SSA no longer requires surgery for gender marker change

On June 14, 2013 the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that it has changed its policy regarding changing your gender marker. If you have transitioned your gender you can get your Social Security record changed to reflect your new gender by providing to SSA at least ONE of the following documents:

• a valid 10 yr passport with the new gender
• a state-issued birth certificate with the new gender
• a court order directing legal recognition of the new gender
• a signed statement from a license physician (M.D. or D.O.) including specifically that the individual has had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to the new gender

Surgery is no longer required to change the gender marker in your Social Security record. "Most people may not see this as a big deal, but transgender people know that this seemingly small technical change will protect their privacy and give them more control over their own lives" said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE).

For more information see the SSA policy change here https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0110212200, and see an info sheet from the NCTE about how this policy change effects transgender people here www.transequality.org/Resources/SSAResource_June2013.pdf

Alzheimer's training videos for law enforcement

The IACP Alzheimer’s Initiatives Program has announced the release of a new training video: Responding to People with Alzheimer’s Disease: Best Practices for Law Enforcement. These FREE training videos are great for roll-call type training sessions and can be easily downloaded for viewing.

Please visit www.theiacp.org/alztrainingvideo to register and download the videos. We would also appreciate your assistance in spreading the word about this new resource – feel free to forward this along to your contacts who may be interested.

For additional resources that the IACP provides on this topic, please go to www.theiacp.org/alzheimers. Also, if you would like to order a DVD copy of the video, email alzheimers@theiacp.org.

WVSLA celebrates Rainbow Pride Week!

This year's theme is "All Together Now. . ." a recognition that no matter how diverse our communities are, when it comes to things like equality, love, and understanding, we speak with a united voice.

In our state capital there are a variety of activities planned, here is an agenda www.pridewv.org/pride-week-2013

Talking Through Identity Theft: a free webinar for people who are blind/visually impaired

On Wednesday, July 31, 2013 from 2-3 p.m., the Federal Trade Commission will present a webinar for people who are blind or visually impaired. In “Talking Through Identity Theft,” we will discuss the causes of identity theft and how to remedy the crime – focusing on financial, medical, government benefits, and child identity theft. What makes this webinar unique, though, is that we will talk through how people who are blind or visually impaired can get access to educational resources on identity theft. We’ll map out the consumer education resources on the FTC’s website, as well as how to file a complaint. We’ll also talk about our audio files, and how to find them online.

Identity theft remains a key concern for not only the FTC, but for the public. Approximately 9 million Americans are victims of identity theft each year. The FTC combats the crime by making consumer complaints available to law enforcement agencies through the Commission’s confidential, online Consumer Sentinel Network. The FTC also produces and distributes consumer education materials such as Taking Charge, a comprehensive identity theft guide. Finally, the FTC does outreach to underserved communities, as well as communities that may face unique challenges – for example, children and foster youth, military families, and older Americans. This webinar for the blind and visually impaired continues this effort.

The webinar is free and open to the public. Below are instructions for calling and logging in. We hope you can join us.

Conference Call Dial-In Number(s):

To get audio for the webinar, please call:
United States: (800) 230-1092
International: (612) 332-0228
Confirmation number: 29777
Webinar:

This webinar uses WebEx. Please log in up to 15 minutes early to make sure you can connect. WebEx does not provide audio, so please use the dial-in numbers above to join the call.

Event link: https://ftc-events.webex.com/ftc-events/onstage/g.php?d=992765028&t=a
Event number: 992 765 028
Event password: No password required

Title: Talking Through Identity Theft: A Program for the Blind and Visually Impaired

We strongly recommend that attendees test their computer prior to joining the presentation. You can test your computer system at any time at http://www.webex.com/test-meeting.html.
If you need help getting connected, please use the Webex Online help at https://www.webex.com/login/join-meeting-tips.
Copies of the slides presented at the webinar will remain accessible at http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0015-identity-theft-resources.

federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional

The Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion today holding that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. This unlocks numerous legal rights and benefits for spouses in same-sex couples including the federal benefits that opposite-sex married couples are entitled to, like Social Security, Medicare, spousal tax rules, Medicaid spousal impoverishment rules, intestate succession laws, and much more.

Since same-sex marriage is not offered in West Virginia our state's lesbian and gay couples will still not be able to avail themselves of these new legal rights unless they marry in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage.

Much of the legal impact of this case is yet to be determined. You can find information sheets about what this historic case means at the National Center for Lesbian Rights website www.nclrights.org/site/PageServer?pagename=DOMA_FAQ_2013

Jim Shepherd dies at age 101

Many of the parks in Monongalia County WV owe their creation to Jim Shepherd, including Mason Dixon Park, Chestnut Ridge Regional Park, and Dorsey's Knob which he helped the City of Morgantown create when he was in his late 90's. Jim died this week at age 101, a wonderful example of older people making valuable contributions to building community by preserving natural places for recreation.

Harper Lee duped out of her copyright to To Kill a Mockingbird

Celebrated novelist Harper Lee has found the courage to fight her own injustice. The author of the Pulitzer Prizewinning novel To Kill a Mockingbird has sued her literary agent for duping her out of her rights to the book, according to this article in The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/04/harper-lee-kill-mockingbird-copyright.

She joins the sad ranks of Mickey Rooney and Brooke Astor, both celebrities who were victims of financial exploitation perpetrated by people they trusted. Harper Lee, who is now 87, says that she has no memory of relinquishing her rights to the novel. She had the same agent for 40 years, but when he became ill in 2002 his son-in-law (the defendant in this lawsuit) took over several of his clients including Lee, according to the lawsuit.

If only Atticus Finch, attorney and hero of the book, were available to keep this guy from escaping justice.

Older Americans Act reauthorization: what's up?

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), has drafted a bill to reauthorize the Older American Act. He is hosting an event in DC to rally support for the reauthorization. Here's the scoop on the event:

OLDER AMERICANS SUMMIT
WHEN: Thursday, May 23rd at 11:00 AM
WHERE: 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building
WHAT: Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Older Americans Month, highlight the success of the Older Americans Act programs, and show support for the Act’s reauthorization to meet the needs of our nation’s growing senior population.
Questions? Call Billy Gendell at (202) 224-5480
Press contact Michael Briggs at (202) 224-5141

Now is the Time to Pay Attention to Elder Abuse

“Efforts to address elder abuse are 40 years behind those of child abuse and 20 years behind those of domestic violence” said Kathy Greenlee, Assistant Secretary for Aging (ASA) and Administration for Community Living Administrator, in an interview last week on American University radio station WAMU 88.5 FM (Washington, DC). Greenlee added “That if we do not act now and apply the lessons we have learned from combating child abuse and domestic violence and sexual assault to develop a comprehensive approach that brings together all of the different resources to prevent elder abuse, the problem will only deepen. Elder abuse is a problem that is only going to intensify as the population ages and the number of older persons increases.”

Administrator Greenlee and Bob Blancato, National Coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, who also participated in the interview, made it clear that elder abuse is a crisis.

You can find this week’s series on WAMU’s web page: http://wamu.org/aging_and_abuse. This page contains the audio and transcript of the broadcast, as well as additional resources: more of the interview with AS Greenlee, including her “Three Questions,” and material from the Year of Elder Abuse campaign.

The rest of the series will be featured on the WAMU page throughout this week, and will include the following stories, and you can click on the links to read and listen:

• Part 1, Monday: Elderly Couple's Tale Of Abuse Not So Uncommon
• Part 2, Tuesday: Adult Protective Services Fight Against Elder Abuse
• Part 3, Wednesday: Tackling Nursing Home Complaints With Ombudsman Programs
• Part 4, Thursday: Financial Exploitation Of Elderly Difficult To Detect
• Part 5, Friday: House Calls A Better Option For Some Elderly

Unleash the Power of Age!

May is Older Americans Month, a time to honor the contribution of elders in our communities. This year's theme is Unleash the Power of Age. For ideas about activities you can do to celebrate in your community check out this page from the federal Administration on Aging www.olderamericansmonth.acl.gov/activityideas.html

Many Seniors Receive QMB/SLMB/QI Terminations in Error

Some low-income seniors in West Virginia have recently gotten erroneous notices that they are no longer eligible for their QMB, SLMB, or QI benefits because their incomes went over the limit when they got their Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) in January 2013. If the only change in their income/assets was the COLA then that notice is an error. Federal law prohibits DHHR from considering the amount of the COLA for benefits eligibility until March or April of each year (the second month after the new federal poverty guidelines are issued and the eligibility limits increase accordingly). These clients are not likely to know that the termination is a mistake. They can take steps to correct and get back on the benefits and get refunds for any premiums incorrectly deducted from their benefits, but many may need help to do that.

Dual eligibles are Medicare beneficiaries who also receive some Medicaid benefits because of their limited income and assets. There are three programs for dual-eligibles: Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Specified Low-Income Beneficiary (SLMB) and Qualifying Individuals (QI), each providing different packages of Medicaid benefits to the Medicare beneficiary. All three of the programs include the benefit of Medicaid paying the beneficiary's Medicare Part B premium, which for most people is currently $104.90 per month.

The dual eligibles who are most likely to have received the erroneous notice are those whose incomes were close to the eligibility limits. If you work with low-income seniors in any capacity you may be able to help identify people who need assistance to get those benefits back, and help them get successfully referred for that help.

West Virginia Senior Legal Aid (WVSLA) and Legal Aid of West Virginia (LAWV) are working together to try to resolve this problem for anyone who was wrongfully terminated. Senior services programs, homecare providers, healthcare providers, and others who work with seniors can help by checking with their clients who receive QMB/SLMB/QI and asking if they have gotten a letter from DHHR terminating their benefits. If yes, they may be able to get assistance from the Aging and Disability Resource Centers at 1-866-987-2372 or Medicare Counselors with the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) program at 1-877-987-4463. WVSLA and LAWV will coordinate with both ADRC and SHIP to help assure affected clients have their rights and benefits protected. There will be at least two important issues that need to be resolved for these clients: 1) getting the QMB/SLMB/QI benefit restored, and 2) getting refunds from Social Security for any premiums deducted from their benefits that should not have been.

Breaking news: bill to avert govt shutdown passes House, heads to Senate

The ice seems to be breaking as Republican leaders and President Obama met last week to try to find compromise in the budget impasse that has led to the sequestration crisis (see our post about what sequestration means here). The House has since passed a 6 month spending bill that would fund federal government beyond the period of the current continuing resolution (which ends March 27) until October when the new federal fiscal year begins. This funding will lessen some of the impact of sequestration but not eliminate it, so all federal agencies will still see substantial cuts unless further compromise is reached in both houses.

What effect will the looming March 1 sequestration have on seniors?

Congress gave itself a deadline to come to agreement about the federal budget. It has pushed the deadline back, several times, actually. If it does not pull out a last-second budget deal seniors deserve to know how sequestration will effect them, and it's not easy to figure out.

First of all, just for the curious, why is it called "sequestration"? This actually goes back to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Act of 1985, in which Congress decided it should put a limit on the total budget outlay rather than just keep making it a function of the total of millions of lines of expenses resulting from multiple individual appropriations processes. Congress develops this limit early in the process by passing a Budget Resolution. Then if all the subsequent appropriations add up to more than that previously-set limit an automatic cutting process takes place across most (but not all) federal spending. They call it "sequestration" because the different between the total appropriated and the Budget Resolution limit is not disbursed but rather is held by the US Treasury, sequestered, while each federal agency reduces its budget equally to account for the shortfall. But there are a few large and notable federal programs that are exempt from the sequestration, so the do not suffer the across-the-board budget reduction.

If it's been the law since 1985 why haven't we had these sequestrations before? Because the intention of the law was to create pressure on lawmakers to resolve their disagreements and pass budgets to avoid the harshness of sequestration. They have successfully done that most of the time until now.

Here are a few of the programs that benefit seniors that are NOT effected by sequestration:
- Social Security
- Veterans pay
- SNAP (food stamps)
- Medicare coverage (there is a small reduction in provider reimbursement but no coverage change)
- Medicaid coverage

What will be cut that is important to seniors? Many senior services offered by county senior programs and WV Senior Legal Aid, including nutrition, transportation, some in-home services,and legal services will be cut perhaps by as much as 7.8% The exact calculation is not totally clear yet. Other services like Low-Income Energy Assistance (LIEAP), Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), the regional Long-term Care Ombudsman Program, senior HUD housing, and many more will be cut. Federal workers will be furloughed (forced to take temporary unpaid leaves) starting in April.

There is a lot at stake. You can find contact information for West Virginia's senators and house of representatives members here www.veterans.wv.gov/resources/Pages/UnitedStatesSenatorsRepresentatives.aspx

Federal Estate Tax made permanent

After years of instability, which gave rise to some macabre humor about heirs calculating the most advantageous expiration dates for wealthy elderly family members, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) establishes a permanent federal estate tax. Don't worry, most West Virginia estates will still be untaxed because ATRA also establishes a $5 million exemption. A West Virginia estate is only subject to state inheritance tax when a federal tax is imposed on it, so most of us will be unaffected by ATRA.

For those estates worth more than the $5 million exemption amount the federal tax rate will be 40%.

Federal benefit payments go electronic, deadline March 1, 2013

The U.S. Treasury will require that most recipients of Social Security, Veterans Affairs, and other federal payments receive their payments electronically instead of by paper check as of March 1, 2013. Recipients still receiving a paper check may receive their federal benefits via direct deposit to a bank account or through the U.S. Treasury-recommended Direct Express prepaid debit card. Prepaid cards offered on the private market can also be used for direct deposit, with some conditions.

Some limited waiver are available. Recipients who are receiving their benefits by paper checks on March 1, 2013 and are over 92 years old as of that date will be permitted to continue receiving their benefits by check if they request a wavier (see phone number below). Additionally, waivers will be permitted for mental impairment, or if the recipient lives in a remote geographic area which lacks the infrastructure to support the electronic financial transaction.

To request a waiver, recipients should call toll-free (800) 333-1795. However, persistence may be required. If needed, ask for a supervisor to assist you. If advocates experience significant problems, please contact National Consumer Law Center Attorney Margot Saunders for assistance via email at MSaunders@nclc.org.

The National Consumer Law Center has published an issue brief with additional information, including how electronic deposit of benefits can help protect bank accounts from debt collectors, available at: www.nclc.org/images/pdf/older_consumers/consumer_concerns/cc-electronic-payments-feb-2013.pdf.

2013 Federal Poverty Guidelines announced

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) annually issues the Federal Poverty Guidelines used to determine income eligibility for many means-tested benefits and programs. Here are the figures for 2013:

Family Size	Gross Yearly Income	Gross Monthly Income
1	$11,490	$958
2	$15,510	$1,293
3	$19,530	$1,628
4	$23,550	$1,963
5	$27,570	$2,298
6	$31,590	$2,633
7	$35,610	$2,968
8	$39,630	$3,303
add'l	+$4,020	+$335

Federal Register, Vol. 78, January 24, 2013, pp. 5182 -5183

Senator Jay Rockefeller to retire in 2014

“As I approach 50 years of public service in West Virginia, I’ve decided that 2014 will be the right moment for me to find new ways to fight for the causes I believe in and to spend more time with my incredible family,” Rockefeller said the morning of January 11, 2013. He announced that he will not run for Senate at the end of his current term.

Rockefeller, born in 1937, has been elected to 6 terms in the senate, and served alongside Senator Robert Byrd for over 25 years. Before that he served as governor of West Virginia for two terms, was a member of the House of Delegates, and West Virginia Secretary of State. He is the great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller, oil tycoon, industrialist, and patriarch of a mostly Republican dynasty. Senator Rockefeller has remained a Democrat throughout his long career as elected official.

In the Senate Rockefeller has served on several committees including Commerce, Veterans Affairs, Taxation, and the powerful Finance committee.

Rockefeller will be remembered as a champion for healthcare for the needy, and has been a strong supporter of the fight against Alzheimer's disease. He founded the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute in 1999 to help advance medical and scientific understanding of Alzheimer's and other diseases of the brain. It is the world's only non-profit institute dedicated exclusively to the study of both human memory and diseases of memory.

Medicaid telephone scam

Several West Virginia consumers, especially those who north of the Buckhannon area, have received phone calls over the past few days from scam artists attempting to obtain bank account information. The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division urges people to use caution when dealing with inbound telephone calls and not to share banking or credit card information with unknown callers. This latest scam begins with the caller telling the consumer that all Medicare beneficiaries are going to need new Medicare cards. To receive the new cards, beneficiaries need to share banking or credit card information to be able to process the fee for the card or the shipping/handling. Consumers are warned not to share any information with these callers – this is a scam. People who receive these calls are urged to hang up, but if they have caller ID, please report the telephone number the call came from along with the time and date of the call to the Attorney General’s Office at 800-368-8808 or to the West Virginia Senior Medicare Patrol (1-800-799-4638).

Julie Shelton, Director,
Medicaid Program Operations

WV511: WV launches Traveler Information System for traffic info

The West Virginia Dept of Transportation launched a new information system to enable travelers on WV roads to get real-time traffic and road conditions information. There are several ways to access the WV511 system, including phone, computer, mobile app, and twitter feeds.

By dialing 511 from any landline or mobile phone, callers will receive traffic information, road conditions and weather forecasts in addition to transfers to the Department of Tourism and neighboring states' 511 systems. West Virginia 511 also is updated with public safety alerts, including AMBER and Silver alerts.

The WV511.org website provides an interactive map with the locations of traffic incidents, roadway construction, and weather advisories. The map also allows users to view traffic cameras from around the state in addition to showing the location of electronic roadway signs and their current messages.

The free WV 511 Drive Safe mobile app offers drivers audible, hands-free traffic alerts. The app is available for iPhone and Android devices and uses the phone's speaker and GPS location to provide audible travel advisories in the driver's vicinity.

For traffic updates via Twitter, WVDOT encourages travelers to follow WV 511 Twitter feeds for statewide, regional and roadway specific traffic updates:

• @WV511
• @WV511Metro
• @WV511North
• @WV511Central
• @WV511East
• @WV511South
• @WVinterstate64
• @WVinterstate68
• @WVinterstate70
• @WVinterstate77
• @WVinterstate79
• @WVinterstate81

US Supreme Court to hear Same Sex Marriage Case

The Supreme Court announced Friday it will consider whether California’s ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional and whether Congress may withhold federal benefits from legally married same-sex couples by defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. The court will hear arguments in the the end of March and the decision is expected by the end of June.