Important Healthcare Legal Tips &
Anthem Hacking Alert

Healthcare matters can involve a whole host of medical and legal complications. At best, these issues may affect you financially; at worst, they could mean the difference between life and death. Whether you go to the hospital for a routine procedure or an emergency, there are steps you can take to help avoid complications. If you have any legal questions, call your LegalShield provider law firm and speak with an attorney right away.

• Have an up-to-date Medical Power of Attorney or Advanced Medical Directive (“Living Will”). In the event you cannot make medical decisions yourself, these documents entrust decisions about your care to a person you designate. Advise your family of your designation so that person is notified when decisions must be made.
   
• Make sure your name, identifying information and all other information is completely accurate at each doctor’s appointment, outpatient surgery and hospitalization. Serious problems involving medical care sometimes begin as simple clerical errors. A small error can create a major treatment crisis. Reduce the chance of error by carefully reviewing all of your doctor’s office or hospital admissions paperwork. During hospitalization check your hospital wristband for errors.
   
• Understand your health insurance coverage before you get sick. It is important that you understand all of the limitations and exclusions in your insurance policy. Your policy may require you to obtain preauthorization for medical procedures. In addition, you may need supplemental coverage or disability coverage in the event of a long recovery. Review your health coverage now. It is too late to make critical changes after you get sick.
   
• Save any documents you receive regarding your care or billing. Retain all of your medical documentation in the event of a fee dispute, insurance dispute or medical malpractice claim. Documents can be easily misplaced in the confusion of care and recovery. If you are too ill to organize your own paperwork ask someone you trust to help manage your documentation.
   
• Ask for a second opinion if you are unsure about your diagnosis or treatment. You always have the right to speak with another doctor or caregiver if you are uncomfortable with the diagnosis or treatment recommendations being made.
   
• Advocate for quality care. It is important to speak up for yourself in healthcare situations. If you or a loved one have been hospitalized and have concerns about the quality of care, speak to a doctor or nursing supervisor. If you are unable to advocate for yourself due to the nature of your illness, medications or treatments, have a friend or family member stay with you. Many hospitals have a designated advocate on staff. If you feel your concerns are not addressed ask to speak with a patient advocate.
   

Anthem Hacking Alert

Criminal hackers recently stole confidential data of millions of persons insured by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. If you are insured by Anthem we urge you to CLICK HERE to go to Anthem's website for important information about the breach and what you should do to protect yourself.

Anthem states they will individually notify those whose information was accessed. However, if you are insured by one of the Anthem plans you need to be aware of the following now:

You have the right by federal law to place fraud alerts with the three national credit reporting agencies (CRAs). This will place a statement on your credit reports to alert credit issuers that you may be vulnerable to identity theft and that they should take reasonable steps to verify that the person applying for credit is actually you.

Place an alert with all three CRAs by calling just one:

Equifax: 888-766-0008   |   Experian: 888-397-3742   |  TransUnion: 800-680-7289

Scammers may try to use this event to trick people into giving up personal information. If you receive an email or phone call from someone claiming to be from Anthem and asking for your personal information, do not respond to them. Call Anthem directly at 1-877-263-7995 to determine if it was their actual representative who contacted you.

Carefully review your LegalShield Identity Theft Plan Alerts. If you receive an alert from your Identity Theft Plan and do not recognize the activity as something you authorized, please call 888-494-8519 to speak to an Investigator.

7 CRITICAL Elder Care Legal Tips

It is vital to begin planning for long-term elder care well before the onset of a health crisis. There are many things to consider, including quality of care, proximity to family and friends, types of service and cost. With careful planning and the help of your LegalShield provider law firm you may be able to avoid some of the common challenges associated with the transition to nursing home care.

Plan Early – Nursing home care can cost $200 or more per day. Many seniors simply do not have the financial means to cover that cost. Planning early allows you to protect your assets and help ensure that you qualify for assistance. Call your LegalShield provider law firm and speak with an attorney early in the process.

Care Options – There are many types of care, including home health aids, adult day care, assisted living, nursing homes and hospice. Understand the requirements, cost and feasibility of each type of care available to you. What can you afford? What will your insurance, Medicare or Medicaid cover?

Talk to Your Family – Make sure your family and any other individuals who may be responsible for your long-term care understand your wishes. Prepare a medical power of attorney so the friend or family member you appoint is empowered to make medical decisions on your behalf should you be unable to do so.

Medicaid - Medicaid is a state program that is reimbursed by the U.S. federal government. Different states provide different levels of care for different individuals. If you become dependent on Medicaid to pay for long-term care, here are some important facts you should know:

To qualify for Medicaid, you must be below asset and income thresholds. Otherwise, you will have to self-pay or engage in some sort of "spend-down" of your assets until you qualify for Medicaid.
If Medicaid pays for your long-term care, after you pass away (with few exceptions) Medicaid will assert what is called "Medicaid Estate Recovery" against your estate to recoup what is paid. This means that assets that you thought were going to pass to your family will be taken to repay Medicaid for amounts spent on your long-term care.
If you simply try to "give away" your assets prior to going into a nursing home, you could actually be disqualifying yourself from receiving Medicaid long-term care benefits and you may have other problems such as state gift tax liability (depending on your state of residence).
 

Assistance for Canadians - In Canada, if you don’t have the resources to fund the costs of your long-term care, you can apply to the province for a reduction; however, you are required to apply for all available government funding such as Canada Pension and Old Age Security. (Unlike the United States, there is no recovery of assets after your death for government funding paid on your behalf.)

Contracts – Make sure you have your LegalShield provider law firm carefully review any nursing home contracts or agreements before you sign them. It is important that you and your family understand the full terms of any agreement you make with a nursing home or other facility.

Closely Monitor Care – It is important to monitor family members and friends in long-term care. Set up a schedule to ensure frequent visits from friends and family. Ask questions about any injuries and follow up with doctors and nursing staff on their plan of action. If your friend or family member is receiving in-home care make sure you know the name of the caretaker and their agency. Make sure the agency is properly licensed and insured.
 

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