by steven friedman
correspondent
Prescott Cole and Ada Burko are on a mission to prevent seniors from being ripped off as they weigh various long-term care options in their twilight years.
Part of the problem, both agree, is providing elder communities with comprehensible information and resources. If not, unscrupulous operators can too often victimize people.
Cole, a staff attorney for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), a non-profit advocacy group in San Francisco, has plenty of tales to tell about 80- and 90-year olds who buy annuities that ripen in 20 years.
He recently shared his expertise and solutions with a group of seniors in Albany at the JFCS of the East Bay’s Center for Older Adult Services. His talk, “Using Medi-Cal to Finance Long-term Care and How to Avoid Scams,” was part of a free workshop series JFCS offers for older adults and family caregivers.
“I explained Medi-Cal and conveyed information about it and how seniors also need to look out for those people who are shaking them into making panic purchases,” said Cole.
Burko, director of the Center for Older Adult Services, said her agency tries to offer free workshops on-site at least twice a year.
“We’re not totally lacking in services for seniors,” she said, “but what we need is accessible information that is out there.”
Cole was more than happy to help disseminate knowledge to the elders. He mentioned one woman who had phoned his agency a while ago and said her 94-year-old father had recently purchased a long-term annuity that matured in 2053.
“That guy has two chances of getting his annuity,” said Cole, who has been with CANHR for 12 years. “Zero and none.”
Scam artists often prey on older adults when they and their families are contemplating potential long-term care in nursing homes, hospitals and other residential care facilities, said Cole. These raiders, sometimes in highly professional guises, trap elders into surrendering their life savings.
“Seniors are deluged with invitations to ‘free’ seminars on living trusts, long-term care insurance, annuities and reverse mortgages. But they are given by salespeople who only make money when they sell.”
Cole said insurance agents staff most of these seminars. “If they say they are licensed to sell insurance,” he cautions, “walk out. If they are using fancy titles such as certified advisor or expert, they are just insurance agents.”
Cole was quick to add that he is not indicting the entire insurance industry, but is only targeting those companies and people who hide by their tax-exempt status to sell products and make phenomenal amounts of money off retirees.
“People need to do a lot of research,” he said. “For example, when seniors move their assets, they often have capital gains liability,” costs they aren’t always able to incur.
Research and education are the keys to ameliorating the situation, said Burko, a
licensed social worker who has worked with older adults since 1982 and has a master’s degree in social welfare, with an emphasis in gerontology.
“People have no idea how to collect benefits, specifically Medi-Cal. The system is very complicated, so we need to get people the right information.”
Cole offered information on how seniors could qualify and manage Medi-Cal benefits, as so many older adults don’t realize what the program provides. Too many eligible elders assume, he said, that because they are above state and federally mandated income limits, they can’t obtain Medi-Cal compensation.
“But you can still have assets,” he said. “The goal is not to impoverish anyone. Medi-Cal is a needs-based program, not an entitlement one. You cannot have any non-exempt assets or regular income, and must be able to repay the money you get from the state.”
He noted that an at-home spouse can have liquid assets (not including a home, which is exempt), of up to $99,450 that is not factored into eligibility for Medi-Cal.
In addition, only the recipient of the Medi-Cal grant or his estate is responsible to repay the state, which basically loans the money to the nursing home or other care facility. Cole said spouses and heirs do not have to pony up for any outstanding Medi-Cal “debts.”
What makes Medi-Cal such an attractive and viable safety net, he said, is that it’s a “pretty flexible program” that enables elders to safeguard their assets before or once they have entered long-term care.
“My goal is to calm people down about the Medi-Cal health care program,” Cole said, “because there are a lot of predators out there using fear and anger.”
Cole and Burko said education and enlisting trustworthy advocates are the best ways for people to be proactive about their financial future and health, and long-term care.
Resources:
California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform is located at 650 Harrison St., 2nd floor, S.F. For further information on Medi-Cal, a list of exempt assets, and other resources, visit the Web site www.canhr.org, or call (800) 474-1116.
JFCS of the East Bay’s Center for Older Adults Services is located at 828 San Pablo Ave., Suite 104, Albany. Information: www.jfcs-eastbay.org or by calling (510) 558-7800.
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California