President Bush Signs Act to Eliminate the American Dream, Says Elder Law Attorney
David Danda, Elder Law Attorney and Founder of the law firm David E. Danda, PC, made an astonishing discovery. When President Bush Signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 on February 8, 2006, one of the great American dreams quietly died. The DRA virtually wiped out the American Dream for working Americans and nobody noticed. To date the White House has not made an official statement; leaving many Americans to wonder what else do I have to do for my country.
Atlanta, Ga. (PRWEB) November 22, 2006 -
David Danda, Elder Law Attorney and Founder of the law firm David E. Danda, PC http://www. daviddanda. com (http://www. daviddanda. com) announced that the great American dream of working hard, saving your money and leaving something for your kids is no longer a viable alternative for most middle-class Americans. According to Mr. Danda, the magnitude of the President signing the DRA was overlooked by the reporters and evening news. The death of this cherished dream was surprisingly not the lead story on the evening news on February 8, 2006. And an obituary did not appear in the morning paper. Danda states "A great American dream died and no one noticed."
Danda maintains that "politicians in Washington routinely give voter-friendly names to laws passed by Congress and the recent DRA decision is no exception." An example is that a tax increase by definition also reduces the deficit. By signing in the DRA, Washington passed responsibility for long term care from the government onto the shoulders of the hard-working middle-class Americans who made this country prosperous. Danda states that "Washington is simply asking America's Greatest Generation once again to answer President Kennedy's call to 'ask what you can do for your country.'" According to Mr. Danda "the DRA will take money from America's Greatest Generation before they die and may take their home after they die. Prior to the DRA there was no limit on the value of the home. Clearly this is not fair to the hard-working Americans who are fueled the economy from the end of WWII and are now retired."
According to Danda, "just when you think you have won the game of life by retiring with money in the bank, Congress wants you to use your hard earned retirement money to pay for your long term care your nursing home expenses."
Danda continues that "the once honored tradition of saving money for your retirement does not seem to be a virtue for the Greatest Generation after the passage of the DRA." Instead, if you choose to spend your money frivolously during your life and are now surviving month-to-month on your social security retirement check, you qualify to have your long term care expenses paid by Medicaid. Danda maintains that "if you sacrificed for your country during your productive work years, believed in the great American dream by saving for your future and for the opportunity to pass on a financial nest egg to your children, now when you are most in need of your country doing something for you, the DRA penalizes you for being responsible American. You must sacrifice for your country one more time. You must dig into your pocket to pay for your nursing home expenses."
According to Mr. Danda "the secret to answering the long term health care riddle is to either die while you still have a good quality of life, if you have a nest egg to pass on to your children, or have no reserves and let the Medicaid system pay your nursing home expenses. "
After 9-11 Alan Jackson wrote a patriotic song about not knowing the difference between Iraq and Iran. Danda states "that all Americans, seniors, baby boomers, twenty-something's, need to know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid before it is time to retire." Most Americans are confused about Medicare and Medicaid for two reasons. Their names appear to be similar and both provide access to health care service. Nevertheless, the programs are substantially different in a number of key areas, and the average American is not aware how either program works.
Medicare is an "entitlement program" which is a health insurance program for retirees. Danda says that "if you apply for Social Security retirement, you will also receive Medicare benefits." Medicaid on the other hand is a "needs" based program designed to help pay the medical expenses of seniors, and is restricted to those who meet very strict eligibility criteria. Medicaid recipients must qualify for services. Danda continues that "the majority of Americans do not qualify for Medicaid." According to the guidelines, "seniors are only eligible for Medicaid if they satisfy both the financial and non-financial eligibility rules. Medicaid is typically available to individuals who do not have sufficient income and assets to pay for their own long term care," according to Danda.
Danda continues that "the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services rejected an amendment to the Georgia Medicaid state plan which sought to increase the state's estate recovery exemption from $25,000 to $100,000 which would have offered a degree of protection for many Georgians. The bottom-line is that in Georgia, after Mom and Dad spend their reserves on nursing home care and Medicaid pays for their continuing care, when Mom and Dad die, they will only be able to leave $25,000 to their kids."
Due to these harsh rules, Mr. Danda says that "it is crucial for all American, especially the baby boom generation, to get started early and purchase long term care insurance. With the newly passed DRA, it is vital for everyone, even those who are just entering the market place, to have a long term care plan and long term care insurance. According to Danda, "the key is to prepare. Our population will continue to live longer and longer. Many of us might live well into our 80's or even our 90's which might require us to have the pleasure of spending 5 to 10 years in a nursing home."
To receive Mr. Danda's Tips for Long Term Care Protection, please visit http://www. daviddanda. com/pages/contactus. html (http://www. daviddanda. com/pages/contactus. html) and type your first name, your email address and "Tips for Long Term Care Protection" in the box on the right.
To learn more about David Danda and David E. Danda, PC, please visit http://www. daviddanda. com (http://www. daviddanda. com).
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