Life After 50 on air at wmkvfm.org public radio and Internet

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Added: Mon. Nov 07, 2011 7:52pm
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ALICE HORNBAKER

“Life After 50” column

ON AIR wmkvfm.org and

WMKVFM. 89.3 FM/Cincinnati

11-7-11

Hello again. This is Alice Hornbaker for WMKV 89.3 FM and wmkvfm.org streaming around the world in the Internet Mondays and Thursdays at 2:20 p.m. and Fridays at 8:50 a.m. and as a blog on growingbolder.com under blogs/life after 50/ajhornbaker. It is also on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.com

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Dr. Mehmet Oz of television fame did seniors a favor recently on his show on NBC television. He discussed end of life actions and gave information on end of life issues that every mature adult should follow up on today, including creating living wills and provisions for hospice care.

Dreary? Depressing?

Sure, but necessary. There isn’t a human alive that doesn’t think about death. Now experts such as Dr. Oz are urging all of us to take action before our own happens.

How?

First off create an advance medical directive or a living will, a medical power of attorney, and a do not resuscitate (DNR) order. I went to www.hov.org for these free forms to print out, and you can, too.

Hospice programs do not require these directives. However, they support the right of patients to make their own decisions about care. Advance directives give patients the control and legal ability to state how they want to be cared for and who they want to make decisions for them if they ever become unable to communicate their wishes. These directives specify the types of medical support wanted by the patient including the use of feeding tubes, breathing machines, and provision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

When a senior enters a hospital the advance directives are prepared at the patient’s request and must be signed by him or her before they are given to the healthcare team. The patient decides what will be included in each document. If he or she becomes unable to clearly communicate his or her wishes for care, certain family members can complete these documents on the patient’s behalf.

After you fill out these forms give a copy to the person who will handle your estate whether it is a family member or your attorney, Give a copy also to your family physician. Keep a copy for yourself. Advance directives and DNR orders can be changed or cancelled by the patient at any time.

Recently a senior asked me,”Can the government confiscate my assets and sell to repay for my healthcare at my death?”

Laurie Petrie of Southwestern Ohio’s Council on Aging cleared that up for me—and for you. She said that seniors who are receiving all their healthcare free through government programs such as Medicaid and Passport the government will, at the patient’s death, try to recover some of those healthcare costs.

This senior who questioned me feared all her assets would be confiscated by the government at her death. Laurie said the term “confiscated” is not accurate.

She said, “I assume this patient is on PASSPORT and not the Hamilton County Elderly Services Program (ESP). Nothing like this applies whatsoever to ESP. However, PASSPORT is an Ohio Medicaid program. It is paid for by the taxpayers. Therefore, when a person on PASSPORT dies, the state does try to recover some of the costs of providing services to that person free of charge. People don’t always understand that their services – which are costly - are paid for by the taxpayers. So the state does attempt to recover some of these costs via a policy called Medicaid Estate Recovery.

"As you can imagine, there is a lot of misunderstanding about Medicaid Estate Recovery. So, we’ve prepared a fact sheet about it. It’s a complicated policy, but we’ve tried to keep it as simple as we can. We even hear about people who refuse to enroll in PASSPORT because of this provision. But in so doing, they deny themselves long-term services that can help them remain in their homes.”

Seniors can go to the Ohio Council on Aging’s website, help4seniors.org, online now and find the link “Medicare Estate Recovery.”Then you should click it on to read how and when recovery takes place.

End of life issues are painful, to be sure. But reality dictates that every adult address them and put their decisions on paper.

And the smart thing to do is do it right now.

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If you would like to reach me my email address is: ajhornbaker@yahoo.com or levee a message for me at the Cincinnati WMKV studios 782- 2427. For WMKV this is Alice Hornbaker for the Life After 50 column heard on air at 89.3 FM public radio.