Advance Planning Makes Sense

By Lawrence Eric Davidow

With the average cost of a nursing home on Long Island running over $15,000 per month, the question of how to finance long term care is of utmost importance, especially since that cost is way more than a middle class income stream can handle. Enter the concept of advance planning with the primary goal in mind of saving middle class assets, especially the family home. Keep in mind the idea that times have significantly changed, making the need for older people to do advance planning even greater. A generation or two ago, it was far more common for three generations of a family to live together under a single roof, allowing aging parents to be cared for in the course of every day family life.

But in today’s world, older Americans increasingly find themselves at home alone, often because either their family lives out of state or the family lives close by but are too busy with full-time jobs and taking care of their own children (also known as the sandwich generation). Alone and in need of care is a recipe for disaster.

So, what to do? Well, they can secure a means of paying for longterm medical care without putting their home, their lifetime savings and their emotional well-being at

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LawrenceEricDavidow

Senior and Managing Partner of the Elder Law, Special Needs and Estate Planning firm of Davidow, Davidow, Siegel & Stern LLP.

Mr. Davidow has informed the elderly, the disabled and their families about their legal rights for over 30 years. He is a Past President and Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and current member of the Foundation Board of Suffolk AHRC.

Society has increasingly recognized the importance of treating a consumer’s medical records as confidential. We now have federal laws safeguarding a patient’s right to privacy.

What happens, however, when a bankruptcy filing enters the picture? If a consumer files for bankruptcy relief and the health care creditor needs to become involved in the case, what information can and cannot be filed? Suppose the medical provider, itself, files a bankruptcy. What protections are there to ensure that the health care business’s patient records remain confidential? These are all concerns that have been addressed over the past 25 years during an evolving period of patient privacy.

Consumers Seeking Bankruptcy Relief

One of the biggest contributing factors for personal bankruptcy is a large amount of medical debt arising from a significant health event. Several studies have demonstrated that medical bills are the single largest causal factor in consumer bankruptcy filings. Medical debt, which is non-priority unsecured debt, is dischargeable. Many debtors easily discharge medical debt in Chapter 7 cases. Trustees are charged with the obligation of examining the debtor at the meeting of creditors. Usually a trustee is only concerned about a debtor’s medical issues when they may involve a cause of action which might be an asset of the bankruptcy estate. As such, a trustee may ask the debtor if a disability or medical debt is related to an accident, or if an accident was involved, the trustee may inquire as to the extent of the medical injury, including diagnosis and prognosis. However, based on my observations, trustees have been extremely respectful about delving into sensitive medical issues, and if a debtor expressed concern about disclosing confidential medical information on the record, I suspect the trustee (Continued on page 29)

Craig D. Robins Esq.

L.I. Bankruptcy Lawyer, Regular Columnist

Craig D. Robins, Esq., has offices in Melville, Coram, and Valley Stream. (516) 496-0800.

On average, someone in the United States dies from cardiovascular disease (CVD) every 36 seconds, approximately 2,380 deaths each day, according to the American Heart Association. Each day, 405 deaths occur in the U.S. as the result of strokes, an average of one death every 3:33. More people die annually from CVD than from any other cause including cancer, COPD, diabetes, lung infections and the flu, according to the American Heart Association (AHA) 2021 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics. Consider these steps to #RethinkCVRisk to change the course of the disease and your life.

Understand Your Risk

COVID-19 has shown that those with underlying CVD face an especially high risk of serious COVID-19related illness or even death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Regardless of whether you’ve received your COVID-19 vaccination, now is a good time to discuss your risk for heart disease with your doctor.

How Cardiovascular Disease Develops

Risk factors for CVD include high cholesterol, high triglycerides, diabetes and high blood pressure. Other factors that contribute to risk are family history, prior cardiovascular (CV) events, smoking, being overweight or obese and unhealthy diet and exercise habits. Over time, these risk factors can lead to injury of the blood vessel lining, causing inflammation, which can then trigger plaque growth. Plaque grows at different rates and in different arteries in the body for everyone and is often a slow, gradual process without symptoms. (Continued on page 27)