Minigrants to create Dementia-Capable Communities in WV

From the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services:

Connecting the DOTS (Dementia-Capable Outreach, Training and Supports) in WV: Community Grant Opportunity (Through a grant from the Administration on Aging: Creating and Sustaining Dementia-Capable Service Systems for People with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers)

Eligible applicant: Any West Virginia community that meets the criteria below. For the purpose of this grant, community is defined as a group of people who live in the same area (town, neighborhood) and/or groups that share common interests (Ex: faith communities, provider agencies, organizations, businesses), who want to work together to improve their community’s ability to provide services to individuals with dementia and their families.

Purpose: To improve quality of care and increase access to comprehensive, disease appropriate services for individuals with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia and family caregivers in pilot communities across the state. Funding available: Sixteen mini-grants of $10,000 per grantee, awarded in two rounds of grants.

Round One: The WV Bureau of Senior Services intends to fund up to eight community mini-grants in June 2016. Each grantee will receive $5,000 the first year of the grant period and another $5,000 for year two of the grant. A local in-kind match is required.

Round Two: The Bureau of Senior Services intends to award at least eight additional two-year mini-grants in November 2016. Announcement and application will be available in September.

Project timeline: The expected award date for Round One is June 29, 2016. This is a two-year project.

Scope of activities and outcomes:

Grantees must address the following objectives:

Improve knowledge and skills of family caregivers, provider agencies, and community gatekeepers.

• Host the Savvy Caregiver training (a multi-week, evidenced-based training for family caregivers of individuals with dementia that increases caregiving skills, knowledge, confidence and understanding and decreases caregiving’s adverse effects). Respite will be provided.
• Identify agencies, organizations and businesses that could benefit from dementia-capable training.
• Work with the DOTS Team to ensure that frontline employees at referring agencies have the knowledge and tools to connect families to the best available resources.

Develop dementia-capable pilot communities that will effectively serve and support individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia and their families.

• Form a community coalition; conduct a dementia-capable community needs assessment (provided); develop a work plan based on the results of the assessment that includes a direct service component.
• Implement the work plan with the assistance of the DOTS Leadership Team; evaluate outcomes and put measures in place to sustain effective change.

Application components and deadline: Each application must include a project narrative, project budget and budget narrative, including description of in-kind match. Round One application deadline is May 27, 2016.

Grant reviewers: A grant review team, comprised of members of the DOTS Leadership Team, will advise the WV Bureau of Senior Services on grant applications and awards.

To request a grant application or for more information: Please contact Nancy Cipoletti, WV Bureau of Senior Services, 304-558-3317 or nancy.j.cipoletti@wv.gov.

Budget Finance in New Martinsville in Ponzi scheme investigation

A Ponzi scheme in New Martinsville WV appears to have included nearly 800 victims who have been bilked out of tens of millions of dollars. Over 500 of the victims were West Virginians, about 150 Ohioans, and several from other states. Many of the victims are older people and middle income folks who came in to some money through the recent development of shale gas in the areas near the Ohio river including Wetzel, Tyler, Marshall, Pleasants, Wood, Ritchie, Doddridge, and other counties.

The case is being investigated through partnerships of several federal and state entities including the FBI, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, the IRS, the US Postal Inspector, the WV Auditor's office, the WV Division of Financial Institutions (WVDFI), the Wetzel County prosecutor's office, and others.

The alleged perpetrator, owner of Budget Finance in New Martinsville, lives in Ohio. The company had been in business in New Martinsville for decades, was trusted among members of the community, and had been in both short-term lending and real estate rental businesses as well as investments.

According to investigators at a town hall meeting of victims held in New Martinsville on March 15, 2016, the story began to break in October 2015 when some Budget Finance investors became concerned when told they could not withdraw their funds on deposit right away. The first official to start looking into it was the Wetzel County prosecutor Tim Haught who quickly reached out to the President of Budget Finance for information and to remind her of her obligation under state law to have a local office open at least 4 days weekly. When he did not get a satisfactory response he contacted state finance regulators who began investigating. Soon federal law enforcement was also included in the investigation, and the case is still in the investigation phase now.

At the meeting on March 15 victims were told several important things about the status of the case:

The US Attorney's office for the Northern District of WV who would normally have jurisdiction over the case has some kind of conflict of interest regarding the matter so the US Department of Justice has assigned the US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio to investigate and lead the prosecution. He said he has been doing law enforcement legal work for over 40 years and this is the biggest case of this case he has seen.

Several different federal and state law enforcement and regulators repeated that victims are likely to get only "pennies on the dollar" as there appear to be very little assets available to return to them.

Charges have not yet been brought, and there is likely a 5 year statute of limitations on several possible kinds of charges, but the US Attorney expects to bring charges in 2016 and avoid delay.

There are various tax implications on the theft loss and victims will not likely receive 1099 or other forms from Budget Finance for tax year 2015. The Taxpayer Advocate from the IRS is available to victims and their tax accountants to answer questions about filing taxes for this year and amendments for previous years related to the theft.

The reason the scheme had not been detected earlier by regulators is that no one at Budget Finance had any kind of license or registration to sell investments. Though the lending business was licensed and regularly audited by WVDFI no state authority had any idea the investment business existed, and therefore no one had a duty to audit or regulate it for consumer safety.

One of the reasons this kind of scheme was able to be perpetrated on such a large scale and for so long is that this business was trusted in the community. Had anyone ever contacted the WV Auditor's Office to ask if they were in good standing to sell investments there would have likely been an investigation prompted. But no one ever made that call. Community member investors were receiving high interest returns and regular payments so no one had a complaint. Had anyone recognized that these high rates were too good to be true and started checking it is likely the scheme would have been thwarted before it could get this large.

WVSLA is available to any WV victim of this scheme age 60 or over who has legal questions or problems. We cannot provide tax advice but we can offer legal advice and information for resulting debt, housing, benefits, or other issues.

for more information see articles in the Charleston Gazette from December http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20151212/hundreds-of-investors-likely-victims-of-suspected-wva-ponzi-scheme and the Wheeling Intelligencer from November www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/647272/New-Martinsville-Budget-Finance-Closes-Abruptly--No-Explanation.html?nav=510

Hey WV Grandparents: Get $100 in Smart529 by registering before baby's first birthday!

SMART529, West Virginia’s College Saving Plan is introduces the Bright Babies program to help families begin saving in their child’s first year. Open a new account and the program will make a $100 contribution to your grandchild’s college savings.

For more information go to www.smart529.com/cs/Satellite?pagename=College_Savings/Page/CS_CommonPage&cid=1287794310134

Bill would disproportionately impact senior WV voters

WV Seniors take note: a bill, HB 4013, that imposes new barriers to voting has passed our state House of Delegates and is currently in the Senate Judiciary committee.

"For elections after January 1, 2018, the person desiring to vote shall present to one of the poll clerks an identifying document meeting the requirements of subdivision (1) of this subsection; and, the poll clerk shall inspect and confirm that the name on the identifying document conforms to the name in the individual's voter registration record and that the image displayed is truly an image of the person presenting the document."

Seniors and people who do not drive are among those who are more likely to be prevented from being able to vote if this measure passes since they are less likely to have a drivers license, the most likely form of identification that will be used by successful voters. At WV Senior Legal Aid we have served several senior West Virginians who have moved here, many moving back home to retire after careers spent in other states, and have had trouble producing the necessary documentation to get a drivers license in WV. Because of the new identity documentation requirements post-USA PATRIOT Act getting or renewing a drivers license has become more difficult. It is not uncommon for seniors who may have had drivers licenses for decades to not be able to fulfill these documentation requirements. For example, many people in their 60's, 70's, and beyond have never had birth certificates. Older women may also have trouble getting Social Security cards with their married or divorced names on them. Past practices at the Social Security administration allowed people to get new cards for name changes without documentation or changing the name in their Social Security record. New policies don't permit that, so women who changed their names may have to produce documentation from decades ago, pre-internet and pre-computerization, including divorce decrees or other court ordered name changes.

You can see the text of the bill here http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=HB4013%20SUB%20ENG.htm&yr=2016&sesstype=RS&i=4013 and the status of the bill here http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?INPUT=4013&year=2016&sessiontype=RS.

Who is J. R. Clifford?

One of West Virginia's greatest lawyers. This African-American civil rights pioneer was born in 1848 near what is now Moorefield WV. He fought for the Union Army in the civil war at age 15. He attended Storer College in Harper's Ferry. In 1882 he started publishing the Pioneer Press.

In 1887 he was admitted to the bar by the West Virginia Supreme Court and in 1898 he won equal rights in education for black West Virginians in the landmark case Williams v. Board of Education. This was 50 years before Brown v. Board of Education brought those rights to the rest of the country.

Clifford went on to help found the Niagara Movement in 1906, a precursor to the NAACP.

It's Black History month and we at WVSLA celebrate our state's rich history of leading the south toward political equality and justice for African Americans. Thank you J. R. Clifford!

For lots more information check out the J. R. Clifford project online at www.jrclifford.org/index.html

2016 Federal Poverty Guidelines

Eligibility for many benefit programs is based on the Federal Poverty Guidelines which are updated annual by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The 2016 guidelines were published in the federal register on 1/27/16 Here below is a chart showing the annual and monthly income guidelines:

2016 Federal Poverty Level Guidelines

Family Size	100% Annual	100% Monthly	135% Monthly
1	$11,880	$990	$1,336
2	$16,020	$1,335	$1,802
3	$20,160	$1,680	$2,268
4	$24,300	$2,025	$2,733
5	$28,440	$2,370	$3,199
6	$32,580	$2,715	$3,665

FTC enhances IdentityTheft.gov

FTC announced enhancements to IdentityTheft.gov – the federal government’s free, one-stop resource to help people fix problems caused by identity theft.

IdentityTheft.gov makes it easier for victims of identity theft to report it and recover from it. New features on the site allow people to:

• Get a personal recovery plan that walks them through each step
• Update their personal plan and track their progress
• Print pre-filled letters & forms to send to credit bureaus, businesses, and debt collectors

WV Legislative session begins today, State of the State address tonight

Today is the first day of the state legislative session which ends in March. Tonight at 7p Gov. Tomblin will present the State of the State address which you can watch live on WV Public Broadcasting, or stream live online. If you tweet about it with the hashtag #WVSOTS16 your tweets will be aggregated at https://twitter.com/hashtag/WVSOTS16. For more information about coverage of the event see http://wvpublic.org/post/watch-gov-tomblin-delivers-2016-state-state

2016 LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR

First Day - January 13, 2016: First day of session. (WV Const. Art. VI, §18)

Twentieth Day - February 1, 2016: Submission of Legislative Rule-Making Review bills due. (WV Code §29A-3-12)

Forty-first Day - February 22, 2016: Last day to introduce bills in the Senate. Senate Rule 14 does not apply to originating or supplementary appropriation bills, and does not apply to Senate or House resolutions or concurrent resolutions.

Forty-second Day - February 23, 2016: Last day to introduce bills in the House. House Rule 91a does not apply to originating or supplementary appropriation bills, and does not apply to Senate or House resolutions or concurrent resolutions.

Forty-seventh Day - February 28, 2016: Bills due out of committees in house of origin to ensure three full days for readings.

Fiftieth Day - March 2, 2016: Last day to consider bill on third reading in house of origin. Does not include budget or supplementary appropriation bills. (Joint Rule 5, paragraph b)

Sixtieth Day - March 12, 2016: Adjournment at Midnight. (WV Const. Art. VI, §22)

See the WV Legislative Calendar for 2016 here www.legis.state.wv.us/Bulletin_Board/calendar_2016.cfm

WV Future of Aging and Caregiving Taskforce (WVFACT) Legislative Priorities 2016

WVFACT Coordination and Communication Workgroup Sets Priorities for 2016

Letters Sent to West Virginia's Legislators

Shortly before the holidays the Coordination and Communication workgroup, a sub-group of the West Virginia Future of Aging and Caregiving Taskforce (WVFACT), composed and sent letters to state leaders to seek their support on issues identified as priorities.

The letters informed legislators of the issues that the group felt should be of special concern in the coming year for the care of our ever-growing senior population. These concerns mirror many of the goals and initiatives being addressed by AARP-WV in 2016.

As stated in these letters, WVFACT strongly support and ask for our leaders' attention for:

• Increased availability of respite for caregivers and a caregiver tax credit;
• Work place flexibility laws and regulations that provide more paid and unpaid sick leave; to include state improvements to the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): covered employers, covered employee eligibility, length of leave, type of leave allowed;
• Post CARE Act Passage- to put a process in place to ensure the provisions passed last year in the CARE Act are occurring;
• Protect against a significant reduction in the numbers of individuals served, or eligible to receive, Medicaid or state-funded home- and community-based services as demonstrated by a budget bill/regulation, state plan amendment, or waiver;
• Increase the number older people who receive home- and community-based services;
• Adopt or improve navigation systems (ADRCs, single points of entry, options counseling, etc.) that facilitate choice of setting, establish conflict-free care coordination, or utilize uniform assessment tools;
• Increase consumer-directed care, home health, and personal care services;
• Adopt or amend state-managed LTSS programs to improve access, coordination, and integration of LTSS and greater involvement of family caregivers;
• Full Implementation of the Home Care Registry passed several years ago.

The West Virginia Future of Aging and Caregiving Taskforce (WVFACT) is a project of the WV Partnership for Elder Living (WVPEL, Inc.) www.wvpel.org; AARP-WV http://states.aarp.org/region/west-virginia/and other partners.

Grandmothers raising grandchildren and poverty

Though a recent paper about poverty and failure of the social safety net in grandparent households studied primarily urban and black families, some of the issues identified apply to grandmothers in rural mostly white West Virginia, too. Particularly the difficulties grandmothers raising grandchildren face regarding affordable childcare, the challenges of trying to work to feed the family while caring for young children, and the barriers to benefits and services for both grandmother and grandchildren in informal custody arrangements are all issues faced in SGH's (skipped-generation households) here, too.

The paper points out that grandparent-headed households increased 22% since 2000. And whereas many of the urban grandmothers in the study are stepping up when their children are incarcerated, here in West Virginia an adult child's drug abuse, whether the child is incarcerated or still on the street, often results in the grandchildren heading to grandma's for what might first appear to be a temporary visit that never ends.

The paper correctly concludes that both policy development and expanded delivery of quality, accurate information to grandparents raising grandchildren about eligibility for services and benefits for their newly-expanded households would both help relieve the pressure for these families.

You can read the paper (by LaShawnDa Pittman, Assistant professor of American ethnic studies, Department of American Ethnic Studies, University of Washington) online for free at http://www.rsfjournal.org/doi/full/10.7758/RSF.2015.1.1.05">www.rsfjournal.org/doi/full/10.7758/RSF.2015.1.1.05

Medicare A & B Premiums, Deductibles, Copays 2016

CThe premium for Medicare Part B is calculated by outpatient utilization figures from the year before. Because beneficiaries used the services more than anticipated in 2015 the Part B premium for 2016 will increase will increase for many beneficiaries from $104.90 to $120.70.

But because there will be no cost of living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security benefits a federal "hold harmless" provision will allow Medicare beneficiaries whose premium was the $104.90 in 2015 (not the increased premium for higher incomes) and have their Part B premiums deducted from their Social Security. For beneficiaries who have Medicaid paying their Part B premiums there will be an increase but the beneficiary won't be affected since Medicaid will pay it.

Medicare A & B Premiums, Deductibles, Copays 2016

Part A (hospital)	Beneficiary pays:
Hospital Deductible	$1,288/benefit period
Hospital Copay	$322/day for days 61-90
	$644/day for days 91-150
Skilled Nursing Facil Copay	$161/day for days 21-100
Part A Premium	$411/month for those with fewer than 30 quarters of Medicare-covered employment
	$226/month for those with 30-39 quarters of Medicare-covered employment
Part B (doctor, outpatient services, etc.)	Beneficiary pays:
Annual Deductible	$166
Part B Premium for those with incomes below $85,000 or $170,000 married couple	$104.90/month – for those beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare prior to 2016, whose premium is taken out of their monthly Social Security benefit
	$121.80/month – for those beneficiaries not collecting Social Security benefits, those who will enroll in Part B for the first time in 2016, and those who have their Part B premiums paid by Medicaid
Most covered Part B services	20%

2015 Free Veterans Day Meals for Veterans

2015 Free Veterans Day Meals. The list below is just those that are likely found in WV. See the entire list according to http://themilitarywallet.com/veterans-day-free-meals-and-discounts.

Applebee’s – free meal, Nov. 11, 2015: 7 entrées, beverage & tip not included. Military ID or proof of service needed.

Bob Evans, Nov. 11, 2015. Free All you can eat hotcakes.

Bonanza Steakhouse, Nov. 11, 2015. Free Veterans Day buffet.

Carraba’s Nov. 9 – Nov. 15, 2015 Free appetizer. Need proof of service

Chili’s – Free meal, Nov. 11 2015.Any lunch combo, or your choice of dinner meal from select menu, including any full-size flatbread. Dine-in from limited menu; beverages and gratuity not included.

Denny’s, 11/11/15 5am-noon.Free Grand Slam

Einstein Bros Bagels, Nov. 11, 2015. Free coffee.

Famous Dave’s, Nov. 11, 2015. meat, side, corn muffin

Golden Corral – Free meal, Nov. 11, 2015 (5pm – 9pm)

Hooters 11/11/15. free meal, up to $10.99 w/drink purchase

Hoss’s Family Steak & Sea House, Nov. 11, 2015. Free meal from the American Values Menu, 11am – 9pm. Dine-in only.

IHOP 11/11/15 7a-7p Free Red, White & Blue pancakes or combo plate

Krispy Kreme – Free donut & small coffee, Nov. 11, 2015.

Little Caesars 11/11/15. Free pizza or $5 HOT-N-READY Lunch Combo 11am-2pm

Lone Star Steakhouse, Nov. 11, 2015 a free Starter.

LongHorn Steakhouse 11/11/15 Texas Tonion& drink.

Max & Erma’s,.Free Best Cheeseburger Combo,

Olive Garden, Free entrée, Nov. 11, 2015.

Outback Steakhouse, Nov. 11, 2015.Free Bloomin’ Onion and a non-alcoholic beverage. 15% off your purchase 11/12-12/31/2015

Ponderosa Steakhouse, Nov. 11, 2015. Free Veterans Day buffet

Primanti Bros, Nov. 11, 2015.. Free Sandwich from 4pm to close.

Red Lobster 11/9-11/12 Free Appetizer or Dessert.

Red Robin, 11/11. Free Red’s Tavern Double & Steak Fries

Ruby Tuesday’s, Nov. 11, 2014. Free appetizer.

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza & Grill, 11/11. Free garlic cheese bread or hummus w/ grilled herb flatbread Dine-in only at participating locations

Sheetz, Nov. 11, 2015. Free lunch & car wash at participating locations.

Shoney’s, Nov. 11, 2015. Free All-American Burger 15% everyday hometown heroes discount (military, fire, Police, EMT).

Sizzler 11/11. Free lunch until 4pm. Not valid for salad bar

Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill, Nov. 11, 2015. Free meal special menu

Spaghetti Warehouse 11/9-11/11. Buy 1 entrée, get 1 free. Coupon Required: available on their website and FaceBook page 11/3

StarBucks, 11/11/15. Free tall brewed coffee for vets & their spouses

Tap House Grill, Nov. 11, 2015. Free meal. Dine-in only.

Texas Corral – 11/11/15. Free entrée (dine-in only).

Texas Roadhouse, Nov. 11, 2015. Choose from one of 10 free meals, plus sides and a soft drink, coffee, or tea. Dine-in only. T.G.I. Friday’s, Nov. 11, 2015. Free lunch 11am – 2pm

Tim Hortons, Nov. 11, 2015–free donut. No purchase necessary.

Travel Centers of America 11/11. Free meal for CDL holder veterans.

Uno Chicago Grill 11/11. Free individual pizza or entrée with the purchase of a pizza or entrée. No coupon necessary.

October is Long-term Care Resident Rights Month

The 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law requires each nursing home to care for its residents in a manner that promotes and enhances the quality of life of each resident, ensuring dignity, choice, and self-determination.

Nursing home and other residential healthcare facility residents are entitled to rights including the right to be informed, the right to complain, the right to participate in their own care and planning, rights of privacy and confidentiality, and rights to dignity, respect, and freedom.

Any one of us could become a resident of a long-term care facility. Wouldn't you want to preserve your self-determination if you needed to live in a nursing home or assisted living home? Making sure residents know their rights and have access to support for exercising them is important to the whole community.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

West Virginia Senior Legal Aid supports full inclusion in the workplace for people with disabilities. We celebrate the contributions of Americans with disabilities in the workplace, past, present, and future.

Homecare Workers Entitled to Minimum Wage and Overtime, Appeals Court Says

Today a The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a challenge filed by the Home Care Association of America and others to the US Department of Labor regulation that homecare workers are entitled to the protections of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Home Care Association of America v. Weil U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 15-5018.

Same-Sex Marriage Now Legal in all 50 States

Today, June 16, 2015, the US Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, legalized gay marriage in all 50 states. This means the 14 states that did not recognize gay/same-sex marriage (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas) now must allow same-sex couples to wed. The US Supreme Court also stated that all states must recognize same-sex marriages that are performed in other states. This ruling takes effect immediately and invalidates any laws that restrict same-sex couples from getting married. For further information click one of the following links: http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/26/politics/scotus-opinion-document-obergefell-hodges/ (The opinion in full)
http://sageusa.org/ (Services and Advocacy for GBLT Elders)

Here is some important info for older same-sex couples, this brought to you by the good folks at Justice in Aging:

UNDER SUPREME COURT’S RULING IN OBERGEFELL, SOME PEOPLE WHOSE EARLIER MARRIAGE TO A PERSON OF THE SAME SEX IS NOW RECOGNIZED MAY NOW BE ELIGIBLE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY SPOUSAL OR WIDOW’S BENEFITS AND SHOULD APPLY ASAP, AND PREFERABLY BY THIS MONTH, TO MAXIMIZE BENEFITS

BENEFITS UNDER MEDICARE AND MEDICAID MAY ALSO BE NEWLY AVAILABLE

Seniors may be eligible for Social Security, Medicare, and/or Medicaid benefits based on the recent Supreme Court ruling on marriage rights. These clients should make the relevant applications ASAP, and preferably by this month, to begin eligibility at the earliest possible date.

Immediate impact of the Obergefell Marriage Rights Decision: Some married persons may be eligible immediately for previously inaccessible Social Security, Medicare, and/or Medicaid benefits. Please read the following to see if it applies to you:

Why should I apply now? If you are married but your marriage was not recognized prior to the Supreme Court decision, you may have had reduced eligibility for Social Security, Medicare, and/or Medicaid, because these programs have treated you as unmarried. You and your spouse now may have the right to have your marriage considered in eligibility determinations.

Why is June 30 important? The beginning date of benefits generally is based on the month of application. A delay from June 30 to July 1 or from July 31 to August 1 might mean loss of a month of benefits, or a month of health coverage. Don’t wait. Apply now even if you are not sure if and when you qualify.

What kind of benefits are now available? Status as a married person is relevant for determining eligibility for benefits such as the following:
-Enhanced Social Security benefits based on your spouse’s or deceased spouse’s earnings
-Premium-free Medicare Part A benefits
-Medicaid coverage of nursing home expenses, or expenses of other long-term services and supports
-Social Security survivor benefits (if your spouse has died)

Here are some situations in which status as a married person might be particularly important for determination of benefits:
My spouse has earned more. If you are married to someone with a significantly higher income, you may be eligible for a higher Social Security benefit.
I do not have enough work history for Medicare Part A. If your spouse receives Medicare but you do not have enough work history, you may be entitled to Medicare Part A based on your spouse’s work history. I am paying for Medicare Part A. If you are paying for Medicare Part A because you do not have enough work history, but your spouse receives Medicare, you should be eligible for Medicare based on your spouse.
My spouse or I live in a nursing home or receive other types of long-term services and supports. The Medicaid program covers nursing home care and other types of long-term services and supports. Medicaid’s eligibility calculations allow the sick person’s spouse to receive a significant allocation of the sick person’s savings or income, before Medicaid determines what the sick person might have to contribute to his or her own health care.
My spouse passed away nine months after we were married. If your spouse has died, you may be entitled to Social Security survivor benefits.

What do I need to do? For Social Security and Medicare, contact Social Security ASAP and preferably by Tuesday, June 30:
By Phone: 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778)
In person: Find an office: https://secure.ssa.gov/ICON/main.jsp
On line: www.ssa.gov
Medicaid eligibility is handled by local Medicaid offices. Contact your county or your state Medicaid agency for additional information. Again, application should be made ASAP, and preferably by June 30.

BOTTOM LINE: Get this process started. Contact Social Security and/or Medicaid to apply for benefits.

Be sure to get a confirmation number or other confirmation to show when your application was filed.

The Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act

On June 8, 2015 a new law will take effect in West Virginia that supports family caregivers when their loved ones are admitted into a hospital. AARP West Virginia promoted the bill (House Bill 2100 that passed unanimously in the West Virginia House of Delegates and in the West Virginia Senate. Governor Tomblin signed the CARE Act into law on March 27, 2015. After June 8, 2015 health care facilities will be required to: Record the name of family caregivers on the medical record of a loved one; Inform the family caregiver when their loved one is to be discharged back home; and, Give the family caregiver education and instruction on the medical tasks, such as medication management, injections, wound care and transfers, they will need to perform at home.

The text of the West Virginia House Bill 2100 can be accessed here: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2015_SESSIONS/RS/pdf_bills/HB2100%20ENR%20PRINTED.pdf

The CARE Act became law in Oklahoma and New Jersey in 2014. In 2015 West Virginia, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Virginia enacted the CARE Act.

AARP created the model CARE Act legislation to help family caregivers. Almost half of the 42 million family caregivers in America have performed medical or nursing tasks for their loved ones. These tasks include: managing multiple medications providing wound care managing special diets operating monitors or other specialized medical equipment

To find tools and support and to connect with other caregivers visit the AARP Caregiver Resource Center: fhttp://www.aarp.org/home-family/caregiving/

Looking for info on the new state budget?

Here's a link to the memo from Governor Tomblin about the revisions he proposes to the House's budget bill HB 2016.

Eligibility charts for QMB, SLMB, LIS

Thank you NCOA for these easy-to-use charts of eligibility criteria for programs for low-income Medicare beneficiaries. In particular, here are the numbers updated to reflect the 2015 poverty guidelines for Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Specified Low-Income Beneficiary (SLMB), which help pay some Medicare Part B beneficiary costs, and Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) which help pay some beneficiary costs for Part D drug plans.

Chart for QMB/SLMB www.ncoa.org/assets/files/pdf/center-for-benefits/medicare-savings-programs-coverage-and-eligibility.pdf

Chart for LIS www.ncoa.org/assets/files/pdf/center-for-benefits/part-d-lis-eligibility-and-benefits-chart.pdf

Scam Alert: bogus calls claiming to be IRS

Senior West Virginians, be on the alert. It's tax time, and a scam that has appeared cyclically over the years is rearing its ugly head again lately. A caller claims to be an Officer with the IRS and says that you owe taxes. It may or may not be preceded by a letter that appears to be from the IRS, too. The caller may be aggressive and make try to make you feel urgency to pay a reduced amount to prevent a lawsuit.

No government agency will ever call you to tell you that you owe money. If you actually owe any debt to the government you will only ever be notified by mail, and your legal rights to dispute the matter will be at least briefly explained in the letter.

Like any other caller, you should never give any personal or identifying information over the phone. Any legitimate creditor, whether a government agency, a utility company, a credit card company, or other, will respect your request to communicate with you in writing only.

Please consider reporting to the IRS if you receive a call like this impersonating an IRS agent. If www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml If you are not sure and want to verify with the IRS whether or not you owe any taxes you can call them at 800-829-1040.
Please also consider sharing this information with people you know. Talk to other seniors, families, and people who work with seniors about how this scam works. You may be able to help prevent a senior from being victimized by spreading the word so she is alert to the possibility from the very beginning of such a call.


For more information from the IRS about these scams see www.treasury.gov/tigta/press/press_tigta-2015-01_home.htm