Florida Legal Blog

If you have an aging mother or father, you have probably thought a considerable amount about end-of-life care. When helping your loved one with estate planning, it is a good idea to think about drafting a living will. 

A medical power of attorney is an important part of any advance directive. With one, your loved one designates someone to make medical decisions on his or her behalf in certain circumstances. Also, you likely want to encourage your loved one to think about resuscitation if the lungs or heart stop working. You should know, though, how a do-not-resuscitate order affects hospice care. 

It is a sad truth that older people here in Florida and around the country can be particularly vulnerable to abuse. They often don't have the same mental and cognitive abilities as they did when they were younger, so they may have difficulty communicating mistreatment or understanding that abuse is occurring. Some families have decided to take matters into their own hands and have installed web cams in the nursing home rooms of their older relatives to monitor their treatment. Some worry that this could be an invasion of privacy, but others say they only want to protect their loved ones from elder abuse.

Several states have laws that expressly allow families to install cameras in nursing home rooms, but Florida is not one of them. Some experts say that beyond protecting older people, the cameras can also serve as an invasion of privacy, since many residents may need to change clothes, use the bathroom or conduct other private activities in front of the camera. Many elderly people may not be able to properly consent to being recorded, due to dementia or other cognitive disorders. Some reports suggest that children of older parents may not ask for the parent's consent even if he or she is capable of giving it.

The increased care needs of senior citizens are something that many families have to deal with. It can be difficult to ensure that older people's needs are properly met. Careful consideration of Medicaid planning can mean a huge difference for elders who may not be able to take care of themselves the way that they used to do. Fortunately, there are also modern solutions for these problems. Florida recently passed a law that will allow the rideshare company Lyft to provide Medicaid beneficiaries with transportation.

Lyft will now be allowed to provide nonemergency transportation to Medicaid recipients. Since seniors are frequently in need of transpiration, but not always able to drive themselves, this measure will make a significant difference in their ability to access needed medical care. Senator Jeff Brandes, who sponsored the bill, hopes that it will provide a lower-cost option those who have difficulty paying for both transportation and health care.

As people age, their health care needs often increase, through no fault of their own. Some of those people must move into a nursing home or other long-term care facility. Some states around the country are attempting to create programs that would allow senior citizens to continue to live in their own homes. The thought is that by doing so, states will save money in the long term, by reducing claims made on Medicaid. Florida seniors may want to pay attention to these efforts as a similar program here could have a significant impact on estate planning.

One state has approved a new payroll tax that will fund a benefit program to provide people with in-home health care and other forms of assistance. Another state is employing a similar program, but it will provide weekly benefits, rather than a lump sum, to those who have family caregivers working at least 30 hours outside the home every week. Many other state legislatures are similarly concerned about the care of older Americans, since there will be 98 million adults older than 65 by 2050, double the current number.