The study results from a larger cancer study suggest that patients who talk to their doctors about end of life issues are less likely to receive aggressive care in the last two weeks of life. The study found that most patients (88 percent of them) had end of life conversations with their doctors at some…
Fall Open Enrollment is here and the deadline is fast approaching for changing your Medicare coverage. Even if you like your current coverage, it’s important to make sure that the plan you’ve selected still features the benefits you need. The simplest way to do that is to read your Annual Notice of Change. However, if…
Some people will keep making bad decisions no matter what is put in place to keep them from doing it. That’s what Medicare officials are finding when it comes to individuals selecting Medicare Advantage plans according to an article by Kaiser Health News journalist, Susan Jaffe. It’s open enrollment time again and Medicare officials are…
Social Security’s been around since 1935 but it’s taken this generation of recipients to begin looking at doing something to optimize the way they collect Social Security benefits beyond deciding when to start collecting it. You can read about one suggestion from Rajiv Nagaich here. Some new companies have started up to help individuals maximize…
Every year an estimated 2.1 million older Americans are reported as victims of abuse and neglect. Experts estimate that for every case reported, five go unreported. About 4 percent of the abuse occurs in nursing homes according to the American Psychological Association. This seems like a small number of cases but consider this: CBS News…
Are you still receiving your Social Security benefit check in the mail? Although most people have made the transition to electronic payments in anticipation of the March deadline for doing so, some individuals still receive paper checks. According to the Social Security Administration, 92,000 individuals in New Jersey, 43,000 in Connecticut and 229,000 in New…
Study links high blood pressure with aging of brain Neurologists at UC Davis measured the affect that high blood pressure had on the brains of 579 participants and concluded that even a little bit higher than normal blood pressure can lead to damage to the structural integrity of the brain that is evident by age…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a district court ruling that Connecticut cannot treat the income stream from an annuity as an available asset for determining Medicaid eligibility. DHSH required the well spouse to sell the annuity and use the money to pay for the ill spouse’s cost of care –the…
Are you thinking about filing for Social Security benefits before full retirement age? A recent BMO Retirement Institute report suggests that significant portions of the population have a poor understanding of Social Security benefits and as a result are choosing to take their benefits too early or aren’t taking advantage of strategies that could result…
Joseph Roy, a thin, dapper English ex-pat with a love for everything with a motor was the power of attorney for a long-time friend, May Rogers. May’s mind was still sharp as a tack but because of osteoporosis, her body could no longer safely make trips outside her home. Though they argued over everything from…
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