Category Archives: Senior Planning

The Four Parts of Medicare – A Brief Explanation

Posted on by

NJ Senior Health

A Brief Explanation about the Four Parts of Medicare

Medicare, which is a four part health coverage program provided by The United States Federal Government, is available to most American citizens age 65 and over.  Some people under the age of 65 who are disabled and some people at any age with end-stage renal disease may also qualify.

Here is a brief look at the four parts:

  • Part A provides hospital, hospice and limited home health care coverage. It is free to eligible citizens 65 and older who, either themselves or their spouse, have paid Medicare taxes for 40 or more quarters. Anyone who already receives or is eligible to receive Social Security or Railroad benefits but hasn’t yet filed for them, is eligible for Part A. Other citizens or lawfully admitted aliens who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years can pay a monthly premium.
  • Part B, administered by the government, covers medically necessary doctor visits, outpatient services, lab tests, x-rays, rehabilitation and physical therapy services, and medically necessary medical equipment. Under this plan, you can go to any doctor you choose. The current monthly premium for people earning $82,000 or less per year is $96.40 and there is an additional co-pay of 20 percent of the cost of the services covered. (Monthly premiums go up to $238.40 for those earning above $205,000 a year.) Eligible seniors can sign up for Part B within a seven-month period that begins three months before they turn 65. You can enroll by calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or visiting or calling your local Social Security office.
  • Part C is the Medicare Advantage Plan — an optional plan administered by private insurance plans and substitutes for coverage under Part A and B. This plan is less costly than Part B, but because it restricts one’s choice of doctors and service providers, it is important to be sure that the service providers covered are accessible and meet your needs.
  • Part D is an optional prescription drug coverage plan. There are many choices of plans, and they each have different monthly fees, yearly deductibles, and co-pays. In addition, all plans fit into a complex system under which after a certain amount of coverage, there is a gap in coverage up until another level is reached. Different plans cover different medications, so you need to check each plan to see which one covers the medications you are currently taking. At a certain time each year you can switch plans in case your medication needs change or you are unhappy with your current plan.

Posted by: Frank Esposito, Vice President of Expert Home Care.  New Jersey’s Expert Home Care provides professional and reliable home health care and companion care for NJ seniors, helping them with their daily living activities since 1984. Please call us toll free at 800-848-2336 when you have elder care related questions or need assistance for a loved one.

Geriatric Depression: Important Information for New Jersey Seniors and Families

Posted on by

NJ Senior Health: Elderly Depression

Studies show that a significant percentage of seniors experience mental disorders that are not a normal part of aging.  These include anxiety, depression, cognitive impairment, mood disorders and behavioral problems.

Yet, psychiatric illnesses in older adults have long tended to be minimized, sometimes with tragic consequences.  This is why the rate of suicide is higher than any other age group and twice the national average.

“Many elderly people don’t have a voice,” said Dr. Jack Dang, a psychiatrist who is board certified in geriatric psychiatry.  “They suffer in silence because they are unable to relate their problems to someone who understands.  Access to psychiatric care has long been a problem for them.  And most families and nursing homes don’t know how to care for them.”

The lack of knowledgeable experts constitutes a major part of the problem.  According to the American Medical Association, there are less than 2,600 board certified geriatric psychiatrists for 35 million seniors – or about one per 14,000 Americans 65 and older.   Families and nursing home personnel often fail to recognize mental or emotional illness in an elderly person, which can be confused with the symptoms of multiple medical problems.

Consider that older Americans account for only 7% of all inpatient mental health services, 6% of community-based mental health services and 9% of private psychiatric care – yet comprise 13% of the population.  In addition to a shortage of appropriate health specialists, experts cite barriers to access, a denial of problems among the elderly, and a lack of coordination between mental health and aging networks.

“The quiet, silent patient who is losing weight often isn’t noticed as depressed and can end up starving him or herself to death,” said Dr. Dang.  “The goal is to educate families and health providers that neither depression nor memory loss is a normal part of aging.”

According to Dr. Dang, 40% of older adults with medical problems also have signs of depression.  “This is a strong, resilient group of people,” he said, “who have lived active and productive lives through multiple economic downturns, wars and tragedy.  Now, they are dealing with major life changes – loss of spouse, friends, siblings, even children; of job and career; of the ability to walk and drive; of their very independence.

“Post-traumatic disorders also can occur, from as far back as 50, 60, 70 years ago, perhaps from the Holocaust, an episode in a war, or a personal tragedy,” said Dr. Dang.  “These are intrusive memories, flashbacks of painful memories from the past.”

New Jersey’s Expert Home Care provides professional and reliable care and assistance for NJ seniors, helping them with their daily living activities since 1984. Please call us when you need help at 800-848-2336.

Posted by: Frank Esposito, Vice President of Expert Home Care

Ten Tips for Family Caregivers

Posted on by

 

  1. Choose to take charge of your life, and don’t let your loved one’s illness or disability always take center stage.
  2. Remember to be good to yourself. Love, honor and value yourself. You’re doing a very hard job and you deserve some quality time, just for you.
  3. Watch out for signs of depression, and don’t delay in getting professional help when you need it.
  4. When people offer to help, accept the offer and suggest specific things that they can do.
  5. Educate yourself about your loved one’s condition. Information is empowering.
  6. There’s a difference between caring and doing. Be open to technologies and ideas that promote your loved one’s independence.
  7. Trust your instincts. Most of the time they’ll lead you in the right direction.
  8. Grieve for your losses, and then allow yourself to dream new dreams.
  9. Stand up for your rights as a caregiver and a citizen.
  10. Seek support from other caregivers. There is great strength in knowing you are not alone.

New Jersey’s Expert Home Care for Elders and Seniors provides care for your aging loved ones since 1984. Please call us when your loved one needs help – 800-848-2336.

Interesting Words of Wisdom

Posted on by

New Jersey’s Expert Home Care for Elders and Seniors provides care for your aging loved ones since 1984. Please call us when your loved one needs help – 800-848-2336.

Inetrsteinig

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are. Tthe olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig, huh?

Witty Words of Wisdom

  • Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
  • If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.
  • When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
  • If you can’t beat your computer at chess, try kickboxing.
  • You are what you eat. So stay away from the jerk chicken.
  • Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.
  • If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

Senior Retirement in New Jersey

Posted on by

New Jersey’s Expert Home Care for Elders and Seniors provides senior care, home care & live-in care for your aging loved ones since 1984. Please call us when your loved one needs help – 800-848-2336.

Americans are reversing what had been a nearly century-long decline in the participation of older people in the workforce.

For both workers and employers, the rising number of older workers is the result of choice and circumstance.

Workers, faced with shrinking medical and dental benefits and less generous retirement plans, find they don’t have the financial resources to support themselves in retirement, so a lot more of them are returning to work.

Companies, faced with a labor gap that will rise to 4.8 million workers within 10 years and 20 million within 20 years, are seeing older workers in a new light. Older workers represent a pool of talent companies need.

Conventional wisdom used to be that employees over 50 cost companies more in terms of medical problems and missed workdays. But that may not be the case, as studies show that costs associated with older workers are about the same as those of younger workers.

Workers over 50 make up for additional health costs by being more reliable and often more productive than younger workers. An AARP survey of human resource professionals showed that 77% said that older workers have a higher level of commitment than younger workers, and 68% said it cost less or the same to train older workers compared to younger workers.

Older workers also tend to have fewer or no dependent-related health- or child-care costs, and they require lower training and recruitment costs, according to Gail Jern, human resources manager for Westaff.

New Jersey Elder Wealth Transition

Posted on by

New Jersey’s Expert Home Care for Elders and Seniors provides care for your aging loved ones since 1984. Please call us when your loved one needs help – 800-848-2336.

Five Steps to a Successful Transition of Family Wealth and Values

Roy Williams and Vic Preisser. Preparing Heirs: Five Steps to a Successful Transition of Family Wealth and Values. Robert D. Reed Publishers, San Francisco, CA. 2003.

If you have worked hard to accumulate wealth, you probably want to make sure your heirs don’t lose control of it. Preparing Heirs gives families the tools to successfully transfer wealth from one generation to the next.

The authors, both of whom are family coaches with many years of experience counseling wealthy families, interviewed thousands of families and discovered that 70 percent of wealth transfers fail. Preparing Heirs explains the techniques that worked for the 30 percent of families that successfully “transitioned” wealth.

According to the authors, the key to a successful transition of wealth is family involvement. “The most important single issue that undermines successful transfers of wealth is the breakdown of trust and communications within the family unit,” they write. Using handy checklists, Preparing Heirs discusses how to assess a wealth transition plan, how to fix deficiencies in the plan, how to prepare heirs, and how heirs can prepare themselves.

For mid-size and large estates, this book offers valuable advice on successfully transferring wealth to the next generation and beyond.

Trips for NJ Grandparents and Grandchildren

Posted on by

Family vacations are bonding experiences that make memories to last a lifetime; to encourage these important moments between grandparents and grandchildren Grandtravel specializes in unique vacations for this demographic. Recently partnering with the AARP, Grandtravel is offering $200 discounts to members of the organization, to take their loved ones, aged 7-17 on the trip of a lifetime to Alaska, Paris/London, Italy or New Zealand in 2009.

Grandtravel offers fully guided tours in small sized groups to families. Unlike with typical tour groups, guides are actually certified teachers, so the education component in visiting various destinations is enhanced. While the company mentions that this is primarily to cater for the grandchildren, this learning experience is great for seniors because it enhances their cognitive skills through their use of memory and recall skills.

Even if Grandtravel’s style of vacation is not for certain seniors, it doesn’t mean they still can’t enjoy their vacations with family. Whether they are vacationing in an assisted living facility or a senior rental community, grandchildren are always welcome for a visit; and having family members around can enhance the level of required care that’s being received while away.

With the holidays and New Year approaching, now is a good time for seniors to start making plans for 2009 and including loved ones in the process can make the experiences all the more special.

Sources: http://www.regencypacificinc.com/index.php?page=senior_vacations
               http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/travel/senior/resources.shtml

Elder Help

Posted on by

New Jersey’s Expert Home Care for Elders and Seniors provides senior care, home care & live-in care for your aging loved ones since 1984. Please call us when your loved one needs help – 800-848-2336.

What does it mean to be a family advocate or caregiver? An advocate speaks up to protect the rights of another. He voices his concerns while intently focusing on protecting the health and safety of he and his family. He holds that vision dear to him. Especially in the oftentimes elusive world of medicine, it is absolutely imperative to become as educated as possible about the system you are in. Only then is the best care possible.

Today, doctors and nurses don’t have time to explain everything a family wants and needs to know about what is happening to their family member (the patient). Because of advanced technology changes in healthcare and the pressures of “Managed Care,” doctors don’t have the time to explain, in terms the family will understand, all that is happening to their family member as a patient in the hospital. Doctors are just too pressed for time.

Tips Caring for an Elder

Posted on by

New Jersey’s Expert Home Care for Elders and Seniors provides senior care, home care & live-in care for your aging loved ones since 1984. Please call us when your loved one needs help – 800-848-2336.

Family Caregiving Skills 

-Educate yourself regarding your loved one’s illness and/or disability.

-Communicate efficiently and succinctly with healthcare professionals.

-Recognize you are a healthcare consumer deserving quality healthcare.

-Embrace your importance as a member of the healthcare team.

-Always provide input and ask as many questions as needed.

-Pick your battles; don’t sweat the small stuff. Identify inconsequential matters and focus your attention elsewhere

-Be an advocate—speak up. The squeaky wheel usually gets the grease.

With a major role change such as the one associated with becoming a family caregiver, emotions can and will run the gamut. There are in fact five stages of grief that are widely accepted in the scientific community to occur as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Living and coping through each of these stages composes the learning framework for us to be able to adjust to witnessing someone we love fall victim to a debilitating illness.

NJ Seniors Worried About Retirement & Health Costs

Posted on by

New Jersey’s Expert Home Care for Elders and Seniors provides care for your aging loved ones since 1984. Please call us when your loved one needs help – 800-848-2336.

Americans Much More Worried about Retirement, Health Costs

Americans’ confidence in enjoying a comfortable retirement has dropped to its lowest level in seven years, according to the 18th annual Retirement Confidence Survey® (RCS) conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). The percentage of workers who were very confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement decreased sharply, from 27 percent in 2007 to 18 percent in 2008, a decline of 9 percentage points and the biggest one-year drop in the 18-year history of the survey.

More than half of retirees (54 percent) say they are now more concerned about their financial future than they were right after they retired, a 14 percentage-point increase from a year ago (40 percent in 2007).

In addition, health-care costs are a big concern for retirees. Among those who left the workforce earlier than planned, more than half (54 percent) say they did so because of health problems or disability. Almost half of retirees (44 percent) say they have spent more than expected on health-care expenses.