How to Protect Your Life Savings: From Catastrophic Illness and Nursing Homes: A Handbook for Financial Survival
The repeal of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act earlier this year leaves the question of paying for long-term health care unresolved and as confusing as ever to the consumer. The Complete Medicare Handbook is an expanded version of government pamphlets on the subject. Edited by the program director of the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, it is a focused summary of services offered by Medicare; how to submit claims; deciding to purchase supplemental health insurance coverage; and dialysis and hospice benefits. A lawyer and founding member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Gordon offers a variety of means in this book to achieve one goal: to avoid spending family assets on long-term care. He explains the basic principles of Medicare financing, including countable and noncountable assets, trusts, and the Spousal Impoverishment Act. He presents family scenarios requiring either immediate or long-term planning and provides options to protect " . . . a lifetime of accumulated assets" from the enormous costs of nursing home care. Advice for choosing a lawyer experienced in Medicare law is included, along with state-by-state charts of income allowances. Although both books are easy to read, with attractive formats, the Medicare Handbook offers little information that can't be found elsewhere, including the government's own publications. And although Gordon's book is somewhat alarmist in tone, it explains clearly some of Medicare's most complex inscrutabilities. --Karen McNally Bensing, The Benjamin Rose Inst. Lib., ClevelandCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.