WASHINGTON — For Stewart Bornhoft, who completed two tours of duty in Vietnam, the Supreme Court's decision granting federal benefits to married, same-sex couples means that he and his spouse, Stephen McNabb, can one day be buried together at Arlington National Cemetery. For Joan Darrah, who served nearly 30 years in the Navy and lived through the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, the decision means her spouse, Lynne Kennedy, can join her more generous, less expensive health plan. Just two years ago, gays and lesbians were prevented from serving openly in the military. Now, with the Supreme Court ruling this week, same-sex spouses of gay veterans and service members will be http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/defense/court-decision-has-wide-impact-for-some-veterans/nYYJc/

‘Pension poachers’ blamed for backlog in approval of VA applications

‘Pension poachers’ blamed for backlog in approval of VA applications: ‘Pension poachers’ blamed for backlog in approval of VA applications

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has an enormous backlog of disability claims, which includes compensation benefits and Aid and Attendance (Pension) benefits. The backlog is reported to be more than 600,000 claims in all. Anyone who has applied for Aid and Attendance or Pension benefits quickly learned that the waiting time is typically 8 to 18 months to have benefits approved. The New York Times, in the New Old Age blog on May 21, 2013 by Susan Seliger, reports that the VA indicates that there is a special reason why Aid and Attendance claims are being held up: “pension poachers.”

Aid and Attendance or Improved Pension is a benefit available to disabled or aging wartime veterans or surviving spouses of a veteran who now need some assistance paying for care. This benefit, for those who qualify, helps replace income being used to pay for medical expenses, including caregivers at home, or adult day care, or care in a facility personal care or skilled nursing. The application is relatively simple, especially compared to that needed for Medicaid eligibility. However, there is an asset limit which is where the so-called “pension poachers” come in.

The VA has a prohibition against paying for expert help, theoretically to prevent lawyers from making the application process adversarial. This prohibition dates back to Civil War times. However, in modern times, the inability to use expert help (or at least for experts to charge for services) has had the opposite effect. Many families learn about the Aid and Attendance benefit from 

Seniors Swindled Out of $3 Billion a Year - Elder Exploitation - AARP

Seniors Swindled Out of $3 Billion a Year - Elder Exploitation - AARP

This year marked the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's designation of May as Older Americans Month. There were 17 million Americans over age 65 when Kennedy made this proclamation.

See also: Be aware of the Jamaican area code scammers use to exploit older Americans

Congress needs to work to make sure seniors are better protected from fraud and exploitation. — Getty Images

Today, our country finds itself in the midst of one of the most dramatic demographic shifts in our history. Now we have 40 million Americans over age 65.

By 2060, the U.S. Census Bureau projects the number of older Americans will top 90 million — and, for the first time, this group will outnumber children under 18.

As our aging population has grown, so too have incidents of elder exploitation.

Increasingly, older people are falling victim to

Jon Stewart on the VA

OK I don't normally buy into these talking heads; however, Jon Stewart just went off on "the system" for its treatment of the veterans and I think that it deserves to be redistributed because it is a great piece showing how everyone loves to talk a good game but in the end there is NO real action being taken to protect those who protected us.

Here is the article I found with the clip (NOTE The Ad is not something associated with The Elder Dish it came with the link):

Jon Stewart outraged U.S. has flying kill bots but can’t fix Veterans Affairs backlog (via Raw Story )

On his show Wednesday night, The Daily Show host Jon Stewart blasted President Barack Obama for failing to fix the growing backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs while arguing the government could be a force for good. Though Democrats have argued many of the country’s woes are due to Republican…

BEWARE OF FRAUDSTERS PRETENDING TO BE ATTORNEYS

This was sent to our office by the Escambia Santa Rosa Bar Association.

Halloween is over but fraudsters pretending to be attorneys are sadly lurking about.

Attorneys and members of the public need to be aware that con artists are using real Florida Bar attorneys' names and numbers in attempts to legitimatize fake transactions and dupe the public into handing over money. These latest schemes involve timeshares, structured settlements and sweepstakes.

In the timeshare case, a real Central Florida attorney was contacted by couples – after they had already given money to a man falsely claiming to be him. The scheme works by having a company contact a timeshare owner who had previously been trying to sell. The contact person says an attorney will call. When the pretend attorney rings them up, he asks for money to facilitate the sale. Once the money is sent, the fake attorney vanishes – and the tricked timeshare owners go looking for the real attorney to find out what happened.

In another scheme, a Florida Bar attorney working out of state was contacted by a company that buys structured settlements. The agent told the attorney that a woman claiming to be her had contacted the company seeking up-front money for a lawsuit settled with an insurance company. The pretender even had fake documents attesting to the lawsuit and the settlement offer.

A third scam involved another pretend attorney calling a woman and telling her she had won a sweepstakes. The fakester gave the name and Bar number of a South Florida attorney, and asked the woman to wire money to him before she could claim her winnings. At that point, the woman wisely hung up.

Members of the public should know that attorneys will not contact them soliciting upfront fees.

To verify that a solicitor is an attorney who is eligible to provide offered legal services, use the Find a Lawyer feature at www.floridabar.org (top right of the home page) and call the number on record for that attorney's office.

To report the fraud, call the Attorney General's fraud hotline at 1-866-966-7226.

Be it Halloween or not, con artists are always prowling about for new schemes. Both attorneys and the public should be vigilant against their efforts.

To learn more, read the story in The Florida Bar News.

Touching story about two Veterans

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57504593/even-in-dementia-korean-war-medic-cares-for-his-men/?tag=showDoorFlexGridRight;flexGridModule

CBS Sunday morning aired this very touching story this morning.  I wanted to make sure that I shared it with others.  Please take time to watch the story via the link above or below.  I have copied the article for you as well.  Very touching!

(CBS News) NORTHPORT, N.Y. - It's a story that makes you think, "What are the chances?" It started with a mystery at a nursing home we visited, "On the Road."

John Angerame says when you love someone with advanced dementia -- like his father has -- you can't help but wonder: Are they still in there?

John asks his dad Augie for even the littlest signs that he's present, like a wink or blink.

Fortunately, although Augie can't communicate, by all indications he is aware -- beyond words.

Augie Angerame served in the Korean War, in an artillery unit. He was a medic, which may partly explain his recent behavior at his VA nursing home on Long Island.

A few months ago, Augie started going into the room of another veteran with dementia named Frank Dibella.

"And I was like, 'What's this man doing?'" recalled Frank's daughter, Mary Rose Monroe. "He'd rub his back and then he'd walk away."

"Just check on him," John Angerame added, "like maybe a medic would do as he made rounds."

The kids agreed: It seemed like Augie was trying to care for Frank -- like he was back in the war. Frank didn't seem to mind. The staff eventually moved the two men into the same room.

And that's when John started putting the pieces together.

"I was looking for something. I had this feeling," he said.

He looked at the old war photos on Frank's bulletin board and noticed something. The buildings in the background -- the clapboard - he'd seen that before. He found the same buildings in the background in his dad's photo album.

Frank Dibella is seen serving as a cook on the front lines during the Korean War.

(Credit: CBS)

"And I stepped outside for a few minutes and on the door it said Frank Dibella."

The name might not have clicked for him before, but suddenly, "It just flashed."

His dad had talked about a Frank Dibella -- the cook in his unit.

"He said Frank had a penchant for getting steaks and food that they normally don't eat," John Angerame said.

"Oh yeah," said Mary Rose Monroe. "He loved cooking for the guys."

Apparently Frank even brought steaks to the front lines. Cooks didn't have to go to the front lines but Frankie was no coward. Once he even got injured by a bomb blast. And guess who cared for him?

Then and now.

"Sixty years later," John said, "Still checking on his guys."

"They reach for each other," said Mary Rose.

They call Korea "the forgotten war." But here are two people who remember perfectly. And certainly if they can -- so should we.

To contact On the Road, or to send us a story idea, e-mail us.

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57504593/even-in-dementia-korean-war-medic-cares-for-his-men/?tag=showDoorFlexGridRight;flexGridModule

New Face of Alzheimer's Caregivers: Men | Sci-Tech Today

At our firm we see a trend of more men coming in to our office admitting they need help and looking for answers.  Most of the men in retirement did not help with the household activities and are suffering.  They are often surprised how easy it is to hire some home health aides to come in and help out with the household tasks they can't keep up with.  This is one of the first articles I have seen that highlights the trend of more men helping their wifes.  I hope it helps you.

New Face of Alzheimer's Caregivers: Men | Sci-Tech Today