Letter to the Editor, Dec. 12, 2019: Guardianship an option for some requiring care

Guardianship an option

for some requiring care

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

In The Times-Dispatch's effort to portray the guardianship issue in its recent series, the presentation was extremely limited and blatantly unfair. There is indeed a dilemma that indigent individuals encounter when they exceed or exhaust the limits of government health benefits for their preferred facility or level of care, or when they lack consistent or reliable family or social supports. However, pointing the finger at attorneys who have stepped up to address this issue is putting the onus on the wrong end of the process. As Attorney Shawn Majette stated, his point of intervention is “at the end of the beginning.”

Determination of medical necessity is made in an effort to apply existing resources to appropriate use. No matter how far medicine progresses, resources will likely never be unlimited. None of us is subsidized by insurance once it has been determined that a particular level of care is no longer clinically required. Use of an acute care hospital to serve in lieu of a family or social support system would bankrupt any health care system.

Guardianship services provided by ThompsonMcMullan lawyers potentially serve a systemic need as well as addressing the individual’s lack of capacity. Acting on behalf of the individual to apply for available benefits and placement provides an option for continued care that friends and family have been unable to effectively execute.

Cynthia Favret.

Williamsburg.

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Letter to the Editor, Dec. 12, 2019: Guardianship an option for some requiring care