Archive for August 30th, 2006

Seniors flock to private Medicare plans

Posted on August 30, 2006 by Jason

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 29th, 2006

Hundreds of thousands of seniors are signing up for a type of privately
run Medicare plan that delivers traditional benefits without the usual
restrictions on access to doctors and hospitals. In turn, some of the
nation’s biggest health insurers are launching more such plans and
marketing them in more areas.

The plans, called private fee for service, are a type of privately run
Medicare alternative known as Medicare Advantage. Advantage plans wrap
physician and hospital services in one, some with additional benefits.
Instead of paying beneficiaries’ claims directly, the federal
government pays insurance companies to manage the care, with the hope
of reducing Medicare spending. To entice seniors to sign up, costs for
private plans are cheaper on average than those for traditional
government-run Medicare.

But recently such plans have become an even better deal. As part the
sweeping law that created the new Medicare prescription-drug benefit,
Congress raised the government’s reimbursement rates to companies
offering Medicare Advantage plans to about $10,000 per enrollee per
year. That has led insurers, eager to bring in the new business, to
offer Advantage plans with lower premiums but often more benefits, such
as vision or prescription drugs.

Read more of this article.

Getting Going: Retirees should be wary of family betrayal

Posted on August 30, 2006 by Jason

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 30th, 2006

Note to retirees: Beware the family.

Financial swindles are one of the fastest-growing forms of elder abuse.
By some estimates, as many as five million senior citizens are
victimized each year, says Sara Aravanis, director of the nonprofit
National Center on Elder Abuse, which provides information to federal
and state policy makers. Because of the problem’s spread, “many states
have laws authorizing financial institutions to report suspicions of
elderly abuse,” says Bruce Jay Baker, general counsel for the Illinois
Bankers Association. Earlier this summer, the Securities and Exchange
Commission hosted a Seniors Summit to highlight the issue, with SEC
Chairman Christopher Cox noting that protecting seniors’ pocketbooks
“is one of the most important issues of our time.”

Yet it’s not dodgy financial experts or crooked caregivers who are the
biggest threat. It’s family. Children, siblings, grandchildren, nieces
and nephews, and even spouses are the people most likely to rob the
elderly, according to elder-law advocates and attorneys. The data that
exist — albeit in a spotty manner — suggest that financial crimes
rank as the third-most prevalent abuse of the elderly.

Senior Class

Getting Going: Retirees should be wary of family betrayal

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

The Wall Street Journal

Note to retirees: Beware the family.

Financial swindles are one of the fastest-growing forms of elder abuse.
By some estimates, as many as five million senior citizens are
victimized each year, says Sara Aravanis, director of the nonprofit
National Center on Elder Abuse, which provides information to federal
and state policy makers. Because of the problem’s spread, “many states
have laws authorizing financial institutions to report suspicions of
elderly abuse,” says Bruce Jay Baker, general counsel for the Illinois
Bankers Association. Earlier this summer, the Securities and Exchange
Commission hosted a Seniors Summit to highlight the issue, with SEC
Chairman Christopher Cox noting that protecting seniors’ pocketbooks
“is one of the most important issues of our time.”

Yet it’s not dodgy financial experts or crooked caregivers who are the
biggest threat. It’s family. Children, siblings, grandchildren, nieces
and nephews, and even spouses are the people most likely to rob the
elderly, according to elder-law advocates and attorneys. The data that
exist — albeit in a spotty manner — suggest that financial crimes
rank as the third-most prevalent abuse of the elderly.

For victims and family members out to help, the way to combat the crime is to know what to look for and how to prevent it.


The abuses: Some of the offenses are straightforward: A grandson swipes
checks and makes them out to “cash”; a daughter uses the
power-of-attorney over Mom’s bank account to apply for an ATM card and
withdraws money without authority; a son taking care of Dad’s finances
uses his father’s credit card for personal purchases.

Read more of this article.

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