President Biden announced that the official Public Health Emergency (PHE) caused by COVID-19 will end on May 11, 2023.   What are the ramifications of this change for seniors?

1. Return of Medicare’s three-day rule

In recent years, technological breakthroughs have helped folks with disabilities—robotic limbs, telepresence robots, and platforms to assist with communication. These new technologies give some the ability to be more independent and lead more fulfilling lives.

Now, there is a new wheelchair that can be controlled by the mind. Someone that is paralyzed or without the necessary limbs to operate a traditional wheelchair can now strap an electrode-studded cap onto their head and control the direction of the wheelchair with their thoughts.

Written by Jeremiah W. Doyle IV, JD, LLM

Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) section 6166 allows an executor to defer the payment of the federal estate tax attributable to the interest in a closely held business. The deferred payments may be extended over a period of up to fourteen years and nine months following the death of the business owner. With an estate tax exemption of $12.06 million in 2022, many estates can pass free of federal estate tax, making a section 6166 election unnecessary for the value of a business interest included in the gross estate. However, with the estate, gift, and generation skipping tax exemption scheduled to be reduced to $5 million (indexed for inflation) beginning January 1, 2026, a section 6166 election may become valuable for more estates holding an interest in a closely held business. Thus, it is probably time to dust off a copy of section 6166 and review its complex and somewhat ambiguous provisions.