This Is Not A Bill

There is a certain amount of concern about how much we are spending in the Medicare program. While there are some economies that have not been suggested, much has been put forward in an attempt to curb the rising cost of providing care for the elderly and the disabled. One area of expense that costs millions of dollars every year is fraud. Identifying fraud, prosecuting the perpetrators and retrieving the funds taken improperly will go a long way to stop this drain on the system.
One of the ways that fraud occurs is the fake provider. The scammers will set up a store front, file the paper work to become Medicare providers and recruit Medicare recipients to provide them with Medicare numbers and give them a portion of the money they get after they bill Medicare. This type of rip off needs to be tracked from the fraud unit but can be stopped (or slowed down) when alert consumers become aware of the recruiting efforts.
Another way for consumers to spot incorrect billing is the form you get in the mail after you have had some health care service provided. When the provider submits the bill, a payment is made and the covered person is sent a notice called an EOB (explanation of benefits) that should list when the care was provided, who provided the care, what care was provided, how much was billed and how much was paid. Always take the time to read the EOB. Check to be sure that this represents care you or your loved one received and that there are no extra charges. If there are charges for care you did not receive, call Medicare to report a concern. This will start the ball rolling to correct the error.

Trust But Verify

Everyone who is old enough to vote is old enough to have a will. Power of Attorney documents should also be set up at the same time as well as Advance Directives. These should all be reviewed every 5 years or so or when there is a significant change in circumstances.
What sometimes happens is that sometimes there is family strife and seniors may be told that Person A is now in charge of the money and medical decisions. Don't take this at face value. Insist on seeing the documents in question and verify the signatures. Bear in mind that a document is not enforceable if the person signing away rights is not competent to do so. If your estranged relative has signed over control of finances to someone after they have been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's challenge the documents through your attorney. This is especially important if you feel that this person does not have your best interests in mind.

Scam Alert for the Aging

There is an article in the newest AARP magazine regarding changes in scams and who is doing the scamming. Historically, the aging population has been a prime target for scam artists. We have resources and we want to be helpful. Also, there are some physical changes that alter our ability to process and evaluate situations. Now there is a trend to aging persons being the scam artists. We all need to be aware and wary of unscrupulous people.
Two important things to keep in mind: no one can guarantee a return on investment greater than the market average and all investment goes hand in hand with risk. If the sales person is making these kinds of claims, head for the door.
It is also good to keep in mind that you should never put all of your money in one fund in the market. Only risk what you are able to afford to lose. If you are already retired, move investments to low risk areas.

Finding an Appropriate Living Arrangement - Part 2

Last time I alluded to the challenges presented by KS's supposedly adult stepchildren. She has a life estate for the house. This means that she may stay in the house until she chooses to leave but the house will become the property of her stepsons if she moves to another home. Unfortunately, her stepsons and their wives are pushing her attorney to push her to leave the home as soon as possible. They are being everything but helpful.
These young men are prime examples of how to NOT handle your parent's second spouse. While there are those who prey on vulnerable seniors this is still the exception rather than the rule. You need to step back and put your first response in neutral to review the reality with a minimum of emotion in the mix.
Questions to ask yourself include: Is this person good to my parent? Does my parent appear to genuinely care for this person? If this is a union based on financial benefits, do they both benefit? Are they better together than separately?
It is also best to set greed aside in these situations. If there is a particular object you want to have from the house and it was left to the surviving spouse, ask nicely. If they do not want to give it up right away, maybe they will leave it to you in their will. If they feel that they need to sell items to provide for living expenses, ask to be offered the items before anyone else. Of course, if your step parent is reduced to sell items to make ends meet, you may consider how much more help you should try to offer.
All in all, talk to each other, open the lines of communication and try to see in this person what your parent did.

Health Literacy

As we all age, we will find that we need to spend a greater portion of our time with MD’s and other health care providers. In order for us to make the best use of this time it is important to be as informed as possible. We can do that by asking questions that lead us to the best and most complete information. We need to use our best critical thinking to separate the good info from the garbage.

Remember that you need to be aware of the source of any health information that comes your way. The web is a wonderful source of information but anyone can post anything that takes their fancy. Reliable info will come from government websites, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or from sites that post research papers. The trick is to be suspicious of the hype and to look for well conducted research that uses control groups and can be repeated. Testimonials of how wonderful some new treatment seems to be are the beginning of the research not the end.

Abuse and the Aging

Mickey Rooney just testified before Congress regarding how he believes that he has been abused by his step-son and step-daughter. There is some indication that Brooke Astor was financially abused by her son and daughter-in-law. While these are both cases involving a great deal of money and control of that money, there is a thread common to many cases over the entire spectrum of aging persons; the persons who are entrusted to care for persons when they are unable to care for themselves fail in their responsibilities.

We need to be aware of what is happening with our aging friends and relatives. Abuse takes many forms and some are more evident than others. Frequent “falls”, bruises, broken bones and other injuries are relatively obvious if you are seeing your relative regularly. While this may not be actual battery by the caregiver, failing to obtain medical care is also abuse. In either case, this needs to be reported to someone. If there is an immediate danger, call 9-1-1, if not check with the county office of services to the aging, the person’s primary care physician or clergyman.

If you notice that someone lacks clothing that is in good repair, appropriate for the weather or if the house is not being maintained, check up to see what is happening. If the aging person is losing weight, follow up. The weight loss may or may not be related to being deprived of nutritious food in large enough quantities.

Don’t wait for the aging person to speak up if you are concerned. The abused individual may be ashamed that they have lost control over their finances, health care, etc or they may be frightened to talk to anyone for fear of retaliation. The abused person is often in a situation that can not be changed from within; if you are concerned, take action. Keep in contact so that you will notice changes that need to be addressed.

Scams and the Aging

There are plenty of unscrupulous individuals out there who have no second thoughts about scamming Granny and PopPop.  Besides the emotional stress, embarrassment and immediate financial set back from being taken advantage of, the older adult will have a great deal of difficulty recouping money lost to a scammer.

The lonely senior citizen, particularly the female senior citizen is a prime target for the type of lowlife who will smother her/him with verbal and sometimes physical affection and take as much money as can be pried out of the bank account. If this is happening, get help from the police and others to stop the drain on resources. This will be as difficult as getting your loved one out of a cult. Prevention is not easy but if you can keep your senior connected to friends and family you will be able to limit loneliness that makes them vulnerable.

Seniors also are targets because they want to help. The varieties of scams are numerous and are updated regularly. Remember that the bank and the police do not need your help to catch the dishonest teller or the officer on the take. Do what you can to help your senior understand that it is best to report this to the authorities before any money changes hands.

Remember that no reputable contest requires fees to be paid in order to collect the prize, you also will not be likely to win a prize in a contest you did not enter.

This list of types of scams is by no means extensive. Keeping in mind that something for nothing will leave you with nothing.

It's Too Good to be True

Have you ever had an offer that was just too good but you had to make up your mind right away, the offer won’t last? You can be sure that such an offer is really too good to be true. It is 99.9% sure to be a scam. The good offer will be available for today, tomorrow and next week.  Avoiding scams by applying this as a gauge will help you or your loved one to hold onto your hard earned money.

Common elements of scams are that the money you are to have at the end of the transaction is a wind fall for you and the scammer, you need to spend money to get the money and there is a slightly underhanded feel to the whole thing. There is NO logical reason why someone you have never met, living in Nigeria (or other third world country) needs your help to get a large sum of money out of the country. One new twist on the Nigerian scam is to involve a reference to the FBI that implies that you will be arrested if you do not respond. There is nothing to fear from the FBI if you have done nothing wrong, you know nothing about this money, don’t fall for this one.

More on other scams next post.