Grand Plans: October 10, 2024

A semi-monthly newsletter from Grand Plans designed to normalize and celebrate our glorious geri-destiny through information, stories, real talk conversation, smart planning and shared experience.

Things I’m prattling on about today

As you know, I have been hitting the books as part of my Gerontology masters work with the University of North Carolina Greensboro. What is likely snoozy subject matter to most is a real page-turner for me. Gerontology studies (that aren’t Theories of Aging…too hard and too sciency!) rev me up and get my blood pumping, especially all the stuff I’m learning in my Elder Law class. It’s really salacious material to me. Not only is Elder Law at the core of how and why we must Grand Plan for our Golden Years, it’s also healing and helpful and super hope-instilling to know the law long before you need to lean on it. And in case you didn’t hear the verdict, we’ll all have to lean on this kind of law one day — it is our geris-prudence!

So, this week we were learning about all the government programs available to older adults, how these benefits can support or cover long term care costs and why it’s important to MEET WITH AN ELDER LAW ATTORNEY NOW before the sh** hits the fan. Of course, one of those topics includes government support programs like Medicaid. According to my new friend, Copilot, and confirmed by my course instruction, Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health care coverage to individuals with limited income and resources. Eligibility is primarily based on income, which is compared to the federal poverty level. Each state has its own income thresholds and additional criteria.

Here are some key points about Medicaid:

• Eligibility: Medicaid is designed to assist low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people with disabilities¹.

• Administration: While the federal government sets general guidelines, each state administers its own Medicaid program, which means eligibility and benefits can vary from state to state².

• Funding: The program is funded jointly by the federal government and the states

Bottom line is, Medicaid will help pay for your costly and ongoing long-term care needs. (And Medicare WON’T, by the way.) It is important to know you must qualify for it, and it is really important to know HOW to qualify for it. Unfortunately, Medicaid is a program most people don’t learn about until it’s go-time and they’re trying to figure out how to pay for 24-7 in-home care or an assisted living facility for a loved one with dwindling assets. And according to my studies, planning for it can also be an ethical issue of epic proportion.

Let’s unpack that ethics and planning stuff real quick because it kind of flies in the face of Grand Planning. While Medicaid planning with an elder law attorney is totally within the scope of all things smart and legal, it also begs the question: is planning for it gaming the system? To be more blunt, is a person who has the resources to pay for long term care but protects it in an irrevocable trust or spends it down through careful gifting or asset transfer, a total shmuck?

This story in The New York Times lays it all out pretty succinctly.

What do you think? It’s my opinion that as long as you’re abiding by the five-year lookback rules and parameters set forth by the government, it is a-ok to make a plan to access government benefits that are available to all of us as citizens of the United States of America. To me it’s not only ethical, it’s dang smart! Plus, the way our caregiving provisions and costs are structured, it’s hard to manage these insane expenses any other way! And plus, plus… we’re living a lot longer than we used to! And plus, plus, plus, we can’t depend on our communities and families like we may have been able to in the past. Unless you have enough money in your coffers to self-pay for decades (yes, decades. That is 100 percent no exaggeration) of 24-7 caregiving or have an old school long-term care insurance policy, you are going to have to consider the implications of Medicaid resources. Is that unethical? Hard to see how it could be, but it’s something to know about as you make your own Grand Plans for the future.

News you can use

“We Have a $1 Million IRA and a Trust to Protect Us, Can a Nursing Home Still Take Our Assets?” Great question…find the answer in this MSN story here.

If you’re not sure about how Medicaid is different than Medicare, this handy piece from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources will set you straight. Read it now, before you have to!

Speaking of Medicare, it pays to get familiar with the maze earlier than later.

Yo, Grand Planner Nut — Why are you talking about all this boring stuff now, when being a qualifying age still seems like a far way off? Ha, well… Because not doing so is dumb, all things considered: “A new analysis has revealed that 80 percent of Americans aged 60 and older are financially insecure, lacking adequate resources to afford long-term care or handle unexpected financial emergencies. The study by the National Council on Aging and the LeadingAge LTSS Center at UMass Boston found that while incomes and home values for older adults saw a slight increase from 2018 to 2020, the value of their financial assets and overall wealth declined. As a result, a significant number of seniors are struggling to secure sufficient care as they age. "This is a snowballing crisis," Ramsey Alwin, president and CEO of the National Council on Aging said in a statement. "At the same time that 11,000 people are turning 65 every day for the next several years, a growing number of older adults are facing financial stress now and will not be able to afford the care they will need in the future."

As you consider your options, be sure you talk to an elder law or estate planning attorney about how an irrevocable or revocable trust might serve you and your long-term care planning. Learn the difference between these legal vehicles here.

Make sure you’re connected to Grand Plans on social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn) so you don’t miss a thing! GerontoloGeeWhiz! is the latest little ditty out there on the line. Enjoy!

And you can keep up with all the “GeronTOKogy” fun by following MyGrandPlans on TikTok. This is new territory for me so be patient!

Grand Plans Podcast

I welcome any podcast guest suggestions! This season we’re talking to people who have been there done that. We’re talking about our experiences and lessons learned. The first podcast is out on the line and it is awesome! What an honor to speak with Kari Bell and Sarah Dymond from River Garden. They have some fantastic wisdom to share! Let me know if you want to be part of the conversation and sharing. I’d love to host you on the podcast.

Shelf life

Got another new one on the shelves! This book Aging Sideways: Changing Our Perspectives on Getting Older looks great. It is written by a social gerontologist I follow on LinkedIn and her work is all about embracing aging — it’s good for our health, longevity and well-being. I look forward to getting more into it this week. You can buy a copy for yourself here.

And of course, it’s also smart to remember to order a copy of Grand Plans and the Grand Planner for all your friends. Let’s hold each other accountable?

Some golden gedunk and goods

Get yourself another few copies of Grand Plans: How to Mitigate Geri-Drama in 20 Easy Steps and the Grand Planner for all the people who like getting gifts in your life! Visit www.mygrandplans.com for links to purchase on Amazon.

And… Check out our Grand Plans merch in our Etsy storefront.