Caregiver Tip of the Month

December 31, 2006 was NOT the deadline for enrolling in Medicare's Part D prescription drug plan – IF your loved one's 65th birthday was on or after October 2nd, 2006.

Important Reminder: Most people must enroll separately for the Plan D prescription drug benefit, even if they have already enrolled in Medicare Part A and B (the government loves paperwork!).

Your loved one can enroll in a Part D prescription drug plan at any time during the 3 months before the month of their 65th birthday. Or, they can delay their enrollment for up to 3 months after the month of their 65th birthday. For your convenience, here is a chart showing when your loved one can enroll without any penalty.

Our visitors ask ...

Q. I have an aunt who is dealing with several ailments. Is there a quick way to get permission to speak to her doctors?

A. Unfortunately, there is no quick way to get permission to speak to your aunt's doctors.

When you visit a doctor, dentist, hospital, lab, or other health care provider, you are often asked to sign a form stating that you have received the provider's Privacy Statement. The form will also usually include an Authorization section that gives the provider permission to share your medical information with other health care providers.

Patient privacy has become very important in our society, but its rules can be very frustrating. For example, if your loved one has a medical emergency, you usually won't be able to get any information about him or her, even if your loved one is your spouse. When you ask, "Why not?," you'll hear that you can't be told because of HIPAA. That's the federal law that governs patient privacy. In our opinion, HIPAA's patient protection rules are a good example of the best of intentions gone bad.

HIPAA works very well when it prevents unauthorized people from learning about your private medical information. For example, a drug company cannot get information about any illness you have so they can try to sell you their latest "miracle" cure. And, telemarketers can't get your personal medical information so they can sell you an herbal concoction that's guaranteed to cure everything from warts to hair loss to flat feet -- and more.

Where HIPAA doesn't work is that your spouse and other members of your family are automatically excluded from your list of authorized people. Very few Privacy Authorization forms have a space where you can indicate which family members do have your permission to share your medical information. In each case, you need to ask how you can give permission to share your information with the people of your choice.

While a few health care professionals may sometimes bend the rules slightly for family members with the same last name as their patient, you can't count on it. Married daughters with different last names can face an impossible hurdle.

Is there a solution? YES! In fact, there are two.

First, don't wait until you are faced with a medical emergency. Every time you and your loved visit a doctor, hospital, medical lab, etc., ask them for whatever form your loved one has to sign for them to talk with you about your loved one's medical affairs. Important note: Unfortunately, each form your loved one signs applies only to that particular health care provider; if your loved one has several health care providers, he or she will need to sign a permission form for each one of them. And, if you have brothers or sisters, be sure to include their names on each permission form your loved one signs.

Second, if your loved one has any of these documents,

— Durable power of attorney for health care
— Living will
— Trust(s)

and he or she is still mentally competent, each document should be reviewed at the earliest possible date by an attorney who specializes in elder law to be certain that the necessary HIPAA language has been included. If it isn't there when it becomes necessary to utilize the document, doctors and lawyers won't be able to communicate with each other, and it is very likely that your loved one's instructions in those documents will not be followed.

Daily Living Solutions

— products for seniors —

As we grow older, it often becomes difficult to use many everyday products because of arthritis and other conditions. If you or a loved one needs a little help – or a lot – we've selected a group of practical and affordable solutions from our affiliated merchants to help overcome those limitations.

Whether you are looking for yourself, or to help an elderly senior continue living in their own home, you'll find a wide variety of supplies and accessories – raised toilet seats, safety rails, incontinence supplies, large-handle eating utensils, pain relief, diabetic supplies, pill splitters and crushers, big-button telephones, canes, walkers, rollators, wheelchairs – and much more.

Everything is sorted into convenient categories in our Solutions for Seniors section.

Caregiving – Finding the money for care at home

A variety of resources can help pay for care at home. We discuss these resources in some detail in our article 12 tips to help you find money (and free resources) for care at home.

Our visitors ask ...

Q. I have an 88-year-old mother and 99-year-old uncle. Both are currently in the same nursing home. Mom is on Medicaid and has been in long term care for over three years. Uncle is currently on Medicare for short term rehab after a heart attack but might need to eventually transition to long term private pay or even hospice if rehab fails.

I make a couple of trips each day and spend several hours there each day at the nursing home coordinating their care in and out of hospitals, etc. This along with managing their business matters has amounted to a full-time job. My wife, who is my uncle's Power of Attorney, puts in many hours as well taking time off work tending to them. She does their laundry, cooks various foods they prefer, delivers them to the nursing home to make them comfortable, and coordinates their care with attending the staff at his senior apartment and now at the nursing home.

My Mom lived in our house for a year and a half before being admitted to the nursing home. We have incurred great expenses and time to take care of both her and my uncle. We have cleaned out their homes and sacrificed time, money and effort to help them. I know everyone at the nursing home on all 3 shifts and am there seven days a week!

I have not been able to work very much over the past five years as a result. Is there any way to either get any government funds, grants and or tax write-offs for the time, effort and money we've spent caring for them? I would even appreciate being able to write off anything such as mileage or get a receipt from the nursing home for time volunteered there as a write-off on taxes. Any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

A. While it may not be possible for you to be directly compensated, you may be entitled to some tax write-offs and perhaps other benefits for providing care for both your mother and uncle. You'll find more details in our article 12 tips to help you find money (and free resources) for care at home. And, if your uncle has sufficient funds, he (through your wife's Power of Attorney) could be reimbursed in reasonable amounts for the time and expenses you incur on his behalf for providing his care. You can also be reimbursed in full for anything you pay out of your own pocket that's directly related to his care. If he is legally competent and can afford it, he could also "hire" you and/or your wife to provide his "private duty" care.

If you have not already done so, we recommend that you talk with an attorney who specializes in elder law to learn exactly what is and isn't possible through your wife's Power of Attorney. Check the yellow pages in your local telephone directory, or go to the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys' web site at www.naela.org. You'll find a link in the upper left corner (just below their logo) that will help you locate an elder law attorney.

Recommended Reading and Videos

Many excellent books and videos can help guide you through the caregiving process. For our recommendations, including a brief description of each one, click here.

The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is intended as a supplement, not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider. More