Recap: SNT 2022 Delivers on Elder Law Insights, Updates
From the informative to the transformative, Stetson Law’s 24th Annual National Conference on Special Needs Planning and Special Needs Trusts fostered important conversations as it unfolded over three days in downtown St. Petersburg.
Organized by Stetson Law’s Center for Excellence in Elder Law, the event brought together hundreds of legal professionals who work in elder law and special needs law to hear from important voices on the latest issues affecting special needs planning and special needs trusts. Some 60 nationally recognized speakers from a variety of backgrounds offered insights and updates on all aspects of this highly specialized field – from a detailed overview of proposed changes to federal regulations to the role of self-care for those who do this important but often difficult work.
Once again, the event took place at the picturesque Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club, an inviting venue familiar to those who had attended in prior years. Stetson Law Professor Roberta Flowers, who is director of the Center for Excellence in Elder Law and president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, welcomed attendees back for another series of thoughtful discussions and meaningful connections.
“What a thrill it was to host this incredible community once again,” Flowers said. “The speakers were compelling, the sessions were thought-provoking, and our network yet again felt like family.”
Storied speakers, important insights
As always, the conference schedule was packed with engaging sessions where attendees could glean information critical to their work.
Among headliners was Dr. Amanda Flood of the U.S. Social Security Administration, who spoke on the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility requirements of Section 1917(d)(4)(A) and (C) Trusts. Former Social Security Administration Deputy Director Kenneth Brown offered insights on navigating the Program Operations Manual System (POMS), an SSA tool for processing benefits. Dr. Lisa Iezzoni of Harvard Medical School Health Policy Research Center gave a session on what physicians experience and perceive when caring for disabled individuals.
Upcoming Medicare & Medicaid changes
In his overview of proposed changes to U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rules, Gene Coffey, technical director of CMS’s Children & Adult Health Program Group, said the agency aims to expand Medicaid eligibility to reach populations the agency has historically missed.
“The major focus of our NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) is the facilitation of Medicaid eligibility and enrollment,” Coffey said during a Friday morning session. “What we are looking to do in this NPRM is largely to confront some of the barriers that prospective Medicaid applicants have to enrolling in the Medicaid Program.
A “Death Doula” confronts compassion fatigue
In her Friday morning talk, Brenna Galvin, managing shareholder and elder law attorney at Maser, Amundson & Boggio, P.A., a Minnesota-based firm, addressed a lesser-known occupational hazard for professionals who work in elder law and related spaces: compassion fatigue.
“When it comes to the practice of law and fiduciaries who work with their clients for a long amount of time and then often watch them as they decline or pass away, there’s not a lot of conversation about how that impacts us as people and as practitioners,” said Galvin, who is certified as a Death Doula, a role that helps people deal with a host of end-of-life issues. “I think that this topic is so important because the weight of caring comes at a cost to us. It comes at a cost to us personally, it comes at a cost to our families, and our clients, and as a ripple effect, our communities at large.”
Galvin outlined some of the physical, psychological, and spiritual symptoms one might experience working with clients who are late in life or who are dealing with trauma. The combined effects of burnout and secondary trauma can be detrimental, she said, which is why it’s critical to care for one’s health and well-being by getting enough sleep, exercising, setting clear boundaries, and adopting other healthy habits.
“In our practices, we experience more death than the average Joe,” she said. “The good news is, there is a cure to burnout and there is a cure to compassion fatigue. It comes in the form of self-care.”
The “Roberts” return
A beloved fixture at SNT, attorneys Robert Fechtman and Robert Fleming delivered their “Roberts Update” Friday morning. Since it was earlier in the day than their usual time slot, their customary glasses of wine were replaced with a pair of Bloody Marys. They gave an often-humorous retrospective on the past year’s most significant court cases related to special needs and trusts, changes to federal law, and more.
Learn more about Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Elder Law or read the latest in the Elder Law Blog, an outlet edited by Stetson Law Professor Rebecca Morgan, who, like Professor Flowers, was also president of NAELA.
Post date: Oct. 19, 2022
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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