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Kenneth Vercammen & Associates, P.C.

2053 Woodbridge Ave.
Edison, NJ 08817
732-572-0500

 
Federal HIPAA requires Power of Attorney or written document to permit family
access to medical information

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If you haven't yet updated your Living Will power of attorney to reflect current federal privacy rules, it's time to do so. If you don't have a POA, you should think about obtaining one, especially if you're getting up there in years. According to the Home News Tribune "Update Health Care POA" January 17, 2003, page 5, Health Care Powers of Attorney (Living Wills) are directives that appoint a relative, friend or some other party, known as an "agent", to make medical decisions on your behalf if you can't do so, for reasons ranging from injuries sustained in a car crash to incapacity resulting from dementia. Health care POAs can be written as stand-alone documents but typically are included along with a living trust, a more comprehensive estate-planning tool. It's best to have a lawyer write a POA for you, and it's wise to have an attorney insert any changes. The Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which took effect in 2001, makes it wise to prepare a Living Will and Power of Attorney. These Federal HIPAA regulations aim to safeguard patient medical records by imposing privacy rules on doctors, pharmacists, other medical staff, insurance companies and so on. HIPAA calls for fines - in some cases, stiff ones- and even prison terms for disclosure violations, thus making health care providers think twice about giving out a patient's information to others.

"Powers of Attorney need to be adjusted to allow our clients immediate and hassle-free access to the medical records of the parents and other loved ones on whose behalf they are acting", wrote Arizona attorney Thomas Murphy in this months issue of Arizona Attorney, a publication of the State Bar. We recommend new health care POA Living Wills that would cover the following points: A statement directing physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, insurers and others to release a patient's health records to the agent. Murphy emphasized these directives should be updated to include specific references to HIPAA. The biggest problem is that many insurers will not honor any pre-April POAs, yet agents often must confer with insurance companies before the firms will pay a patient's medical bills.
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       Kenneth Vercammen is the Managing Attorney at Kenneth Vercammen & Associates in Edison, NJ. He is a New Jersey trial attorney has devoted a substantial portion of his professional time to the preparation and trial of litigated matters. He has appears in Courts throughout New Jersey each week for litigation and contested Probate hearings.

       Mr. Vercammen has published over 125 legal articles in national and New Jersey publications on elder law, probate and litigation topics. He is a highly regarded lecturer on litigation issues for the American Bar Association, NJ ICLE, New Jersey State Bar Association and Middlesex County Bar Association. His articles have been published in noted publications included New Jersey Law Journal, ABA Law Practice Management Magazine, and New Jersey Lawyer.

       He is chair of the Elder Law Committee of the American Bar Association General Practice Division. He is also Editor of the ABA Estate Planning Probate Committee Newsletter and also the Criminal Law Committee newsletter. Mr. Vercammen is a recipient of the NJSBA- YLD Service to the Bar Award. And past Winner "General Practice Attorney of the Year" from the NJ State Bar Association. He is a 22 year active member of the American Bar Association. He is also a member of the ABA Real Property, Probate & Trust Section.

       He established the NJlaws website www.njlaws.com which includes many articles on Elder Law. Mr. Vercammen received his B.S., cum laude, from the University of Scranton and his J.D. from Widener/Delaware Law School, where he was the Case Note Editor of the Delaware Law Forum, a member of the Law Review and the winner of the Delaware Trial Competition.

RECENT SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS ON WILLS, ELDER LAW, AND

American Bar Association - Elder Law 2008 New York Annual Meeting
Edison Adult School -Wills, Elder Law & Probate- 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 [inc Edison TV], 2001, 2000,1999,1998,1997
Nuts & Bolts of Elder Law - NJ Institute for Continuing Legal Education/ NJ State Bar ICLE/NJSBA 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1996
Elder Law and Estate Planning- American Bar Association Miami 2007
Elder Law Practice, New Ethical Ideas to Improve Your Practice by Giving Clients What They Want and Need American Bar Association Hawaii 2006
South Plainfield Seniors- New Probate Law 2005, East Brunswick Seniors- New Probate Law 2005
Old Bridge AARP 2002; Guardian Angeles/ Edison 2002; St. Cecilia/ Woodbridge Seniors 2002;
East Brunswick/ Hall's Corner 2002;
Linden AARP 2002
Woodbridge Adult School -Wills and Estate Administration -2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996
Woodbridge Housing 2001; Metuchen Seniors & Metuchen TV 2001; Frigidare/ Local 401 Edison 2001; Chelsea/ East Brunswick 2001, Village Court/ Edison 2001; Old Bridge Rotary 2001; Sacred Heart/ South Amboy 2001; Livingston Manor/ New Brunswick 2001; Sunrise East Brunswick 2001; Strawberry Hill/ Woodbridge 2001;
Wills and Elder Law - Metuchen Adult School 1999,1997,1996,1995,1994,1993
Clara Barton Senior Citizens- Wills & Elder Law-Edison 2002, 1995

 

Contact the Law Office of
 Kenneth Vercammen & Associates, P.C.
 at 732-572-0500
for an appointment.

Kenneth Vercammen & Associates, P.C.
2053 Woodbridge Ave.
Edison, NJ 08817
732-572-0500

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Disclaimer This web site is purely a public resource of general New Jersey information (intended, but not promised or guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up-to-date). It is not intended be a source of legal advice, do not rely on information at this site or others in place of the advice of competent counsel. The Law Office of Kenneth Vercammen complies with the New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct. This web site is not sponsored or associated with any particular linked entity unless specifically stated.  The existence of any particular link is simply intended to imply potential interest to the reader, inclusion of a link should not be construed as an endorsement.

Kenneth Vercammen handles Wills, Last Will and Testament, probate contests, estate administration, inheritance tax, executor, surrogate, Living Wills, estates, trusts, undue influence, administrator, elder law, elderlaw, senior citizen, eldercare, guardianship, trusts, estates, Avoid Probate, Personal Injury, Deceased, Estate Planning, New Jersey Lawyer, New Jersey Attorney, New Jersey Lawyers, New Jersey Law Firm, New Jersey Legal Service, New Jersey attornies, New Jersey legal, New Jersey law, NJ Lawyer, NJ Attorney, NJ Attorneys, NJ Lawyers, NJ Law Firm, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Mercer County, Somerset County, Union County, Ocean County, Cranbury Police, East Brunswick, Edison, Highland Park, Jamesburg, Old Bridge, Metuchen, Monroe, New Brunswick, North Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, Plainsboro, Sayreville, South Brunswick, South Plainfield, Woodbridge, Superior Court, attorny, attorney, attornee, attorneys, atorney, ahtorny, ahtorney, ahtornee, atornee, atorny, Layer, Lawer, Laywer, LawFirm, 08817, 07095,08816, 08901, 08903

Last Revised August 18, 2008

© 2008 Kenneth Vercammen & Associates, P.C.