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Bringing Joy to Dementia

July 17, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Dr. Patricia (Tia) Powell has a new book, “Dementia Reimagined“. In this refreshing piece of work, Dr. Powell, director of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics, shares her experiences with dementia as both caregiver to her mother and physician to her aging patients. Abundantly qualified and credentialed, she finds herself in the unique position to discuss the possibility of joy, dignity and hope while dealing with dementia.

Terry Gross, host of the NPR podcast Fresh Air, had an excellent conversation with Powell. They delve into Powell’s experiences and her outlook for the future of treating dementia patients. You can listen to the podcast yourself (or read the transcript) here.

“Figuring out how to communicate better, how to listen better to people with dementia while they can speak and even potentially afterward to figure out, what could I do? What actually would be helpful, not from my point of view but from yours? What actually would make things better?”

In this poignant interview, they discuss the various tolls that dementia takes on the person. It’s not just memory loss. It can also include depression or anxiety. It’s a disease of the brain, so it also involves loss of “executive function”. That means that making the simplest decisions or even organizing the natural flow of tasks can be daunting. And frustrating.

Managing Dementia With Joy

Dr. Powell views caregiving and dementia through both a medical and a personal lens. My relationship with dementia patients is as their insurance agent, helping them manage their long term care. It’s reassuring that Dr. Powell and I share perspectives on how to optimize the patient’s experience.

During her interview, Dr. Powell offers sound advice on how families can make the most out of a dementia diagnosis. She often uses music as a real comfort to many of her patients. For some reason, the memories we hold from certain songs manages to hold up over time, even in the throes of dementia.

ProTip: Many professionals recommend making a playlist of your favorite songs NOW, while you can think of those chestnuts that light up your heart and bring a smile to your face. They’ll be such a source of joy for you in your later years.

She also suggests other hobbies like gardening might hold the key to reconnecting the patient to activities they once enjoyed.

Powell also shares her thoughts on why keeping the dementia patient at home is not always the best choice. Followers of this blog know that I’ve written about this often over the years. It’s always affirming to hear the experts supporting my views!

At about the 30-minute mark of the podcast, Dr. Powell does a great job explaining what Medicare and Medicaid pays for, and why neither will pay for the type of long term care a dementia patient requires. If you’re like most Americans, her description will clear up many confusing questions you might have.

Manage the Fear with Planning

Dr. Powell stated people are more fearful of getting Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias than they are about getting cancer. I have to agree with this.

While there is no cure for dementia, we can take steps to plan for the best possible care if and when we need it. Make your playlist. Tell your children about your love of gardening or old movies. And click here to receive your free, no-obligation quote for long term care insurance.

Your Wealth Won’t Protect You From Fraud and Financial Abuse

July 15, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

Many people have a fond place in their hearts for the art of Peter Max. A symbol of the hippie counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s, Max’s work holds prized locations on the walls of collectors around the world. Now in his later years, Peter Max has fallen victim to dementia. His wealth nor his notoriety can protect him from the financially abusive situation he has landed in.

The courts are still sorting out the details of this twisted tale. Including lots of finger-pointing between his second wife, Mary Max (who died from suicide in June 2019), his son, Adam, and his daughter, Libra, along with the various lawyers, agents and guardians who were supposedly protecting Peter Max and his valuable business.

His Wealth Declined With His Health

The current state of Max’s condition is revealed in this article in the New York Times (May 28, 2019). The writer describes his lavish lifestyle and the popularity of his artwork. She also reports on the financial losses of his business and the questionable source of it’s latest recovery.

In 2012, Max’s health had rapidly declined and the dementia had taken a firm hold. Max was unable to work and finances suffered. The business, ALP Inc., defaulted on $5.4 million in bank loans. In exchange for half of his ownership in ALP, Max hired Lawrence Moscowitz, an insurance agent, to help breathe new life into the failing company. Moscowitz, in turn, appealed to Max’s estranged son, Adam, to actively manage the daily operations.

The revived business plan includes the hiring of “an expanding cast of artists to mimic Mr. Max’s more commercial work. In the acrylic-spattered space above the Chinese restaurant, according to seven people who have seen it, there were as many as 18 assistant painters…”

In six years, ALP transitioned from near-bankruptcy to generating over $93 million in sales. This is largely due to the aggressive exploitation of Peter Max’s reputation and his artistic style being sold as originals to unsuspecting consumers.

Where Was His Plan?

Peter Max’s business is now out of his hands, both artistically and financially. His family dynamics have deteriorated with the fight for guardianship between his wife and his children. Much of this could have been avoided by some thoughtful, advance planning and documentation. He could easily have provided for a formal succession plan. He could have selected his own guardian to look out for his interests in his later years.

Wealth is no protection against this type of failure. Oftentimes, the wealth only makes the fall more newsworthy. Stories about people protected from future illness by their long term care planning just don’t make the news.

You can take steps today to protect your future quality of life. Click here to receive your free, no-obligation quote for long term care insurance.

Brain Decline + Failure to Communicate = Failure Formula

July 1, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

If you are a regular reader of my weekly blog posts, you’ll notice the recurring theme of Brain Loss. While the condition isn’t avoidable, many of the resulting consequences can be prevented. It just takes a little planning and some open conversations. Otherwise, you are building a path to failure.

Here’s an email I recently received from a concerned service provider:

“Hi Honey,

You have been so helpful in the past and I always think of you when a question about LTC comes up!

We have a former patient who just moved to New York to be closer to her daughter. She is 91 years old and has dementia. She has had a LTC policy, but without her daughter knowing, she let her policy lapse. The LTC insurance company is asking for documentation of her mental status. Our doctor only saw her for general medical ailments and never formally evaluated her memory, so we have no test scores to provide. He wrote a letter of incapacity but the insurance company is not accepting that.

This woman stands to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars of coverage. Do you have any suggestions for them?”

I receive emails and distressed phone calls like this too often and they are heartbreaking. The families reaching out to me are in a state of emergency and dealing with unbelievable levels of stress. A lot of this stress is a result of failure to plan properly.

I’m assuming that the mother’s health has seriously declined, since the family had her moved at 91 years old to a new state. She like has, at minimum, mid-stage dementia. This means her dementia is at a point where it’s obvious and she needs lots of supervision.

Avoiding the Preventable Failure

Fortunately, most long term care insurance (LTCi) policies now include language allowing policyholders to reinstate their coverage and get their claim paid within 6 months of policy lapse. If she’s lucky, the mother qualifies for reinstatement and her claims can be paid.

The mother will need to have neurological testing to prove her dementia. Once proven, her choice to cancel her coverage could be reversed, as she was not mentally capable of making this serious decision.

Some Reasonable Questions

Does the daughter have a copy of her mother’s LTCi policy? When monitoring the health and care of our parents, it is critical to have the documentation and be familiar with the terms. Understand what options are available before you need to use them
If the policy lapsed from nonpayment, does the insurance company know to automatically notify the daughter? This is a standard part of every LTCi application. Pay attention and remember to complete it. There is good news: this appointment can be added or changed at any time, as long as the policy is in good standing.
Did the family ever have the conversation with their mother about what kind of care she wanted to receive once she was unable to make these decisions on her own?

This tragedy occurred because of the family’s failure to explore and document their mother’s wishes and desires ahead of time, in a frank manner.

Take a moment to explore how you can plan for an easier future for yourself or someone you love. Click here to receive your free, no-obligation quote for long term care insurance.

Actress, Director Penny Marshall Also A Victim of Brain Loss

June 24, 2019 by Honey Leveen 1 Comment

I’ve been writing a lot lately on the devastating (and often silent) effects of Brain Loss that often strike in our later years. The Journals of Gerontology published the results of a study on age-related brain changes and how these changes can leave the subject vulnerable to financial exploitation. According to their findings, “Approximately 1 in 20 adults can be expected to experience some form of financial exploitation past the age of 60, an incidence rate eclipsing many age-related diseases.” This financial exploitation is a result of impaired financial judgment. Which brings us to the final years of the life of Penny Marshall.

Penny Marshall Was Unprotected

Beloved actress and director, Penny Marshall, died in 2018, from complications from diabetes. It is also known that she had a bout with lung cancer which ultimately metastasized in her brain. Fortunately, both the lung and brain cancer went into remission after 2 years of treatment.

In a recent interview, Anjelica Huston shared about her friendship with Marshall, describing the peculiar way the director spent her nights. “Her rooms were freezing. Like air-conditioned, way up. She stayed up all night, followed QVC for beanbag dolls and stuff. She had this collection of sports memorabilia. She had a sort of museum in her basement full of signed baseballs and Lakers shirts. I just couldn’t relate. And also, frankly, she took a lot of coke.”

It became too much for Huston and she stopped visiting her friend.

Who Will Watch Out For You?

Penny Marshall’s final years contains some indications of erratic spending habits and other unusual behavior. There were no controls in place to protect her from herself or to ensure that she was receiving the best possible medical care to properly manage her diabetes.

I will continue to beat the drum, reminding you how important it is to have a clear plan in place that provides for your care and protects your interests. It may be difficult to acknowledge your future need for assistance, but denying the liklihood doesn’t improve your odds. In fact, it actually increases your risk.

The time to make these plans is NOW, while you are still thinking clearly. Penny Marshall failed to plan and, by default, planned to fail.

Click here to receive your free no-obligation quote for long term care insurance coverage. It only takes a minute and can make all the difference!

“Brains and Losses” – Financial Scams on Seniors

May 28, 2019 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

NPR’s Marketplace has done a thoughtful, engaging investigative series on age-associated financial vulnerability, called “Brains and Losses”. You can click here to listen to the 5-part audio series (Don’t worry — each episode is only about 5 minutes long!). It’s an interesting look at new research involving why we are more prone to financial scams as we age.

Even back in 2015, a well-respected and often-cited study found that Americans lose over $36 billion each year to “elder financial abuse”. The study breaks down those losses in 3 major areas:

$17 billion from exploitation – Seniors are led to making poor decisions based on confusing language or high sales pressure.
$12.8 billion from fraud – Seniors fall prey to identity theft or cons to send strangers money.
$6.7 billion from abuse of trust – Seniors who rely on the guidance of close friends, family or other advisors are deceived by the relationship and bilked out of their money.

It seems obvious that as age-related cognitive abilities decline, seniors become an easier target. In fact, I’ve written about this before. One of the early signs of oncoming cognitive impairment is falling for financial scams.

I’ve Seen This Too Often

I’ve observed the warning signs with my own clients and prospective clients. They ask the same questions again and again. They don’t seem to be absorbing the answers I give to their questions. Sometimes they drop their long-term care insurance (LTCi) policies. In a panic, they – or their kids – later call me, wanting to reinstate the policy. This is not a change of heart, but recognizing that a poor decision was made. And it is heartbreaking to me.

As I began listening to the 5-part audio series, I anticipated I’d be hearing more of these kind of stories. Boy, was I wrong. The series examines and explains so much more!

It turns out that you don’t have to be cognitively impaired to fall victim to these scams. There are a host of other factors that also sets someone up for these traps. Financial vulnerability may also be associated with loneliness, isolation, and impaired physical health.

Have the Conversation

I’ve shared the importance of having the difficult conversations with parents about care in their later years. Talking about financial management is a big part of this.

Here are 4 suggested questions that can get the ball rolling:

As you get older, what are your spending priorities?
Do you know what a scam is? What would you do when a stranger calls you, asking for money?
Who do you trust to help you with your finances? How often do you want to talk to them?
If you start to start to get a little shaky around these decisions, what do you want us to do for you?

The bottom line: be proactive. Protect yourself, protect your family, by having explicit conversations, now!

A great way to protect the future financial and medical options for you or someone you love is through long-term care insurance (LTCi). To receive your own free, customized no-obligation quote, click here. Let’s start this conversation!

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