Chapter
Discovering How Your Options Are Changing
Looking at why changes are being made
Keeping up with insider language
Meeting Your Changing Needs
Location, location, location
Getting Professional Advice
Chapter 2 A Personal Inventory: Past, Present, and Future
Looking at the Present — and the Future
Family, friends, and professionals
Personality characteristics
Creating a Plan Based on Your Profile
Drawing a CareMap to Visualize Your Profile
Chapter 3 Finding Services
Federal government programs
Community-based organizations
Taking Your Research to the Next Level: Site Visits for Housing
Federal and state regulations
Chapter 4 Making Decisions: A Family Affair
When should you get together?
What should be on the agenda?
Being Considerate of Others
Allocating responsibilities
Bringing in the outer circle
Part 2 Choosing Where to Live
Chapter 5 Staying in Your Home
Staying at Home in Your Community
Dealing with Two Major Hazards
Categorizing types of home modifications
Checking out accessibility
Getting help paying for home modifications
Allocating tasks to family
Finding help for other chores
Putting technology to use
Preparing for an Emergency
Creating a support network
Putting together a disaster kit
Chapter 6 Under One Roof: Generations Living Together
Multigenerational Living: Everything Old Is New Again
Why different generations are living together
Defining family households by generation
Considering family reactions before making a decision
Where Should We All Live? Considering the Options
Having a relative move in with you
Preparing to move into your parent’s home
Making fair financial arrangements
Checking In over the Long Haul
Chapter 7 Downsizing for Now and Later
The Emotional Aspects of Downsizing
Downsizing and Home Renovations
Putting together important papers
Sorting and decision making
Donating or selling items
Chapter 8 Assisted and Independent Living and Other Group Settings
Interpreting industry and government language
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
Unnecessary trips to the ER
Additional costs or a move after a hospital stay
Exclusion from social activities or dining room seating by other residents
Failing to read the contract
Independent Living and Other Options for Group Living
Independent living for seniors
Affinity or niche communities
Chapter 9 Beyond Your Home: Living in a Community
Understanding Why Community Matters
Defining age-friendly communities
Looking at livable-community initiatives
Taking a Walk Around Your Community
Looking at sidewalks and surrounding areas
Checking for places to stop, shop, and chat
Finding Community Services
Considering NORCs and Village Networks
Chapter 10 Getting Around: Transportation Options
Judging Whether Driving Is Still Safe
Watching for warning signs of unsafe driving
Starting the conversation
Increasing safety with new technology
Knowing When It’s Time to Give Up the Keys
Finding Alternatives to Driving
Public transportation and paratransit options
Part 3 Legal and Financial Planning
Chapter 11 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
Are you eligible for Medicaid?
What services Medicaid offers
How Medicaid works with home- and community-based programs
Medicaid managed long-term care
Coordination with other health insurance
Chapter 12 Paying for Care: Long-Term Care Insurance and Other Options
Reviewing the Ups and Downs of Long-Term Care Insurance
Traditional long-term care insurance
Group and employer-based long-term care insurance
Hybrid long-term care insurance
Short duration long-term care insurance
Asking questions when considering any type of long-term care insurance
Continuing to pay rising premiums
Getting your claims paid for
Receiving Money through Annuities
Using Disability Insurance
Selling Your Policy: Life Settlements
Considering a Reverse Mortgage
Chapter 13 Financial Matters: Money Management, Wills, Trusts, and More
Opening joint bank accounts
Granting financial powers of attorney
Where There’s a Will . . .
Taking inventory of your assets
Considering types of wills
Settling the Estate with Probate
Reviewing the Rules on Estate Taxes
Pros and cons of living trusts
Part 4 Managing Your Healthcare
Chapter 14 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
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
Other risks and questions
Chapter 15 Demystifying Home Care
Examining Varieties of Home Care
Surveying Services from a Home Healthcare Agency
Defining different kinds of home care agencies
Choosing a home care agency
Looking at Medicare’s rules for eligibility for home healthcare services
Understanding Medicaid home care
Hiring home care workers on your own dime
Working with Home Care Aides
Paying Family or Friends to Provide Care
Is There a Doctor in the House?
Chapter 16 Understanding the Different Roles of Nursing Homes
Beginning with Nursing Home Basics
Moving from a hospital to short-term rehab
Comparing nursing homes for a long stay
Checking off important points
Checking Out New Models of Nursing-Home Care
Responding to Residents’ Problems in Nursing Homes
Chapter 17 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 all 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
Part 5 Services for Special Groups
Chapter 18 LGBT Older Adults
Recognizing LGBT Aging and Health Issues
Knowing Legal Protections and Their Limits
The U.S. Supreme Court and same-sex marriage
Obama presidential memorandum on hospital visitation
Keeping Legal Documents at the Ready
Finding LGBT-Friendly Providers and Facilities
Finding healthcare providers
Considering independent- or assisted-living facilities and nursing homes
Looking at LGBT-specific options
Chapter 19 Services for Veterans
Getting into the VA System
Comparing the VA to other healthcare systems
Understanding eligibility for VA healthcare
Supporting Veterans and Their Families
Noting VA Options for Older Veterans
Using Aid and Attendance and Housebound programs
Finding the Right Residential Setting or Nursing Home for Veterans
Veterans’ medical foster homes
Community living facilities (nursing homes)
State-operated veteran homes
Using Other Resources to Navigate the VA System
Chapter 20 Family Caregivers
Defining Family Caregivers
Family caregivers by the numbers
What family caregivers do
Family caregivers’ rights and obligations
Becoming a Family Caregiver
Identifying yourself as a family caregiver
Readying yourself for negotiation
Checking Out Different Types of Family Caregivers
Family caregivers who are employed
Long-distance family caregivers
Looking at Your Caregiving Experience through a CareMap
Community-based organizations
Chapter 21 Ten Myths about Aging and Future Care
Serious Memory Lapses Are Normal in Older Adults
Older People Fall: Not Much You Can Do about It
Antibiotics Are the Best Drugs for Older Adults with Coughs and Colds
Americans Dump Their Older Relatives in Nursing Homes
Medicare Pays for All Long-Term Care
Hospice Is Just a Place Where People Go to Die
Millionaires Take Advantage of Medicaid
If I Need Care, I’ll Wind Up in a Nursing Home
Assisted-Living Facilities Are Regulated Like Nursing Homes
Long-Term Care Insurance Covers All Your Needs
Chapter 22 Ten Resources with State-by-State Information
Identifying Local Services through Area Agencies on Aging
Assessing Assisted-Living and Rehabilitation Facilities
Finding Services and Housing Options through Eldercare Locator
Getting Support for Family Caregivers
Modifying Your Home with Rebuilding Together
Getting Information on Medicaid in Your State
Finding Your State’s Advance Directives
Solving Problems through an Ombudsman
Resolving Complaints through BFCC-QIOs
Navigating Your Later Years For Dummies
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