Are you considering how you and your family will pay for long-term care? If so, we strongly encourage you to learn about Medicaid.

To help you get a better understanding of what Medicaid is and how you could benefit from it, Tom West and Arvette Reid enlist in the help of Valerie Geiger. A founding partner of Cucinelli Geiger, PC, Valerie is an elder law attorney whose practice focuses on helping people with special needs, and she is well-versed in Medicaid planning. Today, Valerie shares what you need to know about Medicaid.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What Medicaid is and how it works
• Eligibility requirements for Medicaid
• Why assisted living and nursing homes are not interchangeable under Medicaid
• How Valerie helps clients who are over-resourced
• Why Valerie forms a team of experts when putting together plans for clients
• And more!

Join Tom, Arvette, and Valerie now to learn the ins and outs of Medicaid!

Resources:  Lifecare Affordability Plan | SEIA | Cucinelli Geiger, PC: (703)-481-6464

Understanding Medicare and how to make it work best for you isn’t easy. That’s why Tom West and Arvette Reid have brought in an expert.

Today, Tom and Arvette speak with John Norce, founder of Medicare Portal, to help you get a better grasp on Medicare’s ins and outs. John and his team specialize in helping seniors make informed decisions around their Medicare benefits. In this episode, John shares what you need to know about Medicare.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What Medicare parts A, B, C, and D mean
• The difference between Medicare and Medicare Advantage 
• About common challenges seniors face with the Medicare system
• The importance of staying mindful of Medicare deadlines
• How Medicare Portal can help you become an educated consumer around Medicare
• And more!

Tune in now to learn about Medicare and the resources available to help you navigate it with confidence!

Resources:  Lifecare Affordability Plan | SEIA | Medicare Portal | [email protected] | [email protected]: 703-214-4600

Whether you’re facing a health crisis or the challenges that come with aging, there are several resources that can help ease the burden — and chances are, many of them are in your own community.

Today, Tom West and Arvette Reid are joined by guest Mary Lee Anderson to explore the benefits that community services have to offer the senior population and those in need of support. As the executive director of Senior Services of Alexandria, Mary Lee knows how impactful it can be for people to access the support they need in areas like nutrition, transportation, communication, and education.

In this episode, you will learn:

• About the types of services that Senior Services of Alexandria offers and how they fill unmet needs
• Why it’s a myth that community services are only for low-income individuals 
• What the most rewarding part of Mary Lee’s job is
• Why there’s a blind spot in the senior population about available resources
• And more!

Join Tom, Arvette, and Mary Lee now to learn how you may benefit from community services!

Resources:  Lifecare Affordability Planning | SEIA | Senior Services of Alexandria: (703-836-4414)

You might feel stressed out while managing someone else’s money during their time of need. And understandably so. 

Between navigating unknown financial and healthcare territories to facing pressures from family members, there is a lot to consider and knowing where to start can be just as challenging.

Today, Tom West and Arvette Reid share five actionable steps for managing other people’s money, so you can stop worrying and start making decisions that will help you achieve the best possible outcomes.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The different standard of care you may apply when managing someone else’s money compared to your own
• Ways you can start gathering the financial information you need
• The importance of determining the outcomes you’re most hopeful for and most afraid of
• How to evaluate financial options based on the needs of the person in need of care
• And more!

Join Tom and Arvette now to learn what steps to take when managing money for your loved one.

Resources:  Lifecare Affordability Plan | SEIA 

When a health crisis occurs, we all want to thrive. 

However, there are psychological hurdles that may make us resistant to accepting the help we need in order to achieve our best possible outcomes.

Today, Tom West and Arvette Reid discuss common psychological hurdles that keep people from thriving. They explore the deeper meanings behind people’s resistance and share how they help clients overcome those barriers.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The deeper meaning behind people’s desires to keep making their own decisions
• How brain function under stress can impact your ability to make decisions
• Which form of resistance Tom sees himself having as he ages
• How Tom and Arvette approach clients who don’t believe a health crisis will ever happen to them
• And more

Join Tom and Arvette now to learn about psychological hurdles to thriving and how it’s still possible to thrive in the midst of a health crisis.

Resources:  Lifecare Affordability Plan | SEIA

Whether you’re seeking general or specialized advice in the financial world, it’s often difficult to anticipate what you’ll really be getting from these services.

In this episode, Tom West and Arvette Reid break down specific examples of actionable items and recommendations they provide to clients who are going through the Life Care Affordability planning process. They also use real-world examples to illustrate different scenarios that clients may experience.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What the Lifecare Affordability Plan is and what it aims to provide for clients 
• What financial professionals typically mean when they talk about “cash”
• Why Tom prefers to think about consolidating cash as simplification
• The different tax considerations that come into play with long-term care expenses
• And more!

Join Tom and Arvette to learn how the Life Care Affordability Plan can help you achieve the best possible outcome for you and your loved ones.

Resources:  Lifecare Affordability Plan | SEIA 

When it comes to managing the healthcare and financial needs for loved ones with a health diagnosis, there are those who thrive and those who fail to thrive.

But what sets apart those who prosper from those who don’t?

Today, Tom West and Arvette Reid discuss how they define thriving and failure to thrive in the intersection of healthcare and finances and health diagnoses, and why certain key behaviors set these two groups apart.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The difference being proactive versus reactive makes in handling a health diagnosis
• The dangers of isolation and inflexibility in your life routines
• Real-life examples of those who have thrived and those who have not
• How the Lifecare Affordability Plan works to help families thrive
• And more!

Tune in now and learn how to thrive if you or your loved ones receive a health diagnosis.

Resources:  Lifecare Affordability Plan | SEIA | Live Long, Die Short

Oftentimes, when families are managing a chronic illness diagnosis like dementia, the conversations they have about money aren’t really about the money.

Today, Arvette Reid and Tom West are joined by special guest and Executive Director of Insight Memory Care Center, Christi Clark, to explore how family conversations can be guided to uncover the real fears or hopes behind a family’s financial discussion.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How Christi helps families become more aware and accepting of their need for help
• How Insight Memory Care Center addresses diagnosed individuals’ fear of losing their autonomy 
• What factors are involved in the decision for individuals to age-in-place or move out of their homes
• And more!

Join Arvette, Tom, and Christi now as they share their insight and recommendations to help families have compassionate and helpful conversations about money. 

Resources:  SEIA | Insight Memory Care Center | Insight Memory Care Center: 703-204-4664

In today’s episode, Tom West and Arvette Reid are joined once again by special guest, Lindsey Vajpeyi, the director of education and outreach at Insight Memory Care Center.

Following up on their last episode about Insight Memory Care Center’s SHARE program, Lindsey, Arvette, and Tom are back to explore case studies that demonstrate how the SHARE program has made significant and positive changes to families’ experiences with making care decisions for their loved ones.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How the SHARE program provided support and validation to a family member who had to suddenly take on overwhelming decision-making roles 
• How Lindsey was able to communicate with a diagnosed individual in a way that family members weren’t able to
• How the SHARE program has guided several types of families through productive discussions about roles, future plans, and more
• How the SHARE program has helped new caregivers adjust to their role
• And more!

Listen now to learn how impactful the SHARE Plan has been for those diagnosed with dementia and their families.

Resources:  SEIA | Insight Memory Care Center | Insight Memory Care Center: 703-204-4664

Today, Tom West and Arvette Reid are joined by special guest, Lindsey Vajpeyi. Lindsey is the director of education and outreach at Insight Memory Care Center, an adult daycare center in Fairfax, Virginia that seeks to educate, care, and support those who are affected by dementia.

Insight Memory Care Center fills a unique gap in the market by providing a SHARE program. SHARE offers professional guidance and support to help early-stage individuals and their families make important decisions about the future. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What the SHARE program is and how it works
• How the program helps families reduce stress and increase confidence
• The importance of including those diagnosed with dementia in the planning process
• How the SHARE program lays the groundwork for productive conversations about finances and lifecare affordability planning.
• And more!

Tune in to learn about the Insight Memory Care Center’s SHARE program and how it can help you and your family face the future with confidence!

Resources:   SEIA | Insight Memory Care Center | Insight Memory Care Center: 703-204-4664

Tom West and Arvette Reid are back to explore the money-talk taboo. Today, they discuss why professionals in the senior housing and healthcare industry are uncomfortable with talking to their clients about money.  

Using Arvette’s valuable first-hand experience in the healthcare industry, she and Tom discuss:

• Reasons why healthcare professionals may have a low comfort level with money-talk
• The challenges with clients’ lack of understanding around their future healthcare costs
• How administrators or executive directors can use lifecare affordability planning to help clients
• A real-life success story about using lifecare affordability planning to bridge the gap between healthcare and finances to get a client the best care possible
• And more!

Tune in now for another insightful episode about money-talk barriers and the importance of breaking them down.

Resources:  SEIA |