February General Meeting

MitoAction welcomed Valerie Powers Smith, Attorney-at-law, as guest speaker for the February General Meeting, February 1, 2008.

Topic: What you should know about disability rights

Join MitoAction in an informative and exciting discussion with disability advocate and attorney Valerie Powers Smith as she brings to light issues regarding health care insurance and how to maximize coverage (e.g., understanding your plan, how to get things covered with appropriate medical necessity documentation, and appeals). She will also discuss other disability care issues, such as Medicaid, SSI benefits and managing the disabled person’s assets/income for future and continued eligibility; as well as managing parental estate concerns with proper estate planning and special needs trusts.

Valerie A. Powers Smith has focused her legal career on representing people with disabilities and their families. She has concentrated her work on health care law and has vigorously advocated for families and people with disabilities to gain medically necessary care from private insurance companies, Medicaid, and other health insurance providers. Valerie also practices in the areas of guardianship, estate planning, special needs trusts, government disability services, special education, and employment discrimination. She has written extensively on a variety of disability law topics, and has co-authored several publications. She lectures frequently for disability groups throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Valerie was appointed by Governor Codey to the New Jersey Medical Assistance Advisory Council. A leader in her field, Valerie was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for Caregivers of New Jersey. She is an Advisory Board member of New Jersey’s Family Voices, and was recently invited to sit on the Advisory Board for the Aged, Blind & Disabled Advisory Group under the NJ Division of Medical Assistance & Health Services (Medicaid). Valerie holds a JD from Widener University School of Law and is a member of the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Bars.

Full recording (5.2 MB MP3 file)

Online Resources:

cms.gov - U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Hinkle, Fingles & Prior web site. Take the links to the In Print and Newsletters sections.