In response to soaring housing costs, New York University is rolling out a pilot program in the fall that would let students live in the spare bedrooms of local senior citizens. “We are extremely enthusiastic about the program,” said Ellen Schall, chair of NYU’s Affordability Steering Committee. “The cost of housing is a significant challenge for many students.” Students who opt in to the “home stay” program would slice their $14,000-per-year housing bill in half. The initial program will consist of 10 mature juniors, seniors or grad students. Under the plan, cash-strapped students will get a break on rent, and…
Though nobody knows exactly how presidential and congressional proposals will play out, financial advisors are recommending clients take steps now to prepare for any tax changes that may lie ahead. “We think this a policy shift of enormous magnitude. If Reagan was a Richter 8, this is a Richter 9,” said Leon LaBrecque, a certified public accountant and a certified financial planner as well as managing partner and CEO of LJPR Financial Advisors. Given what we know about these proposals, the tax advice is “very simple,” said Roger Stinnett, a CFP, CPA and director of financial planning at Westmount Asset…
In a case that could open doors for thousands of Minnesotans with disabilities, a large disability services provider has settled a state human rights charge and agreed to give its workers a shot at regular jobs. Opportunity Partners, a Minnetonka-based nonprofit, has for years classified individuals with disabilities who labor in its facilities as “clients” or “persons served,” even though they perform actual work for pay and may aspire to be considered regular employees. Many of these individuals are paid less than the minimum wage. In a settlement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, Opportunity Partners has agreed to…
To buy President-Elect Donald Trump time to craft an Affordable Care Act replacement, House Republicans have asked a federal appellate court to delay considering the Obama administration’s appeal in a case that could end some payments to health plans and throw the individual insurance market into chaos. The House Republicans’ general counsel filed a motion Thursday to temporarily hold in abeyance all briefings in the appeal of a federal district court’s May ruling in House v. Burwell that the Obama administration illegally compensated insurers for reducing low-income enrollees’ cost-sharing responsibilities. A U.S. District Court judge nominated by President George W….
Changes are on their way for a program that provides in-home care for more than 80,000 elderly residents after the Illinois House failed to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill that would have preserved the existing program. Despite warnings from advocates that the changes could result in the loss of services such as assistance with household chores for thousands of elderly residents, House Democrats on Wednesday came up four votes short of the 71 they needed to override the Republican governor’s veto. The Department on Aging now will move forward with implementing changes to the community care program,…
The Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice (MOON) and form instructions are now available online. MOON is a standardized notice to inform beneficiaries that they are an outpatient receiving observation services and are not an inpatient of the hospital or critical access hospital (CAH). Read this MOON fact sheet. Hospitals and CAHs must begin using the MOON no later than March 8, 2017. David Wingate is an elder law attorney at the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC. The elder law office services clients with powers of attorneys, living wills, Wills, Trusts, Medicaid and asset protection. The Elder Law office…
Prompted by a state law that took effect this year, a coalition of emergency and social service providers is working to create an electronic registry for POLST forms so they will be available to first responders and medical providers when they are needed. The group is starting with a three-year pilot project in San Diego and Contra Costa counties that could serve as a model for a single, statewide registry. Paper-based POLST forms are used across the nation, but electronic registries exist only in a few states, including Oregon, New York and West Virginia. Many adults have advance directives, which…
Without congressional intervention, about 16,000 retired miners in seven states will lose their health care coverage by the end of the year. A proposal to temporarily extend the benefits is working its way through Congress. But two Senate Democrats, who have long been advocates for a more comprehensive plan, say the temporary provision isn’t enough. They are threatening to hold up a spending bill that needs to pass by Friday night to keep the government running. Coal mining is dangerous work. For many miners, a government-backed promise of lifelong health care for them and their dependents made the risk worth…
A new report from the General Accountability Office finds room for improvement in a government website meant to help consumers choose among nursing homes. The report stemmed from a request by Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey and other lawmakers in the wake of reporting by the New York Times that was critical of the Nursing Home Compare web tool and its Five-Star Rating System. The Times concluded that the rating system, which includes information on more than 15,000 nursing homes, relied too heavily on self-reported data from the facilities and did not include potentially valuable information about state enforcement actions, allowing…
Where is employment for adults with autism and other neurodiverse (developmental and learning) differences heading in 2017? What employment assistance or initiatives offer the greatest promise? If you want to help someone you know who is part of the neurodiverse workforce, what should you be doing in 2017? The current year saw a range of employment initiatives, most of them extra-governmental, often driven by the energy of persons on the autism spectrum, advocates, and parents. These initiatives might be grouped among three primary strategies. “Autism at Work” and other targeted hiring and retention efforts by large employers: Microsoft’s “Autism at…
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