What happens when critical senior programs are at risk? TREEL Partner Kimberlie Fiero, chair of the Ocean County Senior Advisory Council, joined Ocean County Senior Services Director Maria LaFace on the Talking Retirement podcast to discuss how proposed federal budget cuts could impact New Jersey senior services.
As an experienced estate planning attorney, Kim provided insight into how changes to Medicaid, health care, tax laws and safety net social programs may impact seniors. Among other concerns, there was discussion about how the federal “Big Beautiful Bill” carries additional re-certification requirements for the Medicaid Managed Long Term Services and Supports Program, which can impose additional burdens upon the recipients of this program which is already a complex and lengthy application process.
“It’s hours of preparation and thousands of pages,” Kim said. “Requiring people to re-certify twice a year is going to be a paperwork nightmare for already overwhelmed departments — and devastating for the people who rely on that support.”
Kim and Maria discussed how Ocean County Senior Services played a pivotal role in organizing a grassroots advocacy campaign that helped stop the most harmful parts of the proposed federal budget cuts — especially those that would have dismantled or diluted senior support programs under the Older Americans Act. Programs like Adult Protective Services, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Meals on Wheels and transportation for seniors and the disabled were threatened.
“The thought that those programs might disappear was terrifying… We rely on their resources to protect seniors in extreme circumstances,” Kim said.
To hear more from Kim on how proposed changes to federal policies could trigger estate planning consequences, senior services and access to long-term care, tune into the Talking Retirement podcast, hosted by Keny Connolly, a licensed life and health insurance specialist with NJ Life and Health Insurance Group.
