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A free Power of Attorney form can spare loved ones from additional grief

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The Power of Attorney form (POA form), often referred to as the Life Care Planning Packet, can be one of the most valuable extras senior insurance agents can provide to their clients. They’re simple to complete — just a few printed pages or a website link. Agents know that building credibility requires constant effort, and providing these fillable documents to clients demonstrates a high degree of professionalism. In a distant, previous life I prepared Power of Attorney forms and other documents for clients as a paralegal. I was a total convert to the art of preparedness then, and for the last couple of decades in the insurance business my respect for this status has served me well.

For a case study on POAs and what they can mean for your clients, let’s go back to 2012, just before the Christmas holiday. A best friend and old college buddy, Jerry, planned a three-day trip to Las Vegas with me. Jerry was a successful businessman, had a nice home in Scottsdale and was fairly wealthy. He lived alone, had no siblings and his only two relatives were younger cousins back East with whom he did not communicate.

Jerry was meticulous in collecting the commissions owed him from the tech companies he independently and earnestly represented. He never missed a scheduled oil change for his luxury sedan. He always paid his bills early. He was younger than any of us buddies, in his early fifties. Unfortunately he absolutely could not confide to his two best friends in the universe that he had been diagnosed a few years earlier with congestive heart failure. Jerry’s condition was not readily evident, so he would view such a personal disclosure as a sign of weakness — it was just his nature. Then it happened.

Jerry called us to his bedside at Scottsdale Shea Hospital. His surgeon insisted he have a representative with Power of Attorney standing by during an imminent surgery. Jerry advised me that the procedure was merely a routine, “almost simple” surgical implantation of a pacemaker. He was still unable to share with his two oldest, best friends what was really happening.

I agreed to sign the hospital’s POA form and stay close by, available on my cell phone. After the unsuccessful attempt to implant what was actually a cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) unit, I was summoned to the intensive care unit by the surgeon and given all the accurate medical information regarding the surgery. The doctor was shocked Jerry had not told me about the severity of his condition.

Six days later, with his other best friend standing by my side, I gave the order to remove my old buddy from life support. Jerry had never appointed a Medical or financial Power of Attorney. There was no Estate Representative (or executor as referred to in some states) noted. Most importantly, he had not shared with us his wishes or instructions regarding this inevitable occurrence that my friend and I could follow on his behalf. We were the only two people he could really ever call.

Jerry could have avoided inflicting this type of stress and pain on his friends with a simple Life Care Planning exercise and a couple of frank discussions about his wishes. POA documents are usually available online for free from your state’s Attorney General website or equivalent office. Here is a POA packet provided by the Arizona Attorney General’s office for our local agents or just to get a general idea of what they contain.

Advise your client about free Life Care Planning documents that usually include a Health Care POA, Living Will (End of Life Care). A DNR or Do Not Resuscitate form is available if needed as well as other documents that can convey to family or friends the client’s own wishes and instructions. Encourage your clients to discuss medical matters and final wishes in detail and in advance with their trusted representative. That trusted POA might have to give the terrible order to terminate life support.

Call RB Insurance at (800) 997 3107 or email me to discuss the Power of Attorney form, final expense insurance and other aspects of end of life planning to show your clients you are truly looking out for their health and financial well being.

Medicare could cover end of life counseling as early as Jan. 2016

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Advance care planning could become a standard part of Medicare as early as January 2016, CMS announced last month as it seeks public comment on a proposal to reimburse providers who start a conversation with beneficiaries about their final wishes.

According to a statement released by CMS on July 8, “The proposal includes a number of provisions focused on person-centered care and continues the Administration’s commitment to transforming the Medicare program to a system based on quality and healthy outcomes.” Also known as end of life planning, the service being considered consists of providers ensuring an individual’s care preferences are respected in the event of a critical health situation like terminal illness. 

Find tips on how to help your clients make sure their health care preferences are respected and adapt your senior business to policy change at the end of this article. Image courtesy of iStock

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Gently opening a conversation about advance care is “an important step in the right direction” for health care, Dr. Joseph Agostini writes for Aetna’s Health Section. “By making the end-of-life conversation a regular part of delivering high quality care, doctors may be more inclined to broach the subject with patients, their family members and loved ones … The policy change would also encourage physicians and their patients to talk about care preferences and plans before potentially tough and emotional decisions have to be made under the stress of a serious medical condition.”

This is the second time end of life planning has been proposed by the Obama administration. It was dismissed by conservative fixture and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as part of political opposition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), who likened it to a government-sponsored “death panel” in a post to her Facebook page six years ago.

Nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation has prepared a Frequently Asked Questions article about Medicare’s role in end of life care that goes over how end of life care responds to the sensitive nature of dying as well as the increased costs end of life care presents for the health care program. According to the FAQ, just over a third of people age 65 and older surveyed in 2013 incorrectly believed ACA established a “death panel” to make decisions on their behalf due to earlier political uproar.

The proposal has been reintroduced with language that makes it clear end of life planning affirms Medicare beneficiaries’ command over their health care (Click here to view it). It states “For Medicare beneficiaries who choose to pursue it, advance care planning is a service that includes early conversations between patients and their practitioners, both before an illness progresses and during the course of treatment, to decide on the type of care that is right for them.”

The FAQ also states beneficiaries accrue high costs in the last year of life because many of them experience multiple serious health issues at the end of their lives. According to Kaiser, “Roughly one-quarter of traditional Medicare spending for health care is for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries in their last year of life — a proportion that has remained steady for decades.” End of life planning seeks to decrease these costs for the program by making sure undesired care is not provided.

“Getting someone the right care at the right time is more likely to be of value in the long-term for everyone involved, including patients and their families,” Agostini writes about the cost-saving aspect of end of life planning.

Agents can be proactive as end of life planning receives greater recognition. Being sensitive to clients’ needs and wishes by advising them on Medicare’s changing policies is the first step — clients need to be aware of what is added to Original Medicare and what additional benefits Medicare Advantage may provide in the future. Reviewing Physician Directives, which are encouraged by all hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, is another course of action. Building a mutual relationship with a financial planner to establish a back-and-forth referral channel for clients interested in setting up or adjusting wills is a way to adapt and find new clients. Adding final expense with legacy safeguard planning to your sales portfolio is another option for helping clients make sure they are not caught unprepared.

Call RB Insurance at (800) 997 3107 or email Sales Manager Charlie Ferrell to learn more about end of life planning and Physician Directives.

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