About the Book
WHEN SEVERE HEALTH CRISES STRIKE,
consumers and their advisors understandably want assurance that an ill
person’s access to health care services is secured. They want answers
to worst-case scenarios: “Must I spend myself into poverty to get
help for my Alzheimer’s-afflicted spouse? Will I be left to die
if my health insurance runs out?”
This publication grew out of my work assisting families
through health care crises with their disabled and elderly members. Often
this work re q u i res helping individuals become eligible for government-subsidized
health care, known as Medi-Cal in California and Medicaid in the other
49 states.
For my work I developed Put it in a Box™ presentations
that simplify the eligibility rules for obtaining Medi-Cal long-term
care benefits. These Put it in a Box™ diagrams provide a new paradigm
to understand Medi-Cal eligibility rules that will aid consumers and
professional advisors—financial advisors, bankers, tax preparers,
attorneys, social workers, nurses, caregivers — who serve disabled
and elderly individuals.
Material in this book is arranged as a series of case studies
that begin with a simple application for a single, elderly person with
few assets and progresses to sophisticated planning for married couples
with significant assets.
For people whose health and finances give them options,
this book also provides guidance on avoiding Medi-Cal. Tightening federal
and state budgets mean likely cuts in Medicaid/Medi-Cal funding in the
future that will limit benefits for baby boomers. This book helps boomers
examine long-term care planning options.
Finally this book ventures into the delicate, volatile area
of family relations. When crises arise, will your family work in harmony
or horror? This book provides the opportunity to measure your family
ties quotient (FTQ) and anticipate family reactions before a crisis erupts.
Steps taken now to remove emotional obstacles may smooth the road to
better relations when family members most need support and consolation.
|
