Law Office of Robert L Boydstun

The office is open. We are working remotely. Governor Cuomo has signed executive orders permitting remote video notarization and remote video witnessing of document signings, including a client will, trust, power of attorney and health care proxy. We are able to continue to assist you with your estate planning and elder law needs. Stay well.

Movement Grows to Add Dental Coverage to Medicare Medicare does not offer much in the way of dental benefits. To get dental coverage, you need to purchase separate and often costly dental insurance or sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan that includes dental care. Advocates for Medicare beneficiaries are arguing for a change. Common dental procedures or supplies, such as cleanings, fillings, tooth extractions, dentures, dental plates, or other devices are currently not cove...red. Medicare Part A, the insurance for inpatient hospitalizations, will cover certain emergency or necessary dental procedures that are received in the hospital. For example, if you are hospitalized after an accident and require jaw reconstruction, Medicare Part A will pay for the dental work required as part of that procedure. In addition, Medicare Part A specifically covers oral examinations for patients who are in the hospital to receive a comprehensive workup for a kidney transplant or heart valve replacement. Many Medicare Advantage plans offer dental coverage, but Medicare Advantage plans vary widely in what is covered and how much it costs. In addition, because Medicare Advantage is managed care, only certain providers are covered under each plan, and beneficiaries may need prior approval before receiving care. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, most Medicare beneficiaries do not have dental coverage and go without care even though studies show there is a link between good oral health and good overall health. To take just one example, many infections can enter the body due to ongoing inflammation in the mouth and lead to more inflammation in other parts of the body like the heart. Kaiser also found that among Medicare beneficiaries who used dental services, the average annual out-of-pocket spending on dental care was $922. The lack of coverage for oral health has prompted some groups to advocate for improving dental coverage for Medicare beneficiaries. Justice in Aging, a legal advocacy group fighting senior poverty, argues that adding oral health coverage to Medicare Part B would be the simplest and most cost-effective way to give all seniors dental benefits. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would do just that, but it is unlikely to be taken up by the current Senate. Another possibility would be to add a separate optional dental benefit under Medicare, like the prescription drug benefit.

New Law Makes Big Changes to Retirement Plans President Trump has signed a spending bill that makes major changes to retirement plans. The new law is designed to provide more incentives to save for retirement, but it may require workers to rethink some of their planning. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act changes the law surrounding retirement plans in several ways:... Stretch IRAS. The biggest change eliminates stretch IRAs. Under current law, if you name anyone other than a spouse as the beneficiary of your IRA, the beneficiary can choose to take distributions over his or her lifetime and to pass what is left onto future generations (called the stretch option). The required minimum distributions are calculated based on the beneficiary’s life expectancy. This allows the money to grow tax-deferred over the course of the beneficiary’s life and to be passed on to his or her own beneficiaries. The SECURE Act requires beneficiaries of an IRA to withdraw all the money in the IRA within 10 years of the IRA holder’s death. In many cases, these withdrawals would take place during the beneficiary’s highest tax years, meaning that the elimination of the stretch IRA is effectively a tax increase on many Americans. This provision will apply to those who inherit IRAs starting on January 1, 2020. Required minimum distributions. Under prior law, you have to begin taking distributions from your IRAs beginning when you reach age 70 . Under the new law, individuals who are not 70 at the end of 2019 can now wait until age 72 to begin taking distributions. Contributions. The new law allows workers to continue to contribute to an IRA after age 70 , which is the same as rules for 401(k)s and Roth IRAs. Employers. The tax credit businesses get for starting a retirement plan is increased and the new law makes it easier for small businesses to join multiple-employer plans. Annuities. The newly enacted legislation removes roadblocks that made employers wary of including annuities in 401(k) plans by eliminating some of the fiduciary requirements used to vet companies and products before they can be included in a plan. Withdrawals. The new law allows an early withdrawal of up to $5,000 from a retirement account without a penalty in the event of the birth of a child or an adoption. Currently, there is a 10 percent penalty for early withdrawals in most circumstances. Given these changes, workers need to immediately reevaluate their estate plans. Some people have used stretch IRAs as an estate planning tool to pass assets to their children and grandchildren. One way of doing this has been to name a trust as the IRA’s beneficiary, and these trusts may have to be reformed to conform to the new rules. If a stretch IRA is part of your estate plan, consult with your attorney to determine if you need to make changes. To read the legislation, click here. For more on the new law, click here and here.

It is important to keep up with Medicare plans. They change regularly. https://nyti.ms/2JGNpN1