Our Blog
Welcome to the blog of R. F. Meyer & Associates, where we share company news and informative articles related to our Elder Law, Probate and Estate Planning legal practice.
States Granting Liability Immunity to Nursing Homes During Pandemic
Chronic understaffing. Low-wage caregivers. Difficulty containing infections. These are problems that nursing homes faced in the best of times but that have proved especially deadly as the coronavirus pandemic has spread like wildfire though long-term care facilities....
Medicare: Pandemic Gives Seniors More Time to Apply, Change Plans
The closure of Social Security offices has caused problems and worries for recently unemployed seniors who need to apply for Medicare after losing their employer coverage. In response, the federal government has announced that seniors affected by the crisis have...
States May Not Terminate Medicaid During the Pandemic
You should be aware that federal law does not allow states that have accepted increased Medicaid funding to terminate Medicaid benefits while the coronavirus health emergency continues. Access to affordable medical care is especially important during a global health...
June newsletter released: Coronavirus, unfortunately, still key focus
Earlier today, we issued the June 2020 Newsletter from R. F. Meyer & Associates. Please find a link to it in PDF form below. We hope the newsletter finds our client and referral partner subscribers safe and in good health. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus/COVID-19...
How Low Nursing Home Wages Help COVID-19’s Spread
In mid-February, a cluster of residents at the Seattle-area nursing home, Life Care Center of Kirkland, came down with a respiratory illness and fever. On February 28, a 73-year-old female resident tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Over the next...
Bring Your Parent Home from the Nursing Home During the Pandemic?
With the coronavirus pandemic hitting nursing homes and long-term care facilities especially hard, families are wondering whether they should bring their parents or other loved ones home. It is a tough decision with no easy answers. The number of coronavirus cases in...
Should Seniors Who Lose Jobs Claim Social Security Benefits Early?
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment is skyrocketing. Seniors who lose their jobs may be tempted to claim Social Security benefits early, but should they, given the resulting reduction in future benefits? The answer depends on your situation, but you...
How Your Stimulus Check Affects Medicaid Eligibility
The coronavirus relief bill includes a direct payment to most Americans, but this has Medicaid recipients wondering how the payment will affect them. Because the payment is not income, it should not count against a Medicaid recipient’s eligibility. The Coronavirus...
Social Security Shutters ‘Petri Dish’ Field Offices for Safety
To protect its workers and the public during the coronavirus pandemic, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has suspended face-to-face service to at its field offices and hearings offices nationwide until further notice. Payments to the nearly 70 million Social...