Affordable Care Act Means More Documentation at Tax Time for All Military Members
Image Credit: Flickr.com / MoneyBlogNewz
There will be a few more forms needed this tax season, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. All Americans will be required to prove that their health care coverage meets the minimum essential coverage standard, or possible pay a fee.
For most Americans, 1095 is the tax form needed to prove their health insurance meets the standard.
However, military members, including active duty, retired, selective reserve, and retired reserve, and their eligible family members, may need to keep an eye out for a few new forms to supply to their CPA, including IRS Forms 1095-C and 1095-B.
Beginning in January, 2016, DFAS will be providing 1095-C and B forms to retirees, annuitants, former spouses, and other individuals having TRICARE coverage during part or all of 2015. This form documents that you, and any applicable family members, have the minimum essential coverage. These forms will be supplied no later than January 31, 2016.
For more information about the impact of the Affordable Care Act on your federal income tax at: http://www.irs.gov/Affordable-Care-Act , or http://www.dfas.mil/taxes/aca.html.
US Court of Appeals Upheld Department of Labor’s Home Care Final Rule
Image Credit Flickr.com/Karen Neoh
The US Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Home Care Final Rule, effective October 13, 2015. This rule was created to extend minimum wage and overtime protections to almost 2 million homecare workers. While challenged, the rule was upheld on August 21, 2015 by the federal Court of Appeals in a unanimous vote.
We had discussed the original January, 2015 ruling on this matter on our blog in March. Since then, the ruling has been appealed, and is now is apparently now ready to be enforced.
You may want to have conversations with the caregiver agencies that you work with, as to how this may affect your client’s budget and caregiver’s schedules.
The Home Care Final Rule didn’t become effective until October 13, 2015, however the DOL will not begin enforcement of the rule until November 12, 2015. This date coincides with the second phase of the previously announced time-limited non-enforcement policy.
In response to this ruling, US Secretary of Labor, Thomas Perez issued a statement: “We are pleased with today’s order. The final rule is not only legally sound; it was the right thing to do. It will ensure fair wages for the nearly two million home care workers who provide critical services, and it will help ensure a stable and professional workforce for people who need those services. […] The department has led an unprecedented implementation program to help employers prepare for compliance, including offering an extensive and individualized technical assistance program, providing a 15-month period before the effective date, and adopting a time-limited non-enforcement policy.”
For more information about this ruling, visit the Department of Labor’s website to read about the appeal.
New Health Care Surrogate Form In Effect October 1, 2015 – September Newsletter
Chronicles of a Professional Guardian
Serving as Care Managers, Elderly & Disabled Life Care Plan Assessors, and providing Professional Guardian services in Central Florida for over 20 years, we have discovered unique solutions to many difficult problems.
We are continuing our tradition of giving back by sharing our knowledge in the hopes that this information can help others to better serve and care for our elderly and disabled population.
New Health Care Surrogate Form in Effect in Florida October 1, 2015
Image Credit: Bob Miller
Just a reminder that there is a new health care surrogate form going into effect as of October 1, 2015. But what are these changes, and how do they affect you?
A Health Care Surrogate form is what a person uses to designate if they want someone else to make health care decisions for them, should they become unable or incapacitated for any reason.
However, bill CS/CS/CS/HB 889 recently passed both chambers of the Florida Senate, amending the current Health Care Surrogate forms.
Effective, October 1, you will now be able to designate if you would like your surrogate to make healthcare decisions without the determination of incapacity, OR only if the principle is incapacitated.
Some of the proposed changes for the updated Health Care Surrogate forms, include the following verbiage:
MY HEALTH CARE SURROGATE’S AUTHORITY BECOMES EFFECTIVE WHEN MY PRIMARY PHYSICIAN DETERMINES THAT I AM UNABLE TO MAKE MY OWN HEALTH CARE DECISIONS UNLESS I INITIAL EITHER OR BOTH OF THE FOLLOWING BOXES:
IF I INITIAL THIS BOX [ ], MY HEALTH CARE SURROGATE’S AUTHORITY TO RECEIVE MY HEALTH INFORMATION TAKES EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.
IF I INITIAL THIS BOX [ ], MY HEALTH CARE SURROGATE’S AUTHORITY TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS FOR ME TAKES EFFECT IMMEDIATELY. PURSUANT TO SECTION 765.204(3), FLORIDA STATUTES, ANY INSTRUCTIONS OR HEALTH CARE DECISIONS I MAKE, EITHER VERBALLY OR IN WRITING, WHILE I POSSESS CAPACITY SHALL SUPERSEDE ANY INSTRUCTIONS OR HEALTH CARE DECISIONS MADE BY MY SURROGATE THAT ARE IN MATERIAL CONFLICT WITH THOSE MADE BY ME.
We are excited about these changes to the Health Care Surrogate form, because in theory it should allow for more flexibility when the need arises for making health decisions for people who are in need but not incapacitated.
Additionally, these changes may make it easier for family to care for aging and/or disabled family members, because they won’t have to wait for their loved one to become incapacitated before they can step in to help with their health care needs.
What do you think about these new changes that are happening in October? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? We want to hear from you.
Client Corner – Clients Say the Darndest Things
At a recent dermatology appointment one of our clients, “Fred*” was asked to take his shirt off for the examination. As we are waiting for the doctor, he starts flexing, telling me “I bet you don’t have muscles like this.”
All I could do was laugh, and reply, “No, Fred, I sure don’t.”
*Names have been changed to protect our clients identities
Tip of the Month:
If you know a Veteran in crisis, there is a confidential hotline they can call at (800) 273-8255 #1. Or, they can visit www.veteranscrisisline.net, or send a text to 838255. All of these services are available 24/7 and are confidential.
Blog Posts:
Here are some of our recent blog posts, in case you missed any.
- Facility Move Out Notices: How Much Time is the ALF Required to Give?
- The Conversation Project in Central Florida
You can check out or blog at blog.orlandoguardian.com, or follow us online on Facebook or LinkedIn and never miss an article again.
Community Events
Click on the event for additional information.
- September 8 – Nursing Home Ranking Systems – Counsel for Caregivers West Orange Seminar – Ocoee
- September 9 – Starting the End of Life Conversation – Counsel for Caregivers East Orange Seminar – Orlando
- September 9 – Caregiver College – Altamonte Springs
- September 15 – Planning For Your Pets at the Law Offices of Hoyt & Bryan – Ovideo
- September 17 – Osteoporosis: Treatment and Best Practices – Counsel for Caregivers Seminar – Orlando
- September 25 – Elder Law Concert, Highlighted topics: Pets are People Too, Planning for Pets, and The ABC’s of Agency for Persons with Disabilities – Tampa
- September 28 – Senior Survival Workshop – Altamonte Springs
- October 1 – Elder Law Concert, Highlighted topics: Pets are People Too, Planning for Pets, and The ABC’s of Agency for Persons with Disabilities – Boca Raton
Don’t Count on Your Pension, Why It’s Important to Have a Retirement Plan
Image Credit: Simon Cunningham
You work hard all your life being a dedicated employee, giving your time and resources to your employer. Surely you can count on them to take care of you when you retire, just like you took care of them when you worked, right? After all, they did promise you an attractive pension plan.
Unfortunately for many retirees, they are learning that this isn’t exactly the case, and that what they were promised doesn’t look anything like what they have ended up with.
Lately, it seems that not even the big corporations are immune to pension cuts. Companies like UPS, Lockheed Martin, the Boston Red Sox, and more are making changes to their pension plans. Whether these companies were simply ill-prepared for the volume of baby boomers set to retire, or whether Congress approving pension cuts had anything to do with it, the end result is the same – retirees everywhere are facing reduced pension benefits, and new employees are no longer given the promise of pension.
So what can you do to ensure you have enough when you retire?
While there is no guarantee that you’ll have what you need, unless you’re a billionaire, there are a few things you can do now to help insure a comfortable retirement.
Investments
Aside from your pension, what other investments do you have? Are you taking full advantage of the opportunities available to you, such as the 401k plan where the company matches? What other investments would be appropriate for you?
If you’re unsure of where to start, contact a certified financial planner. They can help you understand your options and come up with an investment plan that makes sense for the kind of future you envision for your retirement.
Long Term Care Insurance
Aside from growing your money, long term care insurance is another way you can “save” for retirement. This type of insurance pays for care services, facility costs, and other items not covered by health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. Long term care is costly and expensive, and having insurance to help reimburse costs can help you to preserve your money so that your funds can last a lot longer.
See a Professional
There are many different professionals who can help ensure you enough during your golden years. While a certified financial planner can ensure you have your finances and investments in order, you may wish to see an insurance specialist about long term care and other insurances available that can help preserve funds. Similarly, you may wish to visit an elder law attorney to get your end of life documents in order, such as a living will and health care surrogate, and to make sure your will and estate is in order when you pass away.
While there is no guarantee that you will have enough when you retire, having investments, long term care insurance, and a team of professionals helping you along the way will giving you a fighting chance at having the type of comfortable retirement that you desire.
Potential Upcoming Legislation Changes for Facility Self-Administration of Medication Rules and for Medicare Observation Status – May Newsletter
Chronicles of a Professional Guardian
Serving as Care Managers, Elderly & Disabled Life Care Plan Assessors, and providing Professional Guardian services in Central Florida for over 20 years, we have discovered unique solutions to many difficult problems.
We are continuing our tradition of giving back by sharing our knowledge in the hopes that this information can help others to better serve and care for our elderly and disabled population.
Potential Upcoming Legislation Changes for Facility Self-Administration of Medication Rules and for Medicare Observation Status
Image Credit: SteakPinball
There has been a lot of legislative movement in Florida lately. Some of these potential changes involve guardianship law, as we discussed in last month’s newsletter. Yet other changes could affect Assisted Living Facility regulations, and Medicare Policy.
ALF Legislation Changes
For years, the Florida Assisted Living Association (FALA) has been pushing for changes to ALF regulations, a fight they won late in the day on April 27, 2015. Upon action by the Governor, the new legislation is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2015.
Part of what FALA has been championing for with Florida House Bill CS/CS/HB 1001 includes changes to policy regarding assistance with self-administration of medication by trained, unlicensed staff for items such as insulin and diabetic supplies, nebulizers, CPAP machines, and other self-administered medical devices.
This bill also calls for more uniform rules and standards by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) for determining compliance with facility standards and resident’s rights, and changes to part of how ACHA handles regulatory audits.
To read more about these changes, you can check out FALA’s newsletter announcing the passing of CS/CS/HB 1001. Or, you can read the entire bill on the Florida House of Representatives website.
Medicare Observation Status Change Recommendations
In early April, 2015, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPac), and independent government commission that advises Congress on Medicare policy, voted unanimously to support a package of recommendations for short inpatient hospital stays.
Under current hospital policy, in order for a patient to be classified as inpatient, they must stay in the hospital for two or more midnights. Anything less that that is classified as outpatient, even if you are admitted to a floor and assigned a hospital bed.
The problem is that it is your patient classification status which determines what insurance covers during your hospital stay and how you are billed. It also has the potential to create benefit problems, especially with Skilled Nursing stays after a hospital visit.
One of the recommendations made by MedPac is that Observation Status time should be counted toward the qualifying impatient stay requirement, provided there is at least one day classified as inpatient during the hospital stay.
Observation Status policy is something that has needed revamping for a while. It will be interesting to see what Congress does with this package of recommendations by MedPac, and what actually shakes down into policy.
To see what else was recommended, you may want to check out this article by The Center for Medicare Advocacy.
Did You Know?
IRS Changes Rules About Waiver Income for Family Members Caring for Loved Ones
Recently, the IRS changed their rules regarding family members who are paid through a waiver program to provide care for a developmentally disabled or elderly loved one. They no longer have to pay federal tax on the money earned from the waiver, depending on their entire tax status.
An example of this would be a father who is providing personal care and companion services for his 29 year old disabled son living with him, who receives payment for these services through CDC+, a MedWaiver program. Based on these new rules, the father would likely be exempt from any federal tax on the amount paid to him through the MedWaiver program.
However, depending on the situation, whether or not the father has a spouse that works and other personal facts, he may be eligible for different tax credits, liked the Earned Income Credit.
Of course, we are not CPA’s (nor do we play one on TV) so if you, or someone you know, falls into this category, consult your tax professional to review what the best course of action is come tax time.
For more information about this new tax rule, read the article on the IRS’s website (question 14).
Tip of the Month
We recently discovered that some banks are using new titling initials for accounts, such as GDNUCO. Do you know what that title means? Guardian Under Court Order.
Blog Posts:
Here are some of our recent blog posts, in case you missed any.
- How Chance Plays a Part in Life, Walking in the “Wrong” Door
- When Mental Health Goes Right
- Guardianship Clients Retain Right to Drive
You can check out or blog at blog.orlandoguardian.com, or follow us online on Facebook or LinkedIn and never miss an article again.
Upcoming Guardian Care Events:
As active members of the community, we can be found around town speaking, sponsoring, supporting, and educating other professionals and the general public on Guardianship and caring for the elderly and disabled.
Want us to speak at your next event? Our topics include Guardianship, Private Care Management, and Elderly & Disabled Life Plan Assessment. Feel free to contact us at 407.786.6033.
Upcoming Events:
- Monday May 11, 2015 @ 3 pm – Guest speaker on All My Children Wear Fur Coats radio show – discussion about pets and planning. Tune in at www.blogtalkradio.com/natureschannel or visit natureschannel.fm/host/peggy-hoyt/ for more information
Previous Events:
- November 20th – Presentation to a Social Work Class at UCF
- October 9th – Presenting “Wards Gone Wild, Not Just Sex,” at the 2014 Elder Law Conference in Tampa
- September 24 – Presentation “Help Your Aging Family Members,” at Serenades of Sonata
- September 13 – Presentation “Wards Gone Wild, Not Just Sex,” at the 2014 Elder Law Conference in Boca Raton
Community Events
Click on the event for additional information.
- May 7 – VetBuds Orlando Meeting – military veterans providing assistance to other veterans – for more info contact citrusolution91@gmail.com or 407-347-6499 – Orlando
- May 12 – “Problems Sleeping Later in Life” Counsel for Caregivers West Orange Seminar – Ocoee
- May 13 – “Brain Health: A Decade Later” Counsel for Caregivers East Orange Seminar – Orlando
- May 13 – Central Florida Navy League Luncheon and Meeting – for more information contact navleaguecenfl@juno.com or 407-977-7575 Orlando
- May 14 – Music & Memory Program – Orlando
- May 14 – Armed Forces Appreciation Night – RSVP required elcy.hernande@ourclub.com – Citrus Club, Orlando
- May 14 – 16 AARP Life@50+ Expo – Miami
- May 16 – Hispanic Heart Health Series – Longwood
- May 20 – Indy Orchid Gala benefiting severly wounded warriors – contact Marie Bogdonoff villagesforveterans@gmail.com 516-220-5068 – The Villages
- May 21 – “Simple Gadgets You Never Knew Existed” Counsel for Caregivers Seminar – Orlando
- May 25 – Happy Memorial Day – Remembering those who died serving our country
- May 26 – Lake Nona VA Hospital Dedication – Orlando
US District Court Ruling A Big Win for Home Care Patients and Providers
Image Credit: SteakPinball
In late January, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reversed the Companion Services / Overtime rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor, which would negatively affect many home health care providers.
The original ruling, which went into effect January 1, 2015 made several changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, impacting employee compensation requirements. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “the Department has revised its regulations defining companionship services so that many direct care workers, such as certified nursing assistance, home health aides, personal care aides, and other caregivers are protected by the FLSA. The Department also revised the regulations concerning live-in domestic service workers.”
Having the original ruling overturned by the US District Court was welcome news to patients and staff of home health agencies, as this ruling allows for the current worker payment structure to remain in place for the foreseeable future. The ruling also ensures that patients will continue to receive the highest quality of home health care, while easing the burden on state budgets to continue providing Medicaid services.
It is important to note that the Department of Labor has the ability to file an appeal on the ruling, but it is unclear if and when that appeal might take place.
You can read about the decision, here: https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2014cv0967-32
Changes to Guardianship with Florida House Bill 5
Image Credit: SteakPinball
The laws in Florida surrounding guardianship are in flux. Recently, we got our hands on a copy of the House of Representatives Staff Analysis of House Bill 5 – Guardianship Proceedings.
This bill proposes significant changes to guardianship practices, and while we aren’t offering any official position, we encourage you to read the analysis and House Bill 5 for yourself to determine how these changes may affect you or your practice.
It is our understanding that the bill was approved unanimously by the sub-committee on January 22, 2015.
Read the Staff Analysis of House Bill 5
Additional information about Florida House Bill 5
New DEA Regulations for Hydrocodone-Combination Prescriptions
Image Credit: Guian Bolisay
In September, 2014 we received a notice from a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan informing us that there will be changes to the way the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulates hydrocodone-combination drugs.
As of October 6, 2014, the DEA will move hydrocodone-combinations from a Schedule III drug to a Schedule II drug. What’s the difference?
- Schedule III drugs are those with low to medium potential for abuse or addiction
- Schedule II drugs are those with a high potential for abuse or addiction, and are considered dangerous
What does this mean to individuals taking hydrocodone-combination medications? They will need to get a new prescription from their provider, as their current prescription may not be valid at the pharmacy after October 6, 2014.
