Agenda:

Registration:                        8:00 - 8:30 am

Morning Session:                8:30 - 11:45 am

Lunch (On your own):         11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Afternoon Session:             12:45 - 4:40 pm

Medicare: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 
T. Berthelot

   Medicare basics
   Medicare coverage
   Medicare Advantage
   Hot topics

Important Developments in Health Care,  
Long Term Care, and Payment Schemes
G Bickford

   Deficit Reduction Act regulations
   Annuities: Update
   Application and submission rules

Medicaid: Long-Term Care Planning, 
Estate Planning and Asset Transfers
G. Bickford

   History of Connecticut Medicaid program
   Eligibility criteria
   Covered services
   Spousal impoverishment rules
   Transfer of asset rules
   Penalties and disqualification periods,
      transferee liability, exceptions

Financial Planning for the Elderly and Disabled 
G. Bickford

   Asset protection: estate planning considerations
   Exempt or excluded assets
   Using trucks and advanced planning techniques
   New legislative changes and potential problems

New and Expanded Restrictions on Medicaid Planning 
G. Bickford

   Viability of asset transfers
   Use of trusts
   Use of annuities
   Viability of Medicaid planning

Looking Ahead: What’s Visible on the Horizon? 
G. Bickford

   Recovery?
   Third party liability
   Home care issues
   Retroactive eligibility for home care

Speakers:

Terry Berthelot, MSW, JD

University of Connecticut, Storrs-Mansfield, CT

Ms. Berthelot is a Lecturer in Human Development and Family Studies. Her research and advocacy is primarily about access to healthcare for people who are over 65 and for people with disabilities. She earned her masters degree in social work from Syracuse University, after which she designed, implemented, and then coordinated a Joint Commission Accredited hospice program in the Mississippi delta. Finding herself fascinated by the legal and ethical questions surrounding death and dying, Ms. Berthelot pursued her law degree at the University of Mississippi. After graduating cum laude, Ms. Berthelot joined the Center for Medicare Advocacy, a national not-for-profit law firm. As a senior attorney, Ms. Berthelot oversaw the Center’s advocacy efforts. She also provided legal advice and representation to Medicare beneficiaries unfairly denied Medicare coverage or access to healthcare, wrote articles for national publications, produced educational materials, engaged in educational outreach activities with a particular focus on the Medicare hospice benefit, was a contributing author to the Medicare Handbook, and served as co-counsel for federal class action lawsuits challenging improper Medicare policies. Also while with the Center, Ms. Berthelot was the lead Medicare trainer for Connecticut’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program and for Connecticut’s Medicare Senior Patrol. Ms. Berthelot is a former chair of the steering committee for the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys’ Health Care Section and she is the former Connecticut liaison for National Healthcare Decisions Day. She is currently a member of the Mansfield Town Council.

George B. Bickford

Law Offices of George B. Bickford, East Granby, CT

Mr. Bickford is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Connecticut School of Law. From 1974 through 1981 he was employed by Neighborhood Legal Services, Inc. During his last three years there he was director of the Senior Citizens Law Project covering North Central Connecticut. From January 1982 through October 1992, Mr. Bickford was a partner in the firm of Weed & Bickford (formerly Weed, Kerrigan & Bickford), engaged in the general practice of law. On November 1, 1992, he opened the Law Offices of George B. Bickford as a sole practitioner in East Granby, Connecticut, and as of July 1, 2009, the firm is known as the Law Offices of George B. Bickford, LLC. The office consists of two attorneys and a highly trained paralegal staff concentrating in elder law issues. For many years Mr. Bickford has been a guest speaker before bar, medical, social service and public groups on the topics of Social Security, Medicaid and estate planning for the elderly with long-term medical needs, the area in which he currently limits his practice. Mr. Bickford was a member of the Board of Directors of the Alzheimers Association Connecticut Chapter for many years, and he continues to provide them counsel and assistance. He is also a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Executive Committee of the Elder Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association.