topLAW OFFICES Of BRADLEY J. FRIGON
6500 S. Quebec Street, Suite 330
Englewood, CO 80111
720-200-4025     720-200-4026 (fax)
In This Issue
Health Care Reform 101
Membership in the Council of Advanced Practitioners
 
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NewsNews & Announcements 
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The Better Business Bureau (BBB) Denver/Boulder, 2009 awarded The Law Offices of Bradley J. Frigon with a Gold Star Certificate for having no complaints in a three-year period.
 
Brad will be giving two featured presentations at
the 
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) Spring Meeting in Orlando, FL next month.
 
Read attorney Eric Kuhn's new blog on Colorado law by clicking here
 
To order Brad's new book Fundamentals of Special Needs Trusts with Stuart D. Zimring and Rebecca C. Morgan, click here or call 1-800-223-1940.
 
Connect with Brad on LinkedIn
here.
 

 
 
programsUpcoming Programs 
  Brad will be giving two local presentations on "Estate Tax Update" in May, sponsored by Lighthouse Financial:
 
Thursday May 20, 6:30pm
360 Interlocken Blvd., Suite 101
Broomfield, CO 80021
 
Tuesday May 25, 1:00pm
3773 Cherry Creek North Drive, Suite 290
Denver, CO 80209
 
Are you looking for a speaker for your next group luncheon or networking event? Call us at 720-200-4025 and schedule a speaking event with one of our attorneys.
 
Have questions about attending local programs? Contact us at 720-200-4025 for more information.
 
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Legal Link
Your Personal Guide to Estate, Probate and Long-Term Care Planning 
April, 2010 
 Dear Clients and Friends,
 
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010. What exactly will the Act do and how will it affect each of us? Read Brad's insightful article "Health Care Reform 101" to learn about some of the changes that will take place in coming years and how the legislation will affect insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, long-term care and more.
 
We are proud to announce that Brad has been nominated as a member of the Council of Advanced Practitioners (CAP)! The Council was created by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) in July 2005 as an invitation-only council of advanced elder law practitioners. Membership in CAP is reserved only for preeminent attorneys who are leaders and innovators in the profession. In addition, there are many strict guidelines and requirements for CAP membership. Read this month's article to learn more about this honor.
 
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The Law Offices of Bradley J. Frigon is committed to providing quality personalized legal services with the highest level of integrity and professionalism. We assist clients with wills, trusts, probate and trust administration, probate litigation, Medicaid and public benefits planning, tax planning, guardian & conservatorships, special needs trusts, and small business planning.
 
Your comments and questions are important to us. You may send them to
[email protected].
 
As always, we hope that you enjoy the articles in our newsletter and encourage you to forward the newsletter to anyone who is interested.  

Client Testimonial      

"I was named Personal Representative for the Estate and was initially at a loss as to how to proceed, but the guidance of the attorneys in the firm and the friendly assistance of the staff calmed me. They handled the legal filings and other details in a professional manner and we were able to close the estate in a timely manner. I was especially impressed in the rapid response to my inquiries...the attorneys are personable, as well as professional."

 - William, Centennial, CO
 
willHealth Care Reform 101
by Bradley J. Frigon
doctor      On March 23rd, President Barrack Obama signed into law the nation's most sweeping social legislation in decades. After over a year of partisan bickering, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("the Act") was signed into law.
 
      The uninsured are clearly the biggest beneficiaries of the legislation, which will extend the healthcare safety net for the lowest income Americans. For those who are already covered by a large employer, representing most Americans, the effect is not supposed to be significant. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the estimated cost of the overhaul is $938 billion over 10 years. The legislation is meant to provide coverage for as many as 32 million uninsured Americans. As they say, the devil will be in the details and there are a lot of details to be worked out. Major coverage expansion will begin in 2014. 
 
 
capMembership in the Council of Advanced Practitioners
 

naela       Brad Frigon was recently invited to join the Council of Advanced Practitioners (CAP). The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) established the Council in July, 2005 as an invitation-only council for advanced practitioners in the field of Elder Law. Only the most respected and preeminent attorneys in the profession are invited to join CAP. Council members are recognized as innovators in the profession, instrumental in leading the future of Elder Law. They are also a major source of speaking, writing and leadership for NAELA programs, mentoring other attorneys and providing a vision for NAELA.

       Membership requirements are stringent. Eligible candidates must be:

         A NAELA member for a minimum of ten years,

         AV rated by Martindale Hubbell, and

         Either a NAELA Fellow or a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA).

       In addition, members must be considered "preeminent." According to NAELA, a preeminent individual "has a well-deserved reputation as an outstanding and exceptionally skilled elder or special needs law attorney." The attorney should have made substantial contributions to elder or special needs law by:

         Litigating an important elder or special needs law case,

         lecturing, writing or teaching with a high degree of competence,

         advocating important legislative or administrative matters, or

         demonstrating leadership on issues affecting the elderly and people with disabilities in bar association and other professional activities.

       Brad's membership in the Council of Advanced Practitioners represents a career milestone. To learn more about CAP or NAELA, please visit: www.naelacap.org.

 
healthcareHealth Care Reform 101 (continued)
 
The following is from a time line of implementation dates produced by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation for when some of the key provisions of the Act will take effect. We will be talking about the impact of the legislation as more details become available.
 
2010
 
Insurance Reforms:   
  • Provide dependent coverage for adult children up to age 26 years for all individual and group insurance policies.
  • Prohibit individual and group health plans from placing lifetime limits on the dollar value of coverage.
  • Provide tax credits to small employers with no more than 25 employees and average annual wages of less than $50,000 that provide health insurance for employees.
Medicare: 
  • Provide a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who reach the Part D coverage gap in 2010 and gradually eliminate the Medicare Part D coverage gap by 2020.  
2011 
 
Long-term Care:
  • Establish a national, voluntary insurance program for purchasing community living assistance services and supports (CLASS).
Prevention/Wellness:  
  • Require chain restaurants and food sold from vending machines to disclose the nutritional content of each item.  
Medicare:
  • Require pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide a 50% discount on brand-name prescriptions filled in the Medicare Part D coverage gap beginning in 2011 and begin phasing-in federal subsidies for generic prescriptions filled in the Medicare Part D coverage gap.  
Tax Changes: 
  • Increase the tax on distributions from a health savings account or an Archer MSA that are not used for qualified medical expenses to 20% of the disbursed amount.
2013
 
Medicare: 
  • Begin phasing-in federal subsidies for brand-name prescriptions filled in the Medicare Part D coverage gap (to 25% in 2020, in addition to the 50% manufacturer brand-name discount).
Medicaid:
  • Increase Medicaid payments for primary care services provided by primary care doctors for 2013 and 2014 with 100% federal funding.  
Tax Changes: 
  • Increase the threshold for the itemized deduction for un-reimbursed medical expenses from 7.5% of adjusted gross income to 10% of adjusted gross income for regular tax purposes; waive the increase for individuals age 65 years and older for tax years 2013 through 2016.  
  • Increase the Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) tax rate on wages by 0.9% (from 1.45% to 2.35%) on earnings over $200,000 for individual taxpayers and $250,000 for married couples filing jointly and impose a 3.8% assessment on unearned income for higher-income taxpayers.
  • Limit the amount of contributions to a flexible spending account for medical expenses to $2,500 per year increased annually by the cost of living adjustment.
 
 
The Law Offices of Bradley J Frigon
6500 South Quebec Street, Ste. 330
Englewood, CO 80111
Phone: 720.200.4025     Fax: 720.200.4026