Some Common Drugs May Increase Risk of Dementia

Some common drugs may cause increased risk of dementia.
Some common drugs may cause increased risk of dementia.

Research conducted in 2019 has strengthened the connection between the risk of dementia and a common class of drugs used to treat a variety of symptoms.

Anticholinergics are a type of medication that blocks the action of acetylcholine. That’s a chemical messenger (or “neurotransmitter”) in the brain that help coordinate breathing, digestion, urination and other functions.

Anticholinergics can treat a variety of ailments, including urinary incontinence.

Considerable’s recent article entitled “These common prescription drugs could boost your risk of dementia” reports that anticholinergics include a roster of drugs for depression (such as Paxil), psychosis (such as Thorazine), Parkinson’s disease (such as Cogentin) and bladder disorders (such as Ditropan).

The 2019 study found a nearly 50% increase in chances of dementia in those people who received more than 1,095 daily doses of these drugs in a 10-year period.

The research was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study, sponsored by the University of Nottingham, monitored 284,343 patients age 55 and older between 2004 and 2016. The researchers examined the total standardized daily doses (TSDDs) of anticholinergic drugs during that time period.

The researchers said that this was the equivalent to a senior taking a strong anticholinergic medication daily for at least three years.

Researchers looked at each person’s anticholinergic exposure and found the most frequently prescribed anticholinergic drugs were antidepressants, drugs to treat vertigo, motion sickness or vomiting and an overactive bladder.

The researchers at the University of Nottingham discovered that some other anticholinergic antihistamines and gastrointestinal drugs failed to correspond to a higher incidence of dementia.

The UK study shows a correlation between these specific anticholinergic drugs and increased chances of dementia. However, the researchers cautioned that seniors shouldn’t stop taking any medications without talking with their doctor.

Reference: Considerable (July 1, 2020) “These common prescription drugs could boost your risk of dementia”

 

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Medicare Basics: What to Know

Many clients who are retiring or suffering job loss face key decisions about their healthcare. These Medicare basics will help make those decisions.

Medicare is a commonly misunderstood government benefit.  With so many baby-boomers retiring and especially with the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, many clients are faced with important decisions on their healthcare.  For that reason, I wanted to cover some Medicare basics to help readers understand these issues.

If you’re 65 or older and lose your job, you can keep your employer-based health insurance under a federal law known as COBRA. However, it also could be more expensive. In addition, COBRA coverage isn’t qualifying insurance in place of Medicare, and if you miss some deadlines for enrolling in Medicare without having the right coverage, you could pay life-lasting penalties, explains CNBC’s recent article entitled “What to know about getting Medicare if you are 65 or older and lost your job.”

Another critical Medicare basic is that Medicare isn’t free. However, if you find yourself currently with no employer-based insurance, it may be your best option. There are also ways to lower your costs, if your income has dropped a lot.

Provided that you have at least a 10-year work history, you’ll have no premiums to pay for Medicare Part A, which covers hospital stays, skilled nursing, hospice and certain home health services. If you don’t satisfy the eligibility requirements for it being premium-free, you could pay up to $458 per month for coverage. Either way, Part A’s deductible is $1,408 per benefit period, with some caps on benefits.

Part B covers outpatient care and medical supplies. It has a standard monthly premium of $144.60 in 2020, but higher earners pay more. There is also a $198 deductible in 2020. Once you meet the deductible, you’ll typically pay 20% of covered services. You are allowed eight months to sign up for Part B, once you lose workplace coverage.

You can get a standalone plan to have with original Medicare, or you can get an Advantage Plan (Part C). These plans are offered by private insurance companies and typically include prescription drug coverage. If you select this, your Parts A and B benefits will be delivered via the insurer offering the plan (which may or may not have a premium).

A Part D drug plan covers prescriptions. The average cost for this coverage in 2020 is roughly $42 a month, but high earners pay extra for their premiums. The maximum deductible for Part D is $435 in 2020.

If you already have Part A and are enrolling in Part B because of a job loss, there is a form that you and your ex-employer should complete to avoid late-enrollment penalties, by making certain that you had qualifying coverage during the period of time you were eligible for Part B but weren’t enrolled.

Another important issue of Medicare basics is what Medicare excludes from cover.  Consider how you’ll pay for items like dental work, routine vision, or hearing care. It also excludes long term care, cosmetic procedures and overseas medical care.  Clients often mistaken the skilled nursing facility rehab component of Medicare with long term care insurance, so see here for more detail on that.  https://galligan-law.com/long-term-care-whats-it-all-about/ 

Seniors frequently use original Medicare and a supplemental policy (“Medigap”) to help cover out-of-pocket costs, such as deductibles and coinsurance. Medigap policies are standardized, regardless of which insurance company sells them and your location. However, the premiums can differ from insurer to insurer and among locations. Therefore, it is critical that you know the differences you may see when evaluating your options. Look at a carrier’s premium rating system, its claims history and its customer service ratings.

If you go with an Advantage Plan, dental and vision coverage may be included. Note that these plans have their own copays, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.

Reference: CNBC (June 26, 2020) “What to know about getting Medicare if you are 65 or older and lost your job”

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Your Children Want You to Have an Estate Plan

Clients often forget that a solid estate plan makes things much easier for their kids. Even the kids want you to have an estate plan!

Many clients delay creating an estate plan.  People don’t want to think about scenarios where they are deceased or incapacitated, and some people delay because they are afraid of costs.  Clients often think of the impact of estate planning on themselves, forgetting that their children want them to have an estate plan too.

After all, it is the adult children who are in charge of aging parents when they need long term care. They are also the ones who settle estates when parents die. Even if they can’t always come out and tell you, the recent article, “Why your children wish you had an Elder Law Estate Plan” from the Times Herald-Record spells out exactly why an elder law estate plan is so important for your loved ones.

Avoid court proceedings while living. In a perfect world, everyone over age 18 will have a financial power of attorney, a medical power of attorney and a living will, as well as other estate planning documents to facilitate their use.  These documents appoint others to make financial, legal, and medical decisions, in case of incapacity. Without them, the children will have to get involved with time-consuming, expensive guardianship proceedings, where a judge appoints a legal guardian to make these decisions. Your life is turned over to a court-appointed guardian, instead of your children or another person of your choosing.  This is an expensive and invasive process.

Avoid court proceedings after you die. If you die and you own assets in your own name that do not pass by contract, you will likely go through the probate process, a court proceeding that can be time consuming and costly. Not having any assets in trusts leaves your kids open to out of pocket costs, time, work and difficulty in gathering assets.

Wills in probate court are public documents. Trusts are private documents. Utilizing trusts can keep the details of your estate out of the public eye.

An elder law estate plan also plans for the possibility of long term care and costs. Nursing home care costs can be extreme, and many clients don’t plan for such a creditor during their life time. If you don’t have long term care insurance, you should consider an estate plan that facilitates long term care government benefits, such as a revocable trust plan.

The “elder law power of attorney” has unlimited gifting powers that could save about half of a single person’s assets from the cost of nursing homes. This can be done on the eve of needing nursing home care, but it is always better to do this planning in advance.  This is one of the main roadblocks to Medicaid planning later in life.  Client’s don’t update their powers of attorney and limited their gifting options.

Having a plan in place decreases stress and anxiety for adult children. They are likely busy with their own lives, working, caring for their children and coping in a challenging world. When a plan is in place, they don’t have to start learning about Medicaid law, navigating their way through the court system, or wondering why their parents did not take advantage of the time they had to plan properly.

You probably don’t want your children remembering you as the parents who left a financial and legal mess behind for the them to clean up. Speak with an elder law estate planning attorney to create a plan for your future. Your children will appreciate it.

And kids, see here for speaking with your parents about estate planning.  https://galligan-law.com/probate-lawyers-say-talk-to-your-parents-about-estate-planning/

Reference: Times Herald-Record (May 23, 2020) “Why your children wish you had an Elder Law Estate Plan”

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