UB Law School to Present Lectures on Elder Law Topics

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- An evening lecture series offering presentations on a variety of topics of interest to senior citizens, including the new Medicare prescription drug law, paying for long-term care and planning for death or disability, will be held in June on the University at Buffalo North (Amherst) Campus.

The Elder Law Evening Lecture Series, sponsored by the UB Law School, is part of "UB This Summer," an initiative of workshops, lectures, summer camps and programs designed to showcase UB faculty and facilities to the wider community.

The elder law lectures will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in 102 O'Brian Hall. Free parking will be provided in the Jacobs Lots A, B and C.

The cost of each lecture is $15; a series pass, good for five lectures, may be purchased for $60. Anyone with inquiries regarding registration or logistical questions should call 645-6404. All other inquiries about the lectures should be directed to the UB Law School at 645-2052.

The schedule:

• June 8: "The New Medicare Prescription Drug Law: What Did Congress Do Now?" The speaker will be Tony Szczygiel, professor, UB Law School. Recent Medicare legislation created a prescription-drug benefit that will be marketed next year. Meanwhile, a prescription-drug card has just been made available. Find out what the law did and didn't do to cover the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs. Is importing drugs the solution? Is it legal?

• June 10: "Paying For Long-Term Care: How To Get and Pay For The Care You Need." Speakers will be Bruce Reinoso, Magavern, Magavern and Grimm LLP, and Tony Szczygiel, UB Law School. Long-term care insurance, Medicare and Medicaid all play a part in providing access to such long-term care as nursing-home and home-health care. Find out the legal rules on what you can and can't do with these and other less-well-known programs.

• June 15: "Decision Making: Who Decides if I Can't?" Speakers will be Liz Clark, Hodgson

Russ LLP, and Helen Zaffram, Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged. Financial, health-related and lifestyle decisions continue to be important, even after you lose the capacity to make them yourself. What are the recognized mechanisms for selecting others to make these decisions for you? How much can you guide their future choices?

• June 17: "Medicare Managed Care and Other Important Medicare Changes." Speakers will be Bill Berry, Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged, and Tony Szczygiel, UB Law School. You will be surprised at the many changes Congress made to the Medicare program in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, Pub. L. 108-173, beyond the prescription-drug benefit. Several of these may prove to be more important than the drug coverage. The role of managed care, payment changes and covered services have been fundamentally changed. Increasingly, you will be asked to make important decisions regarding your future health-care coverage. Are you ready?

• June 22: "Planning for Death or Disability: Trusts and Beyond" Speakers will be David Pfalzgraf, Renda, Pares & Pfalzgraf, and Gayle Eagan, Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel, LLP. Estate planning focuses on passing assets at the time of death. A variety of factors, including changes in the law, have made financial planning for life very important. For many individuals, this is even more important than estate planning. What are the challenges that you need to plan for, and what options do you have?