Tag: medicare

Effects of Gov Scott’s Decisions on BP Claim and Disability

May 2nd, 2011 · · current events, disability, good faith, Medicare No comments - Tags: , , , , , ,

Dan Smith - Disability Attorney

In the last two weeks, two major decisions involving the Florida budget have come out of Governor Rick Scott’s office which are upsetting and concerning for many of my clients and Floridians in general: the Governor’s proposal to cut state Disability funding, and his decision not to have Florida participate in the Class Action Lawsuit against BP and DeepWater Horizon for the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill.

Earlier this month Gov. Scott placed an emergency order to cut funding for the Medicaid-waiver program by 15%. This program is offered by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, which is over-budget by $174 million. Gov. Scott lifted that emergency order on the condition that the state Legislature can find a way to cover the gap. The House and Senate have resolved to work out this issue over the next two weeks. So, while the immediate danger to Medicaid funding may have been avoided, the bottom-line problem of insufficient funds remains.

The program, which supports independent living for over 30,000 Floridians and has a waitlist of almost 20,000 more, is a big concern for lawmakers as well as the people who rely on that funding. Tallahassee.com reports that without this funding, the executive director of Habilitation Management Services is afraid that it will “likely be a death sentence” for some people. “It’s real frustrating,” Gov. Scott said this week, “we’ve got to come up with a funding mechanism and a management team that’s going to make sure we can take care of this very vulnerable group of people but also make sure we live within our means.”

Meanwhile, on April 19 Gov. Scott announced that Florida will forgo joining the Class Action suit against BP for last year’s oil spill, which has outraged many. State Representative Rick Kreisman called it a “dereliction of duty” not to “make a claim for damages and other relief beyond what BP may pay through the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF).” The House is scheduled to meet with the GCCF’s attorney this week or next to discuss compensation distribution to individual Floridians, but they will not be discussing any compensation to Florida itself. A spokesperson for the State Attorney General’s office says that they agree with Gov. Scott that “filing a claim against BP is the best and fastest way to recoup losses” for the state.

Two days later, BP announced their voluntary creation of a $1 billion Environmental Restoration Fund to be divided between the effected states so the Gulf area can begin the process which Gov. Scott called “restoring our natural treasures to pre-spill status.” Florida’s piece of this pie is reportedly $100 million, but no one has any accurate estimate of the total cost it will take to repair the environmental damages. At least we know that it will be BP and not tax-paying Floridians who will foot the initial bill of repairing the effects of this disaster.

The Governor is an experienced businessman used to handling big numbers and big business, but he seems to be upsetting so many people who feel he is missing some of the small, yet important, details for Florida’s long-term financial and social goals.

The funding generated by a 15% decrease to the Medicare-waiver program may be a short-term fix for that program’s deficit, but it would likely be a band-aid over a bullet wound to the whole state budget. While BP is voluntarily providing funding to begin environmental recovery, the state could both take advantage of that funding and pursue any additional avenues for possible income – including claims through the GCCF.

The federal trial for the class-action lawsuit isn’t scheduled to begin until next February, and no one has an estimated cost for the litigation yet. Maybe this is the reason that Gov. Scott decided not to join in – to avoid encumbering the State with the additional up-front expense. I only hope that the money the State saves by not participating in this suit will help citizens by making its way into programs which Floridians already enjoy and are benefited by, like Medicare. There’s also the timeline to consider: if litigation doesn’t even begin until next year who knows when the State may actually receive any compensation? A claim through the GCCF may end up being much quicker.

Many of my clients are on SSD or recipients of Medicare and have concerns about the changes taking place in Tallahassee. Right now, all I can tell them is that we’ll have to see how the Legislature works things out in the next couple weeks. Of course, I myself am very anxious about the potential changes. My last blog, talked about the national attention that Medicare costs and cuts have received, but here we see the issue at our own front door – amongst our family, friends, and neighbors. While Florida’s natural beauty may be on its way to recovery, we must remember the damage that can be done to our community if responsible budget management is not balanced with basic human kindness.

Medicare Cuts Could Be Costly

April 14th, 2011 · · Uncategorized No comments - Tags: , , , ,

Dan Smith - Disability Attorney

Crisis was averted last week when President Obama and Congress agreed to cut $39 billion in the federal budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. President Obama also laid out an outline of how to decrease the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 12 years, which included ending the Bush tax cuts to incomes above $250,000 and reforming social security.

According to the Social Security Administration website, 54 million Americans will receive $730 billion in Social Security benefits and of those 54 million Americans, 8 million are disabled and in 2010, received $8.8 billion with an average of $1,068 in month benefits. Considering that there is expected to be almost twice as many elderly Americans in 2041 as there are now, talk of reforming Medicare and Medicaid might be worrisome to the public, but it is only logical.

In the last five years there has been a steady increase of applications for social security disability. President Obama has stated that he does not want to make any immediate changes to social security since the program is not a major contributor to the deficit, however, if he were to make changes to Medicare then the value in Social Security Disability for obtaining Medicare has to be looked into.

Republicans are against increasing taxes for the rich, and some such as Rand Paul of Kentucky, are putting forward an alternative. His Social Security Solvency Sustainability Act would gradually increase the retirement age to 70 by 2032. Right now, Medicare is for people aged 65 years and older, but people younger than 65 with disabilities or permanent kidney failure can also qualify for Medicare. If you are under the age of 65 then you are eligible for free Medicare hospital insurance if you have been entitled to Social Security disability benefits for 24 months. If the retirement age is increased then the resulting affect on Medicare could be a change in policy where elderly citizens don’t receive their full Medicare benefits until the age of 70 and those under 70 could possibly have to wait longer to receive their Medicare benefits as well.

Political, social, and financial reforms are all apart of life, as nothing remains constant forever. If any changes are to be made towards Medicare then it requires serious consideration of the effects that it could have on those that rely on Medicare to survive. Ample portions of my clients are those that are either on or fighting for Social Security disability benefits in order to receive Medicare. If Medicare, for whatever reason, were to be altered in a way that it made difficult to receive treatment then it would not only hurt the patient, but also the doctors that treat the patient and the government.

Hypothetically, say I had a 42 year-old construction worker who got hurt on the job and needed to be put on Social Security disability in order to sustain a living. He receives his monthly disability check, but because of recent changes to Medicare, he is unable to get the treatment he needs to recover completely and return to work. Without Medicare he will not be able to work at the level he did before, which means he will make less money to treat his persisting pain. Doctor’s visits and treatments could go unpaid all the while, diminishing his role as an active member of the human society.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, though, as some practices to save money are being put into form. The Social Security Administration is now sending all files electronically to the attorneys at the Coye Law Firm, which helps save money on stamps, paper, and envelopes. Attorneys at the Coye Law Firm have also been selected as a test site for holding hearings with the Social Security Administration through teleconferencing, which will help save money on gas and future wear and tear on a car that comes with driving back and forth to hearings.

The discussions of revamping Medicare is likely a topic that will be reproached for years to come on Capitol Hill, but the impact that a change could have on its existing and future members must be at the forefront of the negotiations.