20 The QUEE NS Courier • health • november 5, 2015 for breaking news visit www.qns.com ▶health The Elder Law Minute TM Breaking it Down: What the Lack of Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Means for You By Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. and Eva Schwechter, J.D. It was announced in October that Social Security beneficiaries will not receive a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2016. This is only the third time in the past 40 years that the government has not increased Social Security benefits. It is important for the average Social Security and Medicare beneficiary to understand how this news affects him or her, both in terms of income and health care premiums. The Cost of Living Adjustment is an adjustment made to Social Security and supplemental security income benefits to keep up with the effects of inflation. For example, if you received $10,000 last year in Social Security benefits, and the COLA was calculated to be 3%, then your benefits this year would increase to $10,300. Inflation in a given year is currently calculated by the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers elder law (CPI-W). In short, when there is no inflation, then there is no adjustment to Social Security benefits. The most straightforward impact of having no COLA is that Social Security benefits for 2016 will remain the same as the benefits in 2015. The loss of the Social Security COLA also means some Medicare beneficiaries will see their Part B premiums increase next year. Seventy percent of Social Security beneficiaries have their Medicare premium automatically deducted from their Social Security benefits. Under the law, these beneficiaries are “held harmless” from Medicare premium increases if there is no COLA. This will result in a disproportionate increase in premiums for the other 30% of Medicare beneficiaries - those who are “not held harmless.” This group of individuals includes those who are receiving Medicare for the first time, those not yet receiving Social Security benefits, those with higher incomes, and those who are in receipt of Medicaid. The recently passed Budget Reduction Act of 2015 lessens the burden on the 30% of Medicare recipients who are “not held harmless.” The Budget Act will raise premiums by approximately 15%, instead of the 50% initially indicated. This puts the base minimum premium for those in the “not held harmless” category of Medicare recipients at $120 a month. Those in the “held harmless” category will not see a premium increase. With respect to deductibles, all Medicare beneficiaries will see their Part B deductible increase to approximately $167. The practical ramifications are that there will still be cost increases for Medicare beneficiaries in 2016, but these increases will be much smaller than they would have been without the new Budget Reduction Act. Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. is the principal of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates, a law firm that concentrates in elder law, estate planning, Medicaid planning, guardianships, estate administration, trusts, wills, and real estate. Eva Schwechter recently graduated from Hofstra University School of Law, where she was a member of the Hofstra Law Review. She is awaiting admission to the New York bar. The law firm can be reached at 718-261-1700, 516-466-4422, or toll free at 1-877-ELDER-LAW or 1-877-ESTATES. Mr. Fatoullah is also the cofounder of JR Wealth Advisors, LLC. The wealth management firm can be reached at 516-466-3300 or 800-353-3775. ROnald Fatoullah, ESQ, CELA* Improve your home’s indoor air quality and energy efficiency Most of us spend the majority of our time indoors. Ironically, that’s where allergens, mold and other irritants are most at home. In fact, the EPA finds that pollutant levels can be two to five times higher inside our homes than outside. In addition to making it easier to breathe, research shows that a home with clean air also pays up to $300 less in annual heating and cooling costs. Here are five steps you can take, some as quickly as this weekend, to improve air quality and energy efficiency in your home: 1. Take care of your home’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. Energy use costs the average American home about $2,000 a year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. About 41 percent of that goes toward heating and 6 percent for cooling, the EIA says. Regular maintenance - including twiceyearly servicing by a professional, and regular air filter changes by homeowners - can help your HVAC system operate at peak efficiency. 2. Change HVAC air filters regularly and reliably. Filter changes are especially important for two reasons. First, a clogged filter makes your system work harder and consume more energy. Second, a clogged filter is the primary cause of home heating and cooling system failures that can cost thousands of dollars to repair. If you always forget to change your air filters, an air filter monitor, like those offered by CleanAlert, can help. The monitors wirelessly alert you when an HVAC filter is clogged and needs to be changed. Visit www.cleanalert.com to learn more. 3. Ensure your home is properly ventilated. Americans tend to think their homes should be completely air tight. While you don’t want cool air to escape in summer or warm air to get out in winter, it is important to vent contaminated air and excess humidity from your home year round. Make sure kitchens and bathrooms have operating exhaust fans to help vent stale, contaminated or moisture-laden air from your home. 4. Kick the habit, and don’t indulge anyone else’s habit in your home. Just as smoking impacts the health of the person who’s smoking, secondhand smoke greatly affects the quality of indoor air. Improving indoor air quality is just one more reason to give up smoking. And while it may seem harsh, don’t allow others to smoke in your home, either. Smoke residue - which contains carcinogens - can linger on surfaces long after the smoker has departed. 5. Add a touch of green life throughout your home. A 30-year NASA study found that houseplants are very effective at cleaning indoor air. Sure, room air purifiers serve the same basic functions, but houseplants won’t add to your utility bill while they’re removing contaminants from the air and emitting fresh oxygen. Plus, houseplants give your home a burst of color, beauty and life. NASA recommends one houseplant per every 100 square feet of home. These five tactics are simple, speedy ways to get started with improving your home’s indoor air quality and overall energy efficiency. You can find numerous other steps with a simple online search or view this list of top tips to improve air quality and save energy. Courtesy BPT
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