As the debate grows closer tonight, seniors indicate that they will turn out in force to vote and view this as one of the most important elections in there lifetime. What’s your opinion? Leave us a comment.

If you miss the Annual Enrollment Period window, you may have to wait until the Annual Enrollment Period opens again on October 15 next year to make plan changes, unless you qualify for an exception.

During Open Enrollment, you can:

Change the way you get your Medicare coverage. There are two ways to get Medicare. You can choose Original Medicare, which is run by the federal government, or you can choose a Medicare Advantage plan from a private insurance company. Whichever way you currently receive your Medicare health benefits, during AEP, you can choose to change it.

Switch your Medicare Advantage plan. If you already have a Medicare Advantage plan, and you are looking for a different plan that may better meet your needs, AEP is your time to act. You can find a plan that includes or does not include prescription drug coverage.

Adjust Medicare prescription drug plan. During Open Enrollment is the only time during the year that you can join a Medicare prescription drug plan, switch from one Medicare prescription drug plan to a different Medicare prescription drug plan, or drop your Medicare prescription drug coverage completely.

Any changes you make to your coverage during Open Enrollment take effect on January 1, 2012

Seniors will receive a 3.6% cost of living increase (part of which will be reduced by Medicare Part B premium increases not allowed during 2010 and 2011).

Click here for the whole story….

1) Be prepared. There’s no way to predict who will wander or when, or
how it might happen. The best advice is to register a loved one in the
Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return Program before a loved one gets lost.

2) Encourage movement and exercise. Make a shared exercise, such as
walking, part of your daily routine together, and allow the person with
Alzheimer’s disease access to a safe, enclosed area.

3) Be objective. Dont take the person’s wandering behavior personally.

4) Be aware of hazards. Places that look safe might be dangerous for
someone with Alzheimer’s disease. Look in and around your home for potential
hazardsfences and gates, bodies of water, pools, dense foliage, bus stops,
steep stairways, high balconies and roadways where there is heavy trafficand
change what you can or block access.

5) Secure the living area. Do what you can to make your home safe and
secure. Place locks out of the normal line of visioneither very high or very
low on doors. Use doorknobs that prevent the person with Alzheimer’s from
opening the door. Other safety precautions include: placing locks on gates,
camouflaging doors, fencing in the patio or yard, installing electronic
alarms or chimes on doors, and using familiar objects, signs and nightlights
to guide the person around a safe area.

6) Communicate with the person. Regularly remind and reassure the person
with Alzheimer’s that you know how to find them and that he’s in the right
place.

7) Identify the person. Have the person wear a Safe Return
identification bracelet or necklace. Use sew-on or iron-on labels or
permanent markers to mark clothing. Place identification on shoes, keys and
eyeglasses, and in wallet and handbags.

Involve the neighbors. Inform your neighbors of your loved one’s
condition and keep a list of their names and phone numbers handy.

9) Involve the police. Some police departments will keep a photo and
fingerprints of people with Alzheimer’s on file. Have the following
information ready for emergencies: the person’s age, hair color, eye color,
identifying marks, blood type, medical conditions, medication, dental work,
jewelry and allergies.

10) Be prepared for other modes of wandering. Although most wandering
takes place on foot, some people with Alzheimer’s have been known to drive
hundreds of milessometimes in a vehicle that belongs to someone else.
Prevent this problem by keeping car keys out of sight or temporarily
disabling the car by removing the distributor cap. People with Alzheimer’s
also have traveled great distances by train, airplane or public
transportation.

DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY

The first document you should consider signing to address incapacity issues is a Durable Power of Attorney. A Durable Power of Attorney appoints someone to act on your behalf to make business and financial decisions for you if you are unable to make decisions yourself. You can decide whether you want the Durable Power of Attorney to become effective upon your signing or at such time as you become disabled or incapacitated. Because it is a “Durable” Power of Attorney, it remains in effect even if you are incapacitated. Most people appoint their spouse or a trusted family member or friend for this role. Planning for this ahead of time will insure that your family does not have to petition the probate court to appoint a conservator for you to handle your business and financial affairs should you ever become incapacitated.

HEALTH CARE POWER OF ATTORNEY

You should also sign a Health Care Power of Attorney, which is sometimes referred to as a Patient Advocate Designation or Living Will. This document appoints someone to make health care decisions for you in the event you are incapacitated. You can state your wishes regarding life support and life sustaining treatment in this document. And this document should also be compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which insures that your medical records are kept private. Most people want their Patient Advocates to have access to their medical records so they can make informed decisions regarding their health care. A copy of your Health Care Power of Attorney can be kept in your medical file at your doctor’s office. Your spouse does not automatically have the authority to make health care decisions for you. The only person who has authority to make health care decisions for you is the one you designate ahead of time by signing a Health Care Power of Attorney or the person the Probate Court appoints to you.

So by preparing and executing these two estate planning documents ahead of time, you have addressed incapacity issues you may face while you are living. But while incapacity is an event we may or may not face, ultimately, all of us will eventually face death. There are documents we can put in place that will help our families and loved ones through this difficult time.

INTESTATE SUCCESSION

If you die without an estate plan, the State of Michigan’s plan for you is called “Intestate Succession.” The probate court, pursuant to the Estate and Protected Individuals Code, will control who will receive your assets, who will be in charge of distributing your assets and who will care for your minor children. Many people are surprised to find out that their spouse will not automatically receive everything they own and that the probate court will have to be involved in appointing a guardian for their minor children. Fortunately, you can ensure that your goals and plans for your family are set down in writing as a part of your own estate plan and avoid the cost and confusion of intestacy.

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

You should consider signing a Last Will and Testament (“Will”) to control the distribution of your property at your death. Your Will provides direction to the probate court for the distribution of your property. Probate is the process through which your assets are transferred to your heirs or named beneficiaries. Many people make the mistake of assuming that because they have a Will, their estate will not be subject to probate court jurisdiction and proceedings. The purpose of the Will is to tell the probate court who is your personal representative (the manager of your estate) and who is to receive your property.

REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST

Increasingly, more and more people are choosing to execute a Revocable Living Trust, rather than simply a Will. There are many reasons you may prefer to have a Revocable Living Trust. First, you can avoid probate court proceedings if the trust is properly funded (your assets are put into the trust, instead of your own name). This can save you money and time. The AARP reports that on average 5% of the value of your gross estate is lost in probate and the average amount of time for an estate to go through probate court is 12 to 24 months. In Michigan, that average time is probably closer to 12 to 18 months. Second, a trust provides privacy for your family. Wills are public documents and anyone can find out what you gave away at your death and to whom you gave it. In Michigan, there is no requirement that trusts be registered or filed at the probate court.

Your successor trustee handles the distribution and closing of your estate in accordance with your wishes as set forth in the trust. Third, a trust can be designed to allow your estate to be managed after your death. Perhaps you have minor children or you do not want your beneficiaries, regardless of age, to be given a lump sum distribution. You can direct how and when your beneficiaries will receive your assets. And finally, you may need a trust if you have a federal estate tax problem. Currently, the federal estate tax exemption is $2 million, so if you and your spouse have assets in excess of that you should consult an attorney regarding the benefits of having separate trusts to take advantage of two federal estate tax exemptions.

CONSULT AN ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY

Without proper planning, your family is not protected in the event of your incapacity or death. And, proper planning can best be accomplished by consulting an estate planning attorney who can help you plan for incapacity (i.e., Durable Power of Attorney and a Health Care Power of Attorney) and achieve your estate planning goals. You, and not the State of Michigan, should be in control of your estate plan and determine what will happen if you face incapacity

We’re living longer and paying for increased medical procedures. We also have to place parents in assisted living facilities for special care, where they go through their life’s savings quickly. The fastest growing segment of the aging population is the 85 group. As was pointed out by many of you in your comments, Medicare and Medicaid may not be able to handle the demand placed on them. Signs of problems manifested over a decade ago when Florida and Tennessee put a moratorium on the construction of nursing homes; they had simply begun to run out of money to pay for the care of the elderly. Somehow the rapid growth of the senior population fell under their radar. Further cuts to both programs will take shape by 2012, as Congress tries to balance the national budget.

Suffice it to say a greater burden will be placed on families to take care of their own. So much for parents not wanting to be a burden to their kids or to be an inconvenience to friends.

It’s been reported in the various media time and again that compared with their parents’ generation, Boomers have amassed significantly greater wealth. It’s fair to say, in light of current economic hardships placed on them, they will now have to strike a balance between the dream of a fun, relaxed lifestyle and the changing realities that aging has brought to the landscape.

The government has incentives for families that decide to take in loved ones who would otherwise be placed in a nursing home. It is significantly less expensive to write a monthly check to the family than to pay for the 24/7 care provided at a nursing home.

Other new concepts in senior living are also emerging. In the planning stages in Florida is a village where seniors live on their own in lushly landscaped suburban communities and are able bundle all expenses at discounted rates with their neighbors. This would include doctor visits, transportation, entertainment, etc. Homes are Universally designed and technologically enhanced so residents can age safely, worry-free in a 21st Century approach to senior living.

Less costly alternatives to assisted living and nursing homes exist. Concierge programs and services allow you to live independently in your own home through technological innovations that make it possible to stay connected to loved ones and friends.

Long-term care insurance providers are also taking a fresh new look at selling policies that will help pay for expenses related to aging. If purchased by people in their 30s and 40s the costs would be very reasonable. Let’s all try to be better prepared for the second half of our lives

At this time of the year, many Michigan retirees prepare their trips south for the winter. Some with parents may ask themselves, “Is Mom (or Dad) going to be safe alone until we return?” A few will broach the difficult subject of assisted living with them.

Many resources exist to guide the public through this process, usually in the form of checklists. However, neither the above-mentioned advocacy is included in them, nor two other important criteria we would like to point out. We know their significance as owners and sole operators of a licensed adult foster care in our home.

All elder care providers promote their beautiful settings, comfortably decorated homes, home-cooked meals, carefree living, social life, etc. These should be self-apparent, though. Much more simple and important is: Can you envision any one of us forcefully and intelligently representing you and your parent in public, at the doctor’s office or in the hospital while you are away?

Suppose your mother develops the distinct signs of a urinary tract infection on a Friday morning, an illness that not only can knock elderly off their feet, but also cause delirium. Can you rest assured that we will do what it takes to get help for your mother before the weekend, even if her doctor’s practice is initially unresponsive?

Being energetic and uncompromising representatives for the health and rights of your loved one is the hardest, most crucial work we perform as caregivers. If we do that well, it is safe to assume that all other aspects of our care are equally attentive, with or without a checklist.

Two more things of technical nature to look for. First, are we licensed? According to Michigan Act No. 218 of the Public Acts of 1979, people supervising, caring for and protecting seniors 24 hours a day, five or more days a week, and for two or more consecutive weeks for compensation are providing adult foster care and must be licensed.

Violation is a misdemeanor with stern consequences for the homeowners. Worse, though, residents and their families lack the standards of care, serious protection and access to officials that Michigan affords licensed settings.

Lastly, are we properly insured? Even if our home is a residential setting, providing care in its confines makes us a place of business. Our house, its contents, our liability and transportation enjoy protection only if commercial insurance policies are in place. Possessing a license is a prerequisite for underwriters. We are uninsured if all we can show you is a regular homeowner’s policy, personal liability and regular auto coverage.

We hope this advice might help families avoid pitfalls seeking superior care for loved ones.

The movement received recognition by news agencies such as Fox News and now the movement has grown to over 80,000 RSVP’s to  do so. The FaceBook page can be found here.

Although this will help local Credit Unions, it can also have the effect of a bank run causing increase rates to businesses that need large banks and not small credit union loans.

The movement was started in protest to Bank of America’s announcement to charge a monthly $5.00 fee for ATM and account services. Although BofA has reversed this decision, the movement is underway and the date deadline for commitment to transfer funds is today, Nov 05 2011.

This movement will grow beyond the deadline and we could see a change in the way we view banks in the future.