The Arc of the United States has posted more than 40 video programs designed to provide online activities for individuals with disabilities, their families and service providers. Topics include arts, community and life skills, health and wellness, virtual clubs and more. Click here for more information.
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The standards for the 2022 Community Spouse Resource Allowance and Community Spouse Monthly Income Allowance have been updated in the document below:
The HIPAA privacy rule is not absolute. It recognizes that certain disclosures are beneficial, such as those where information must be shared to ensure that a patient receives the best treatment. Section 164.510 provides that a covered entity may use or disclose protected health information, provided that the individual is informed in advance of the […]
The Olmstead case was brought by two Georgia women whose disabilities include mental retardation and mental illness. At the time the suit was filed, both plaintiffs lived in State-run institutions, despite the fact that their treatment professionals had determined that they could be appropriately served in a community setting. The plaintiffs asserted that continued institutionalization […]
A parent or a guardian (each a “designated individual”) may appoint a standby guardian of a minor. O.C.G.A. § 29-2-10. Upon determination that the designating individual is unable to care for the minor, the standby guardian, without judicial intervention, may assume all rights, duties and responsibilities of guardianship of the minor. The standby guardian must […]
A new Medicaid lien case is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. The question presented is “[w]hether the federal Medicaid Act provides for a state Medicaid program to recover reimbursement for Medicaid’s payment of a beneficiary’s past medical expenses by taking funds from the portion of the beneficiary’s tort recovery that compensates for future medical […]
The cases discussed here make clear the importance of making health decisions in advance and communicating them. Too often, decisions are put off, sometimes because people fear an advance directive is a license to kill; if individuals took time to examine the document, they would find that its simply an expression of individual values, whether […]
A POLST form is a legally sufficient medical order that health care providers and health care facilities may use in accordance with their policies and procedures regarding end of life care. A POLST order remains effective unless the order is revoked by the attending physician upon the consent of the patient or the patient’s authorized […]
Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 31-39-1 et seq.) defines a candidate for non-resuscitation as a patient who, based on a determination to a reasonable degree of medical certainty by an attending physician with the concurrence of another physician: (A) Has a medical condition which can reasonably be expected to result in the imminent death of the […]