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Articles and Webinars

Practical advice to help your loved ones age in place in Colorado.

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Aging Issues

PACT Act Gives Colorado Military Veterans Benefits for Conditions Related to Toxic Exposures

Rachel Sauer, writing for the University of Colorado Cancer Center at the UC School of Medicine / Anschutz Medical Campus, reports that the PACT Act which went into effect at the beginning of 2023 enables many U.S. veterans to access benefits for an expanded list of health conditions presumed to be caused by exposure to toxic substances. This is particularly true for several head and neck cancers.

Finance

Coloradans Should Be Wary of “Early Retirement” Scams

Retirement can be an alluring stage of life, a time when, as a psychologist once put it, you can stop doing the things you have to do and start doing the things you want to do. But living that ideal life requires a steady stream of income that lasts as long as you do. The earlier you retire, the more important it is to manage your retirement assets wisely.

End of Life Planning

Protecting Your Will’s Wishes in Colorado

Although a will generally allows you to decide where your money and other assets will go after you die, this does not mean your every wish can or will be granted. For one thing, according to the Colorado Probate Code, you cannot completely disinherit your spouse

Healthy Aging

About Marijuana, Medicare and Colorado’s Seniors

The Harvard Medical School says statistics show that use of cannabis among adults age 65 and older has increased eightfold in recent years, and up to 80% of these seniors are using MM to manage pain.

Mental Health

Colorado Mental Health Services for Older Adults

Half of Us Will Be Diagnosed with a Mental Illness or Disorder at Some Point in our Lifetime. Watch this video and learn about many of the helpful mental health resources available to you and your family to help everyone age well, age wisely, in Colorado

Medicare-Medicaid

Colorado’s Medicaid Program May Demand Recovery of Costs It Has Paid

In what can hit some surviving family members or other heirs as a rude awakening, state Medicaid programs like Health First Colorado are required by federal law to recover certain Medicaid benefits paid on behalf of a senior Medicaid enrollee. The program typically does this by filing a claim against the estate of the enrollee after they die. This is formally known as the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP).

Finance

Be Cautious If Using a Life Settlement to Pay for Long-Term Care in Colorado

On the insurance front is another occasionally used funding source known as a life settlement. This option, also sometimes called a senior settlement, involves selling existing life insurance to a third party for cash. This third party is a person or entity other than the company that originally issued the policy. The settlement amount to be gained is typically more than the policy’s cash surrender value but less than the death benefit

Healthy Aging

A Look at Substance Abuse in Older Coloradans

The letter to the medical advice column in the newspaper was from a granddaughter of a 73-year-old widow. “Sarah” was worried that Grandma “Jewels” had gotten hooked on pain relievers following surgery to repair a broken leg. She was also concerned about where Jewels was now obtaining her drugs and wanted to know what she could do.

End of Life Supports

When Your Loved One Dies in Colorado

For those who are involved in caring for family members or other loved ones in Colorado, the final act of caregiving may be taking care of arrangements after your loved one dies. Every state has laws affecting what happens to a body after death. Here are answers to commonly asked questions regarding post-death matters in Colorado

End of Life Planning

Your Legacy through Your Stories & Stuff

Learn about exciting new ways of telling the stories of your life—your
legacy, your way—in words, pictures, objects. Why you’ve kept that
little geyser souvenir from Yellowstone for 50 years. Preserving what you want your current and future family and friends to know about you. They will love you for it.

General Health Care

Some Coloradans Eligible for Discounted Medical Care

In the latter half of 2022, many Coloradans became eligible for discounted medical care, thanks to a state legislative bill titled Health Care Billing Requirements for Indigent Patients. This bill established requirements for hospital discounted care for low-income patients. These patients have been given the opportunity to apply for financial assistance or charity care programs at the health care facility where they receive care.

General Health Care

Explanation of Your Rights with Surprise Billing

Billing for hospital stays and other medical services has never been simple and clear for patients, and the picture has very often been made even murkier with what is known as “surprise billing” or “balance billing.” The names derive from what the happening literally is—i.e., an unexpected bill for an unexpected balance owed. The good news is that in the interest of protecting consumers, various measures have been enacted to rein in the extent of surprise billing by specifying when it can happen and when it cannot.

Alzheimer's and Other Dementia Disease

Alzheimer’s Brain Research & Brain Health

Learn about brain research for treating Alzheimer’s, Down Syndrome
—and the similarities and differences of those with Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities, and others, and ideas for you to maintain
a healthy brain

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