A Hospital Escape Story
Every year between June and September we are contacted by parents who have children that have turned age 18 and are going off to college. I have written in the past about the importance of parents having their child execute a power of attorney and health care directive because upon reaching the age of majority parents can no longer make financial and medical decisions for that child. One parent told me that she had read a story that reinforced the importance of getting these documents in place before her daughter went off to school. I hadn’t heard this particular story so I asked her to send it to me. Alyssa was a senior in high school when she suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm on Christmas Day. She was taken to the Mayo Clinic, a nationally well known medical facility in Rochester, Minnesota where neurosurgeons saved her life but her road to recovery was a long one. Two months later she was still at the Mayo Clinic in the midst of rehabilitation. Her family, however, had disagreements with the hospital staff about the course of her rehab and asked for Alyssa to be transferred to another facility. Their requests were
Flexible working Hours for Every Employee
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Shifting Drugs from Medicare Part B to Part D
A few months ago President Trump announced a plan to lower prescription drug costs under Medicare by moving coverage of certain expensive drugs from Medicare Part B to Part D. Part B is the medical benefit that was part of the original Medicare law passed by Congress in 1965. Part D is the drug coverage plan that was added to Medicare in 2003. The President believes costs can be reduced because under Part D the government contracts with private insurance companies to manage benefits and negotiate discounted rates with drug companies. Drugs under Part B are administered by infusions or injections that are either done in doctors’ offices or in hospital outpatient facilities. There is no negotiation of the cost of drugs covered under Part B. The idea is that if the drug costs are reduced thru negotiation under Part D then seniors save money and the government saves money. Everybody wins. There are, however, potential problems. One is that there is generally a higher out of pocket cost for drugs under Part D than there is under Part B. Part B beneficiaries usually are required to pay 20% of the Medicare approved charge but a good Medigap policy
A Pension Hole the Size of Japan’s Economy (Part 2)
In last week’s post I wrote about the growing public pension crisis in our country. A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted the efforts by different states to try to start solving the problem which will only grow worse in coming years. Some pension recipients have either agreed to cuts to try to avoid deeper reductions forced upon them while other recipients have had their benefits involuntarily reduced. Some states’ efforts have been struck down in the courts so far. The numbers, however, are staggering and more attempts will surely come. So, who will be affected and is there anything you can do now? Most retirees in their 80’s and 90’s are not likely to be affected by any changes. First of all, many of the oldest pension recipients will pass away before changes are implemented. Secondly, lawmakers will try to inflict as little pain as possible on their constituents. The oldest retirees have no ability to make up for the loss of income. Having counted on their pension income for years, it would be impossible for them to replace it. Many would also be facing significant long term care and health care