by Ron Tatro, Vice President Do you remember when you were a child and going to visit older relatives? They would start talking about family members, some longed deceased, and tell stories. If you were like me, you could not care less about those relatives. Recently, I have spent time with a college professor who is very engaged with looking into her family tree and ancestors. … Continue reading Did I Ever Tell You About Your Uncle Fred?
Released in August 2016, the new Michigan’s Support for Older Adults Portal (Mi-SOAP) has been rebuilt from the ground up to provide a better user interface, implement new features, and address user feedback to provide a quality user experience. Additionally, Mi-SOAP now has a public site, allowing seniors and other members of the community to better connect with the resources seniors need most. Mi-SOAP now includes … Continue reading Elder Law of Michigan Releases Mi-SOAP 3.0!
by Sheila Robison, Economic Security Team Member In this “day and age,” many grandparents are raising their grandchildren, for a number of reasons. Through past experience, grandparents do quite well for the most part, for some things never go out of style. However, some things do. Day-to-day life can be very demanding on an older parent who has total care of his or her grandchildren. It’s … Continue reading Back to School Season
by Jadranko Tomic-Bobas, Managing Hotline Attorney Individuals with disabilities face significant challenges and obstacles in life. Employment and living independently are among the major challenges. Further, individuals with disabilities can only have a limited amount in assets at any given time in order to maintain eligibility for certain safety-net programs. Therefore, a disincentive to work and more importantly to save exists in the system. The … Continue reading Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE)
by Karen Flores, Hotline Attorney On August 19, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5847 establishing August 21 as National Senior Citizens Day declaring “For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute.” Senior Citizens Day is not a national holiday, but rather a day to honor and support our seniors … Continue reading National Senior Citizens Day
by Lyndsy Gamet, MiCAFE Outreach and Training Coordinator Let’s talk about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Are you one of approximately 142,000 Michigan Seniors who participate in the program? If not, let me give you a few facts about it, and how to find out if you are eligible. 1) The SNAP program was designed to help individuals to obtain an adequate diet, while meeting … Continue reading SNAP Facts!
by Mary Beth Daley, Staff Accountant Did you know that August 7 is, celebrated annually as, National Lighthouse Day? On August 7, 1789, the United States Congress approved an act for the “establishment and support of Lighthouse, Beacons, Buoys, and Public Pears.” It was two hundred years later that Congress designated August 7th as National Lighthouse Day. Why do I bring up National Lighthouse Day? I … Continue reading National Lighthouse Day
by Gay Nell Jenkins, MiCAFE Community Partner Liaison Many older people have a higher risk of overmedication and medication interactions which are very harmful and deadly to them. Anytime a senior takes more than one medication, the medications can interact with each other. Most seniors do not ask questions regarding new medications prescribed or a change of dosage of the current medication because they trust the doctor, or feel … Continue reading Avoiding Overmedication and Harmful Medication Interactions
by Christine Steinmetz, J.D., Hotline Attorney This post is the third in our series on caregivers. In our previous posts, we discussed the resources that are available to help make caregiving manageable. In addition to gathering information regarding doctors, medications, and billing information, there are also legal considerations and documents that can assist the caregiver in performing his/her day to day duties. In this post, we … Continue reading Steps To Take When Becoming A Caregiver – Part 3
by David Jones, J.D., Hotline Attorney A Medicare Supplement insurance policy (commonly called a Medigap policy) helps to pay medical costs not covered by Medicare for covered services: e.g., deductibles and co-insurance. Currently, the most popular Medigap policy in Michigan is the Blue Cross-Blue Shield (BCBS) Legacy Plan C. It has a little under 50 % of the total enrollees. It uniformly costs $122.86 per month, which … Continue reading Changes in Medicare Supplemental Policies (Medigap)
