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Section 1 - Assistive Technology
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Section 7 - Caregiver Resources
Patient Quality of Life: Should Doctors Guess It?
Incontinence Care
Section 8 - Children Seriously Ill
Children of The Chronically Ill
Siblings of Children with Special Health Needs
Guides To Disability Issues
End Stage Hospital & Home Care
Child With A Serious Illness
Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP)
Camps-Special Needs Children
Children's Wish Foundations
Section 9 - For Kids
Section 10 - Family Resources
Section 11 - Patient Resources
Section 12 - Financial Aids
Section 13 - Insurance
Long Term Care Insurance
Section 14 - Legal
Section 15 - Long Term Care
Section 16 - Symptom Support
Section 17 - End of Life
Section 18 - Funeral Planning
Section 19 - After Death Occurs
Guestbook
Hospice FAQS
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Ill Person's Feelings
Caregiving & Family Harmony
Caregiver Grief ~Article
End of Life
Comforting A Dying Person
End Stages of Life
When Someone Dies
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Bereavement Fares and Discounts
Common Bonds of Caregiving
Tips For Helping Your Friend
About me
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Estate Planning Definition
Living & Other Trusts
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State Laws On Wills
Conservator~Guardianship Definitions
Conservator~Guardianship
Insurance Issues
Avoiding Probate
Prescription Drug Program I
Prescription Drug Cards II
Disability & SSDI Insurance Questions
Long Term Care Insurance
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Rehab Tools-Assistive Tech. Categories
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NH Your Rights-Fact Sheets
Nursing Homes and Your Rights - Factsheets for some seriously ill or their caregivers.
Long Term Care-Facts & Rights
State & Federal Resources
Drug Resources
Grief & Sorrow
When death nears - Signs and Symptoms
Some Facts About Artificial Nutrition and Hydration
Things To Consider-Artificial Nutrition and Hydration
 Insurance Issues
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Now, isn't this fun??
Forms or Tools
To Help You
 
HMO, PPO, Or Fee-For-Service worksheet - Would your loved one prefer using an HMO, PPO, or fee-for-service insurance? Use this worksheet to find out.  Simple questions to help you determine your options.
 
Health Insurance: Best Buys worksheet - A worksheet to help you and your loved one choose the right health insurance policy by laying out the different options to add up the actual costs, including premiums. Estimate what your loved one might spend on deductibles,coinsurance and/or copayments, and services that are not covered
 
Health Insurance: Important Services - A checklist to help you decide which health insurance services are the most important to you.
 
Insurance Info~General
 
The National Council on the Aging created BenefitsCheckUp to help older adults to quickly identify programs that may improve the quality of their lives. Family and friends can also obtain facts about benefits that their loved ones may qualify for. Chances are, you will be surprised to learn what benefits are available to you, regardless of your income.
 
Here's how it works: You take 10 or 15 minutes to enter information about your financial situation into an online questionnaire. Then, Benefits CheckUp explains what benefit programs you may be eligible for and how to apply for them.  BenefitsCheckUp is completely confidential. It's free! 
 
The Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) is the nation's most prominent trade association representing the private health care system. Its more than 290 members provide health, long-term care, disability, dental, and supplemental coverage to more than 123 million Americans. 
 
Following are few of HIAA's guidelines:
 
 
Guide to Health Insurance in part contains:
 
Specified or dread disease policies provide benefits only if you get the specific disease or group of diseases named in the policy. For example, a policy might cover only medical care for cancer. Because benefits are limited in amount, these policies are not a substitute for broad medical coverage. Nor are specified disease policies available in every state.
~~
Medical Insurance Bureau's Facts On You!  Do you know what is in your Medical Information Bureau Files? When you apply for a Life Insurance Policy, there is a place for you to sign allowing the Insurance Company to check your Medical Information from various sources.  What if the information is wrong?How do you know what is in the files about your health condition is accurate?  Read this to learn how you can obtain the information on your medical  records that MIB is sharing with insurance companies! 
 
From CNBC
 
 
Children
 
Childhood Disability Evaluation Rules effective on January 2, 2001-The final rules do not change the disability standard for children. They continue to define the statutory standard of "marked and severe functional limitations" and also simplified and clarified the language of some rules
 
Deeming Resources for Children in the SSI Program - The SSI law provides that we must count some of a parent's income and resources as belonging to a child when we decide if a child is eligible. A parent's income can also lower a child's SSI payment amount. Read this SSA article.
 
Social Security-Children With Disabilities -The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) offers social security benefits for eligible children. Disabled children who have limited income and resources, or who come from homes with limited income and resources, may be eligible to receive social security, or specifically, Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Children can qualify if they meet SSA's definition of disability and if their income and assets fall within eligibility limits.
 
Using Life Insurance to Provide for Your Kids - Life insurance may be a good source of income for your children if you die. Here's what you should know.
 
Claims
 
Protecting Yourself When You Deal With Your Insurance Company
From Nolo.Law What to do now so that you won't have unpleasant surprises when
you make a claim
 
Insurance Rates
 
Modern Maturity article covers what Medicare (50%), Medicaid (15%), patient (20%), private insurance coverage (10%) and the rest from other sources covers for care.
 
Medical Savings Accounts invest in your health - From CNBC: combined with a high-deductible health insurance policy, let people without employer-provided coverage set up a tax-deferred investment account to pay for medical care. Any funds that aren't used continue to earn interest. Also see:

Medical Savings Account The big-deductible, big-savings health care plan

Shop for the best rates
MSN MoneyCentral offers you quick, easy access to online health insurance quotes. Find out what is available in your state. Click on
Insurance Quotes
 
What to do if you're "uninsurable"
Several states provide special risk pools for people considered medically uninsurable because of known health problems. See a list of the 27 states with health-insurance risk pools on
Information about Health Insurance Risk Pools for the Uninsurable
 
LIFE INSURANCE
 
Buying Life Insurance
Before you buy a life insurance policy, you should compare insurance rates, choose a trustworthy agent and check the reliability of your insurance company
 
Do You Need Life Insurance?
Not everyone needs life insurance. Find out whether it's
right for you.
 
Life Insurance Options
When it comes to choosing a life insurance policy, you may feel dazed by your options. Here are the basic types and the pros and cons of each
 
Reducing Estate Taxes by Transferring Ownership of Your Life Insurance Policy
Reducing Estate Taxes by Transferring Ownership of Your Life Insurance PolicyYou can lower your beneficiaries' estate tax burden by making sure you don't own your life insurance policy when you die.
 
Long Term Insurances
 
 
How Important Is Long-Term Care Insurance?  If you can't find a crystal ball, look at the statistics from Auntie Nolo
 
What you need to know in planning using this type of insurance.
 
 
Medicaid/Medicare
 
Medicare and Medicaid Differences Explained - A comparison between Medicare and Medicaid and explanations of both types of coverage. People are often confused about the differences between Medicare and Medicaid. Eligibility for Medicare is not tied to individual need. Rather, it is an entitlement program; you are entitled to it because you or your spouse paid for it through Social Security taxes. Medicaid, on the other hand, is a federal program for low-income, financially needy people, set up by the federal government and administered differently in each state. Although you may qualify and receive coverage from both Medicare and Medicaid, there are separate eligibility requirements for each program; being eligible for one program does not necessarily mean you are eligible for the other.
 
Benefits-Legal Help SSI, Medicare, Medicaid Etc. - Using Creative Alimony, Child Support and Property Settlements to Maximize SSI and Medicaid. This article was written by a Family Law Attorney for Neigh-borhood Legal Services and provides an excellent description of Social Security, SSI, Medicare and Medicaid as well as providing examples of how using things such as "creative alimony", child support and property settle-ments can be used to maximize SSI and Medicaid specially for a child with disabilities. 
 
The first part discusses each of the programs, qualifications, expected payments, limitations, etc. What I did not know is, under "Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment"
(EPSDT) " a state must provide to Medicaid beneficiaries under age 21 any service among those listed in the Medicaid Act, including optional services, whether or not the service is included in the state's Medicaid plan or is provided to adults."
 
Toll free numbers and contact information for all USA Medicaid offices
 
Medicaid is a jointly-funded, Federal-State health insurance program for certain low-income and needy people. It covers approx-imately 36 million individuals including children, the aged, blind, and/or disabled, and people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income maintenance payments.  This search engine has been specifically designed to help you locate the information you are looking for as easily and quickly as possible.as
 
Fact: Medicare offers health and disability insurance to retirees who never had a chance at insurance before the government-sponsored program was begun in 1996.  Myth: Medicare covers all of a persons medical expenses. If you believe that, you could end up destitute like many senior citizens before the Social Security Act of 1966, which established Medicare. Click above to read full article.
 
 
QMB: Help Paying For Medicare Premiums - People struggling to pay for Medicare may qualify for benefits through the following programs(see website)
 
Medicare Savings Programs
www.medicare.gov/Basics/HelpToPay.asp
 
Several valuable resources from the Medicare Rights Center (MRC)
Medicaid/Medicare continued
 
HCFA, administers Medicare, the nation's largest health insurance program, which covers over 39 million Americans. Following are HCFA documents.
Medicare FAQ
From Nolo.law Answers to frequently asked questions about What is Medicare? Who is eligible for Medicare Part A coverage? How much of my bill will Medicare Part A pay? What kinds of costs does Medicare Part B cover?How much of my bill will Medicare Part B pay?
 
An explanation of Medicare's home health care coverage. (21 pages) Available in English, Chinese and Spanish. Medicare Basics; About Medicare Health Plan Choices and Supple-mental Coverage; About Health Care Choices; About Your Rights and Protections; Health Information;Medicare Q&A's
 
Medicare Savings Programs
www.medicare.gov/Basics/HelpToPay.asp
 
Several valuable resources from the Medicare Rights Center (MRC)
 
Medicare Rights-Home Health & Hospice-On line Consumer Booklet from  Medicare Rights Center  (MRC) which is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that older adults and people with disabilities get good, affordable health care.
 
From Nolo.law
Medicare and Medicaid Explained
A comparison between Medicare and Medicaid and
explanations of both types of coverage.
 
Minding the Gap in Medicare Coverage -If you're ill or seriously injured, Medicare won't cover all your expenses. Here's what you need to know about the policies designed to pick up the slack, called Medigap insurance.
 
Medicare Managed Care Plans
Learn how a managed care plan may -- or may not -- supplement your medical coverage.
 
Tips on Choosing a Medicare Managed Care Plan-Before signing on the dotted line, make sure a Medicare managed care plan meets your needs. Here are some tips that can help you make the best decision.
 
Who Benefits From Medicare Managed Care?-You'll be in a better position to weigh the costs and benefits of Medicare managed care plans if you understand how insurance companies and doctors make money through them.
 
Q & A Medicare  From CNBC
Personal Injury
The following are provided in case you have suffered a personal injury leading to your current health condition.
 
- FAQs
 
How Much Is Your Personal Injury Claim Worth?  Learn the formula used by insurance companies to determine the value of your claim.
 
A few types of injuries and accidents almost always require that you consult a lawyer.
 
When You Can Handle Your Own Personal Injury Claim  - It's often smart to handle your own injury insurance claim.
 
Negotiating With an Insurance Company  -After you submit your demand letter to an insurance company, it's time to negotiate. Here are some things you can do and say to ensure a just and speedy resolution of your claim.
 
Pre-existing Conditions
Many people worry about coverage for pre-existing conditions, especially when they change jobs. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) helps assure continued health insurance coverage for employees and their dependents. Starting July 1, 1997, insurers could impose only one 12-month waiting period for any pre-existing condition treated or diagnosed in the previous six months.
 
Your prior health insurance coverage will be credited toward the pre-existing condition exclusion period as long as you have main-tained continuous coverage without a break of more than 62 days. Pregnancy is not considered a pre-existing condition, and newborns and adopted children who are covered within 30 days are not subject to the 12-month waiting period.
 
If you have had group health coverage for two years, and you switch jobs and go to another plan, that new health plan cannot impose another pre-existing condition exclusion period. If, for example, you have had prior coverage of only eight months, you may be subject to a four-month, pre-existing condition exclusion period when you switch jobs. If you've never been covered by an employers group plan, and you get a job that offers such coverage, you may be subject to a 12-month, preexisting condition waiting period.
 
Federal law also makes it easier for you to get individual insurance under certain situations, including if you have left a job where you had group health insurance, or had another plan for more than 18 months without a break of more than 62 days.
 
If you have not been covered under a group plan and have found it difficult to get insurance on your own, check with your state insurance department to see if your state has a risk pool. Similar to risk pools for automobile insurance, these can provide health insurance for people who cannot get it elsewhere.
 
Prescription Drug Programs
 
No Insurance? Try Siding Scale Savings - Most states aren't allowed to tell you about the payment sliding scale they can offer you for medical services but by asking for it, you can get a 40 to 60% decrease in their service charges!  Tell them before getting the service that  you are "Self-Paid and want their sliding scale discount".  Most hospitals, walk-in clinics, and physician's will offer this discount.  You can not have any other  insurance ie must be self-paid.
 
Prescription Drug Program I -  New in 2002, drug manufacturer's discount prescription cards. How and where to apply, eligibility, etc.

Prescription Drug Cards II
Many other resources available to help you with coverage of prescribed medication coverage.
 
 
Social Security Programs
 
Social Security Benefits
General information and eligibility requirements for individuals www.ssa.gov/pubs/11000.html
A complete desk reference to SSI eligibility 
Eligibility requirements for non-citizens
A list of states that provide extra income above the federal guidelines www.ssa.gov/pubs/statessi.html
 
Social Security Disability Insurance -How to Qualify, How To Apply, What happens when you're approved,    Family Benefits, and other facts from the SSA.  Also see:
Benefits Eligibility Screening Tool - find out which programs may be able to pay you benefits.
 
 
Social Security's definition of disability. - Information  the SSA will collect on you to determine your eligibility  for disability benefits.
 
SSI Fact Sheet - For a free copy of the AARP SSI Fact Sheet, which provides more information on this benefit, send an e-mail to member@aarp.org with your name, your full postal mailing address, and the title and stock number (D14755) of the publication.
 
Disability Report Form Guide
Need extra help? Find out why SSA asks for information on this form and how it's used to decide your claim.
 
Disability Evaluation Book Now On-line!Explains how each disability program works, and shows what kind of information health professionals can furnish to help ensure prompt, sound decisions on disability claims.
 
SSI pays monthly cash benefits to individuals who have both limited income and limited resources. The Social Security Administration administers this federal program. If eligible, individuals may receive both SSI and Social Security benefits. And, in most states, a person who receives SSI benefits is automatically eligible for health benefits under Medicaid.  What You Should Know
 
Types of Social Security Benefits
From Nolo.Law A breakdown of four basic categories of Social Security
benefits and how they are paid.
 
Areas about which you should be concerned: Social Security and its various permutations, Medicare, pensions and retirement planning.
 
What Insurances Should You Avoid?
 
What type of health insurance should I avoid? - From CNBC: When buying health insurance, its important to remember that you want to purchase the broadest coverage possible.  A good, broad policy will cover just about every medical problem you encounter, regardless of how you get it or where. As a result, you can usually avoid "narrow" insurance policies that will pay only under unusual circumstances. Here are some health-related policies you can probably live without (go to link).
 
Viaticals: Investing money in a way that supposedly helps a terminally ill person. Sounds good, doesn't it? But things are not always what they seem. Falling for these investments may be a good way to lose your money. When you hear "viaticals," watch out! What You Need to Know
 
WORK RELATED
 
Disability Discrimination FAQ
Protect yourself against an employer who discriminates against you because you are disabled.
 
Workers' Compensation FAQ
Frequently asked questions about workers' compensation
 

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