil production.  They have produced many of my favorite shows. 

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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