Navigating your later years
Book - 2021
Aging is changing--we can live decades longer than our parents or grandparents. But this means questions they didn't have to answer: Is long-term care insurance worth the expense? How do I find the best healthcare? Which legal documents do I really need? Levine helps you find the advice you need, whether you're planning for yourself or a loved one.
Saved in:
- Subjects
- Published
-
Hoboken, NJ :
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
[2021]
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Edition
- Portable edition
- Item Description
- Includes index.
"Consider healthcare and insurance options; talk with family about finances and other tough issues; learn about housing choices and downsizing"--Cover.
"AARP."
"Learning made easy"--Cover. - Physical Description
- ix, 164 pages ; 22 cm
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN
- 9781119809845
- Introduction
- About This Book
- Foolish Assumptions
- Icons Used in This Book
- Where to Go from Here
- Chapter 1. Thinking about the Big Picture and the Future
- Planning for the Future Starts with You
- Creating a Plan for the Future Now
- Discovering How Your Options Are Changing
- Money is a factor
- Legal reasons
- People want change
- Meeting Your Changing Needs
- Location, location, location
- Timing and flexibility
- Getting Professional Advice
- Chapter 2. A Personal Inventory: Past, Present, and Future
- Looking at the Present - and the Future
- Healthcare needs
- Family, friends, and professionals
- Personality characteristics
- Attitudes about money
- Creating a Plan Based on Your Profile
- Chapter 3. Fond of the Familiar: Staying in Your Home
- Staying at Home in Your Community
- Dealing with Two Major Hazards
- Preventing falls
- Preventing burns
- Modifying a Home
- Categorizing types of home modifications
- Checking out accessibility
- Finding a contractor
- Getting help paying for home modifications
- Seeking Help at Home
- Allocating tasks to family
- Searching for services
- Finding help for other chores
- Putting technology to use
- Chapter 4. Downsizing for Now and Later
- The Emotional Aspects of Downsizing
- Downsizing and Home Renovations
- Getting Started
- Putting together important papers
- Sorting and decision making
- Donating or selling items
- Making the Move
- Chapter 5. Assisted and Independent Living and Other Group Settings
- What Is Assisted Living?
- Knowing other terms for "assisted living"
- Getting to know what assisted living offers
- Checking out healthcare services
- Finding more information on assisted-living facilities
- Evaluating the Cost of Assisted Living
- Choosing from the menu of cost plans
- Asking questions to create a monthly budget
- Beyond the Brochure: What to Look for When You Visit
- Making notes about the common areas
- Checking out the residential units
- Investigating continuing care
- Independent Living and Other Options for Group Living
- Independent living for seniors
- Affinity or niche communities
- Cohousing arrangements
- House sharing
- Group homes
- Chapter 6. Getting Around: Transportation Options
- Judging Whether Driving Is Still Safe
- Watching for warning signs of unsafe driving
- Starting the conversation
- Making Your Car Fit You
- Increasing safety with new technology
- Choosing a new vehicle
- Modifying vehicles
- Knowing When It's Time to Give Up the Keys
- Finding Alternatives to Driving
- Public transportation and paratransit options
- Private options
- Chapter 7. Unraveling the Rules of Medicare and Medicaid
- The Distinction between Medicare and Medicaid
- Looking at Medicare Basics
- Are you eligible for Medicare?
- What's included in Original Medicare
- What you get with Medicare Advantage plans
- Prescription drug coverage
- Durable medical equipment coverage
- Home healthcare services
- Medicaid Ground Rules
- Are you eligible for Medicaid?
- What services Medicaid offers
- How Medicaid works with home- and community-based programs
- Medicaid managed long-term care
- Chapter 8. Financial Matters: Money Management and Wills
- Managing Money
- Opening joint bank accounts
- Granting financial powers of attorney
- Where There's a Will
- Taking inventory of your assets
- Considering types of wills
- Choosing the executor
- Taking the final steps
- Settling the Estate with Probate
- Chapter 9. Choosing Good Medical Care
- Checking on the Special Medical Needs of Older Adults
- Identifying common chronic conditions
- Dealing with multiple ailments
- Finding the Right Specialist to Manage Care
- Considering the need for a geriatrician
- Finding a geriatrician
- Navigating Hospitals
- Where to go for emergencies and non-emergencies
- Being admitted to the hospital
- Planning for a hospital stay
- Polypharmacy: Too Many Drugs?
- Using caution with certain drugs
- Getting medications right
- Chapter 10. Understanding the Different Roles of Nursing Homes
- Beginning with Nursing Home Basics
- Defining nursing homes
- Moving from a hospital to short-term rehab
- Comparing nursing homes for a long stay
- Visiting Nursing Homes
- Checking off important points
- Noting policy details
- Responding to Residents' Problems in Nursing Homes
- Chapter 11. Getting the Healthcare You Want (and Avoiding What You Don't Want)
- Talking about Future Healthcare Decisions
- Realizing the importance of advance planning
- Making wishes known with advance directives and living wills
- Dealing with the Rules of Advance Directives
- Finding the forms for advance directives and living wills
- Putting your wishes down on paper
- Choosing a healthcare proxy
- Adding do not resuscitate (DNR) orders
- Keeping your advance directive accessible
- Choosing Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)
- Understanding Care Options for Serious Illness: Palliative Care and Hospice
- Palliative care
- Hospice
- Chapter 12. Ten (Plus Six) Resources to Help You Navigate Your Later Years
- Checking Out Federal Programs
- Medicare and Medicaid
- Other federal agencies
- Getting Information through State and Local Programs
- Turning to Community-Based Organizations
- Index