Maine Center for Elder Law Blog

Use this tool to search more than 25,000 nursing home inspection reports, most completed since January 2011, and encompassing over 130,000 deficiencies.

http://projects.propublica.org/nursing-homes/

This video is created by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and Stetson University College of Law, which offers a master's of law in Elder Law.  The video is targeted toward upcoming attorneys to explain "What is Elder Law?"  However, it is a good explanation of issues that an elder law attorney can address.

This video could also be useful for caregivers trying to decide what issues they face.  In our office, we often see adult children who want to take care of their parents, but don't know where to begin.  This video is a good resource.

http://player.vimeo.com/video/46297718

The clip shown on NPR's website is part of a documentary called Alive Inside, which follows social worker Dan Cohen as he creates personalized iPod playlists for people in elder care facilities, hoping to reconnect them with the music they love. Cohen tells NPR's Melissa Block that the video of Henry is a great example of the link between music and memory.

"He is able to actually answer questions and speak about his youth, and this is sort of the magic of music that's familiar for those with dementia," Cohen says. "Even though Alzheimer's and various forms of dementia will ravage many parts of the brain, long-term memory of music from when one was young remains very often. So if you tap that, you really get that kind of awakening response. It's pretty exciting to see."

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/18/150891711/for-elders-with-dementia-music-sparks-great-awakenings

One component of the Affordable Care Act is to increase access to health insurance by expanding eligibility for Medicaid benefits. The Medicaid program provides health insurance coverage to people with low incomes and is funded jointly by the federal and state governments.  This report offers a clear explanation of the act in terms of Medicaid expansion.

http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8332.pdf

The “Disabled Military Child Protection Act,” introduced by Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., on March 29, would allow military retirees who participate in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to transfer their benefits to a special-needs trust for their disabled children that would be accessible after the retiree dies. Civilian federal retirees are able to establish similar trusts for their disabled children, but there is no equivalent within the military’s retirement system.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/04/military-bill-protects-survivor-benefit-plan-special-needs-kids-040312w/

See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204542404577158990079313270.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#printMode

Here's a good article from Wall Street Journal:

More than six million children in the U.S. fall into the "special needs" category, and their ranks are expanding. The number of those affected by one developmental disability alone—autism—grew more than 70% between 2005 and 2010.

The tax code can help—if you know where to look.

There are numerous tax breaks for education, but the most important one for many special-needs students isn't an education break per se. Instead, it falls under the medical-expense category.

Although students with disabilities have a right to a "free and appropriate" public education by law, some families opt out and others pay for a range of supplemental therapies.

Read the full article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203537304577030453437780894.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

One out of every five older Americans has been sold an inappropriate investment, paid excessive fees for a financial product or service, or been a victim of fraud, according to a 2010 study by the Investor Protection Trust; new research from MetLife puts their collective losses at $2.9 billion last year.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/10/retirement/protecting_parents.moneymag/index.htm

Genworth Financial offers a cost of care map for the United States:

http://www.genworth.com/content/products/long_term_care/long_term_care/cost_of_care.html

Watch out for these kinds of advisors!

http://www.sfweekly.com/2011-06-29/news/paul-noe-ii-con-man-veteran-benefits-scam-financial-review-insurance-services-matt-smith/2/

The wealthy recluse's bequest to her nurse and doctor raises serious ethical questions.

See article by Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43516963/ns/health-health_care/