What Do I Need besides a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare?

Elder Care, Estate Planning, Medicare, Power of Attorney / Caregiving, Elder Care, Medicare, Power of Attorney, St. Petersburg Estate Planning Attorney

A medical power of attorney (POA) is a durable power of attorney for healthcare. This document lets a trusted friend or family member serve as your agent to make important and necessary healthcare decisions, if you become incapacitated or unable to communicate or participate in care.

Forbes’s recent article entitled “For Medicare, Having A Power Of Attorney Is Not Enough” explains that with COVID-19, this is very important. The risk for severe illness from this disease increases with age, and hospitals aren’t permitting visitors. This lack of access can create some major challenges in managing a family, dealing with critical business issues and paying bills.

Here’s one more: powers of attorney don’t stand alone, when it comes to dealing with Medicare issues. Medicare requires a beneficiary’s written permission to use or provide personal medical information for any purpose not defined in the privacy notice contained in the Medicare & You handbook. A competent person can complete the form, call the “1-800-MEDICARE Authorization to Disclose Personal Health Information.” When needed, the representative is then authorized to talk with Medicare, research and choose Medicare coverage, handle claims and file an appeal.

Make sure that you’ve authorized Medicare to release information to a family member or an agent. You should also see if the authorization applies for a specified period of time or if it applies indefinitely. You must mail the completed form to Medicare. You can revoke this authorization at any time. For those who are no longer able to give consent, their personal representative can complete the form and attach a duly executed power of attorney.

There’s another authorization to address. It concerns individual Medicare plans – Medicare Advantage, Part D prescription drug, or Medicare supplement. Every plan has an authorization form that gives the authority to speak to plan representatives about claims or coverage, update contact information and more, depending on the individual plan.

To begin this process, check the plan’s member information or talk to a customer service representative.

You never know what’s in the future, so take the time now to prepare. You should take these three important steps.

Establish or update your financial and medical powers of attorney
Identify and name an authorized Medicare representative; and
Contact your Medicare plan(s) and fill out the authorization forms.

Reference: Forbes (August 4, 2020) “For Medicare, Having A Power Of Attorney Is Not Enough”

Planning for Long-Term Care

Elder Care, Estate Planning, Financial Planning, Health Care, Living Will, Long Term Care Planning, Power of Attorney / Advance Directive, Caregiving, Cognitive Decline, Continuing Care Community, Elder Care, Estate Plan, Long Term Care, Nursing Facility, Retirement Savings, St. Petersburg Estate Planning Attorney

Starting to plan for elder care should happen when you are in your 50s or 60s. By the time you are 70, it may be too late. With the median annual cost of a private room in a nursing facility coming in at more than $100,000, not having a plan can become one of the most expensive mistakes of your financial life. The article “Four steps you can take to safeguard your retirement savings from this risk” from CNBC says that even if care is provided in your own home, the annual median cost of in-home skilled nursing is $87.50 per visit.

There are fewer and fewer insurance companies that offer long-term care insurance policies, and even with a policy, there are many out-of-pocket expenses that also have to be paid. People often fail to prepare for the indirect cost of caregiving, which primarily impacts women who are taking care of older, infirm spouses and aging parents.

The best time to start planning for the later years is around age 60. That’s when most people have experienced their parent’s aging and understand that planning and conversations with loved ones need to take place.

Living Transitions. Do you want to remain at home as long as is practicable, or would you rather move to a continuing care retirement community? If you are planning on aging in place in your home, what changes will need to be made to your home to ensure that you can live there safely? How will you protect yourself from loneliness, if you plan on staying at home?

Driving Transitions. Knowing when to turn in your car keys is a big issue for seniors. How will you get around, if and when you are no longer able to drive safely? What transportation alternatives are there in your community?

Financial Caretaking. Cognitive decline can start as early as age 53, leading people to make mistakes that cost them dearly. Forgetting to pay bills, paying some bills twice, or forgetting accounts, are signs that you may need some help with your financial affairs.

Healthcare Transitions. If you don’t already have an advance directive, you need to have one created, as part of your overall estate plan. This provides an opportunity for you to state how you want to receive care, if you are not able to communicate your wishes. Not having this document may mean that you are kept alive on a respirator, when your preference is to be allowed to die naturally. You’ll also need a Health Care Power of Attorney, a person you name to make medical decisions on your behalf when you cannot do so. This person does not have to be a spouse or an adult child—sometimes it’s best to have a trusted friend who you will be sure will follow your directions. Make sure this person is willing to serve, even when your documented wishes may be challenged.

Reference: CNBC (Jan. 31, 2020) “Four steps you can take to safeguard your retirement savings from this risk”