According to an article in today’s New York Times by health writer Jane Brody, below normal levels of B-12 can sometimes mimic the signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. According to Brody, Vitamin B-12 is absorbed less readily as we age, and a deficiency can cause symptoms of memory loss and confusion–the same symptoms as an… Read More »
Posts Categorized: Elder Law
There's a Criminal Employed in Your Nursing Home
The Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a report this past March, analyzing 35,000 nursing home employee records of nursing homes against criminal records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). 92% of nursing homes employ one or more people with a criminal conviction. Nearly half of nursing homes employed… Read More »
The Survey Says: NY a Winner in the High Cost of Long Term Care
In this survey, New York “only” comes in fifth in the country on the list of most expensive annual cost for a private room at a nursing home. The survey is using median rates, and also averaging the cost of nursing homes throughout New York State. On Long Island, the cost of a semi-private room… Read More »
Big Banks Exit Reverse Mortgage Market
What is a Reverse Mortgage? Seniors (you must be over age 62) can tap the home equity in their homes by obtaining a reverse mortgage in either a lump sum or multiple payments. The homeowner is not obligated to repay the loan, and the payment is deferred until the homeowner dies, sells the home,… Read More »
The Real Reason You Should Have Paid Attention in High School French
In a recent interview in the New York Times Science Section, cognitive neuroscientist Ellen Bialystock was interviewed about recent studies that have found that being bilingual delays the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms by an average of five to six years. Unfortunately, the occasional use of a second language does not qualify for bilingualism. The… Read More »
The Five-Year Lookback– Frequently Asked Questions
One of the questions I am frequently asked in my elder law practice is “what is the five-year lookback?” Simply put, if you give away money or property during the five years before you apply for Medicaid, that transfer triggers a penalty period during which you are ineligible for Medicaid. How Does the Penalty Period… Read More »
I Hereby Leave my Life Insurance to….the State of New York?
Here’s an astounding statistic: According to the New York Times, New York has received $400,287,736 in unclaimed life insurance property since 2000 and paid out $64,772,228. Why does so much money go unclaimed? The first problem is that someone needs to notify the insurance company that the policy holder has died. If the beneficiaries… Read More »
A Physician’s Guide to End-of-Life Decisions (MOLST)
The denial of death is one of the strongest of human defense mechanisms. In fact, there’s an entire book about it. We don’t want to think about our end-of-life care wishes. (Although some have instructed, “Wave a martini in front of me — if I don’t respond, pull the plug.”) I don’t like to think… Read More »
Is the Doctor In? Not if You're on Medicaid
A major difficulty for people on Medicaid is the inability to find doctors and dentists willing to accept the plan. For those people who need primary care, the result is often hours and hours in clinics waiting to see a general practitioner and month-long waits for specialists. According to the New York Times, having… Read More »