Click on this link to read about a SCOTUS case dealing with Accessible Hotels  can be difficult to locate and then to find that the room you are does not conform to ADA standards can be very disturbing, what can you do? 

 Guardianship vs. Supported Decision-making is not just an issue that involves older people, if someone has a disability they may be faced with a guaradianship. Remember folks like Brittany Spears and Mickey Rooney. What can you do to help you or your family, friends and colleagues avoid guardianship?

Listen to my colleague Professor Nina Kohn discuss this with Juan Williams the chair of the American Bar Association's Civil Rights Section. This is a civil rights issue that could be in your future if you do not plan ahead!
Click here to view video

CMS ro increase oversight of the use of Anti-Paychotic Drugs at nursing homes

 Anti-Psychotic drug use in nursing homes`will receive more scrutiney.

“President Biden issued a call to action to improve the quality of America’s nursing homes, and HHS is taking action so that seniors, people with disabilities, and others living in nursing homes receive the highest quality care,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “No nursing home resident should be improperly diagnosed with schizophrenia or given an inappropriate antipsychotic. The steps we are taking today will help prevent these errors and give families peace of mind.”

WIDESPREAD MISCONDUCT FOUND AMONG PROVIDERS OF MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS!

 The Open Enrollment period for Medicare happens every year; but it has gotten increasingly stressful for older Americans because of deceitful and coersive marketing by some healthcare providers trying to bulkup their membership rolls. Click on the link for details:

MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MISCONDUCT

Dept. of Justice to expand the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force

 The Justice Department announced today that as part of its continuing efforts to protect older adults and to bring perpetrators of fraud schemes to justice, it is expanding its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, adding 14 additional U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Since 2019, current Strike Force members — including the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, six U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations — have brought successful cases against the largest and most harmful global elder fraud schemes and worked with foreign law enforcement to disrupt criminal enterprises, disable their infrastructure, and bring perpetrators to justice. Expansion of the Strike Force will help to coordinate the Department’s ongoing efforts to combat sophisticated fraud schemes that target or disproportionately impact older adults. The expansion will increase the total number of U.S. Attorneys’ Offices comprising the Strike Force from six to 20, including all of the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the states of California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and New York.

The strike force expansion will further enhance the Department’s existing efforts to protect older adults from fraud and exploitation. uring the period from September 2021 to September 2022, Department personnel and its law enforcement partners pursued approximately 260 cases involving more than 600 defendants, both bringing new cases and advancing those previously charged. The matters tackled by the Department and its partners ranged from mass-marketing scams that impacted thousands of victims to bad actors scamming their neighbors. Substantial efforts were also made over the last year to return money to fraud victims.

Read complete 10/04/22 Press Release:

Elder Abuse Strike Force

BEGINNING THE ALZHEIMER'S JOURNEY with ATTORNEY KARREN POPE-ONWUKWE

 PODCAST: Beginning the Alzheimer's Journey with Attorney Karren Pope-Onwukwe

I was very pleased to be a part of this podcast discussing some elder law issues. If you would like to learn more you may want to consider registering for the next American Bar Association Senior Lawyer's Division seminar which is being held in Boston, MA. here is the link to register:

2022 ABA Senior Lawyer Division Seminar REGISTRATION

Nursing Home Ownership Transparancy v. Quality of Care

 It appears that the federal government does not know what equity companies own a significant amount od nursing homes. See article:

NURSING HOME OWNERSHIP v. QUALITY OF CARE

Isolation of Older Americans

 A recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune highlighted the research of Jessica Finlay, an environmental gerontologist at the University of Minnesota, who spent over a year interviewing numerous seniors living throughout the city. What she found was that small features often made the most difference for livability. For instance, high curbs, bumps, and cracks in sidewalks were cited as physical hazards that kept seniors from venturing out. In contrast, shade trees, benches, and sitwalls were highly valued microfeatures that enabled them to enjoy neighborhood walks and more easily run errands on foot. Additionally, she found that elders who were “enmeshed in their communities,” whether it be through church, volunteering, or intergenerational living rated much higher on her “happiness” scale.

This article discusses some remedies to senior isolation:

Isolation of Older Americans