Author Archives: Madison Braz

Long-Term Care Facilities: A Consumer Guide

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Which long-term care facility is right for you or your loved one? It can be difficult to navigate this decision, but the Vermont Attorney General’s Office hopes to provide some help.

Together with the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL), we’ve released a new consumer guide called “Comparing Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Residences, and Residential Care Homes in Vermont.” The guide lays out the primary differences between nursing homes, assisted living residences, and residential care homes in Vermont, including:

  • how facility-types are defined and who is eligible to be a resident;
  • restrictions on the level of care the facility can provide;
  • facility staffing requirements;
  • allowable discharge practices; and,
  • when the State may grant a facility a “variance”—or waiver—from governing rules.

Key Differences Between Long-Term Care Facilities

As explained in depth in the guide, there are three types of long-term care facilities in Vermont:

  • Nursing Homes provide skilled nursing, rehabilitation services, and 24-hour health services.
  • Assisted Living Residences combine home, health, and supportive services while promoting self-direction and resident independence.
  • Residential Care Homes provide room, board, personal care, medication management, and some nursing “overview,” but are restricted in the level of care they can provide and generally do not provide full-time nursing care.

There are restrictions on who may become (and remain as) a resident at assisted living residences and residential care homes, but not nursing homes.

Need to report a concern?

This guide also provides contact information for reporting concerns about long-term care facilities.

Adult Protective Services
1-800-564-1612 		To report abuse, neglect or exploitation of a resident in a long-term care facility. Also contact the police & the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud & Residential Abuse Unit.
Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud & Residential Abuse Unit
1-802-828-5511 		To report (1) abuse, neglect or exploitation of a resident in a long-term care facility or (2) Medicaid fraud.
VT Long-Term Care Ombudsman
1-800-889-2047 		For assistance resolving complaints made by, or for, individuals receiving long-term care services.
Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program
1-800-649-2424 		To report misleading business practices by the facility.
DAIL Division of Licensing & Protection
1-888-700-5330 		To report long-term care rule violations, including residents harmed by facility practices.

Need a copy of the complete guide?

To request a copy of the complete printed guide by mail, call the Consumer Assistance Program at: 1-800-649-2424.

Contributing Writer: Madison Braz

Content Editor: Crystal Baldwin

Census 2020: Know the facts!

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What is the Census?

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Census counts every resident in the United States. Mandated by the Constitution, the Census takes place every 10 years. The data collected by the Census determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is used to distribute billions in federal funds to local communities (U.S. Census Bureau).

“The Census asks questions of people in homes and group living situations, including how many people live or stay in each home, and the sex, age and race of each person. The goal is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place.” – U.S. Census Bureau

Why should I complete the Census?

Federal funds, grants and state support are based on population totals collected by the census. The federal money is spent on schools, infrastructure, hospitals, and many other programs. Businesses, developers, and local governments also use census data (U.S. Census Bureau).

Know the facts.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the Census Bureau will start mailing out (and, in some areas, hand delivering) invitations to participate in the 2020 Census in mid-March. You should receive your invitation by April 1. You can respond to the Census: online, by phone, or by mail (FTC).

The Census asks: how many people are in the home at the time you complete the form; their sex, age, race, ethnicity; their relationships to one another; phone number; and whether you own or rent the home (FTC).

You can see all the questions asked on the 2020 Census on the Census Bureau’s website.

Look out for scams!

Scammers may pose as census workers to steal your personal information, which can be used to commit identity theft.

If you are visited by a census worker in-person, they must show a photo-ID. If you would like, the census worker may also provide you with their supervisor’s official contact information and the phone number to a regional office (FTC).

The Census will never ask for: your Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbers, passwords, money or donations, or anything on behalf of a political party. Note: the 2020 Census will not ask citizenship status (FTC).

The Census Bureau may call you to follow up, or they might call if a census worker visited your home while you were away. To verify the call, use the Census Bureau website (FTC).

Still have questions about the Census?

Visit the Census Bureau’s Frequently Asked Questions page, or call: (301) 763-INFO (4636) or (800) 923-8282.

As always, you can also call the Vermont Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program: (800) 649-2424.

Stay connected!

To receive official email updates from the U.S. Census Bureau, visit their website.

Contributing Writer: Madison Braz

Content Editor: Crystal Baldwin

Credit 101

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Credit can be a confusing concept. CAP wants to make it simple for you! This post is a guide to credit, credit bureaus, credit reports and more.

What is credit?

Your “credit” refers to your ability to borrow money and how much you can borrow. Your “credit score” is determined by your credit history, and suggests how likely you are to repay your loans.

What is a credit bureau?

As noted in our September 2017 blog post, credit bureaus receive regular reports about your credit history from banks, financial institutions, landlords, utilities, and even employers. The credit bureaus then put all of this information about your use of credit together into a single file — your “credit report.”

What is a credit report?

A credit report provides you with a detailed overview of your credit history prepared by the credit bureau. A credit report includes sensitive information, such as your Social Security number and history of employment. It will also indicate whether or not your accounts are in good standing and when they were opened.

How can I get my free credit report?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report once every 12 months.

To access your free credit report, you can…

  1. Visit annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.
  2. Complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
  3. Contact the three nationwide credit reporting companies individually:

Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 equifax.com

Experian: 1-888-397-3742 experian.com

TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872 transunion.com

Did you notice something suspicious on your credit report?

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, both the credit reporting company and the information provider are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report.

To dispute an error on your credit report, follow these steps provided by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

What is a credit freeze?

This free tool lets you restrict access to your credit report, which makes it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. A credit freeze does not affect your credit score, it just protects your credit. Under a freeze, you can still access your free annual credit report, and it does not affect your ability to apply for a job, rent an apartment, or buy insurance. However, if you are opening a new account, you will need to lift the freeze temporarily. Lifting the freeze is free.

Want to learn more about credit freezes? Check out this helpful FAQ page produced by the Federal Trade Commission.

What is a credit fraud alert?

A credit fraud alert is a free tool that makes it more difficult for identity theft and/or fraud to occur. According to the FTC, when you have a fraud alert in place, a business must verify your identity before it issues credit. Once you place the alert, it will be active for one year.

To place a credit fraud alert, contact one credit bureau and ask to place the alert. That credit bureau will then contact the other two bureaus.

Are you suspicious that identity theft has occurred?

If you see items on your credit report that might signal fraud, you can file an identity theft report with the Federal Trade Commission. Reporting identity theft to your local police is another important step in this process.

Signs of fraud on a credit report may include unfamiliar accounts and charges. The FTC provides a helpful list of other identity theft warning signs, including:

  • Inexplicable withdrawals from your bank account
  • Merchants refuse your checks
  • The IRS warns you that more than one tax return was filed in your name
  • You receive an official notice concerning a data breach that may have affected you

Questions about checking your credit and/or identity theft? Call the Consumer Assistance Program! (800) 649-2424

Contributing Writer: Madison Braz

Content Editor: Crystal Baldwin

Don’t forget to file your Equifax claim!

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Were you impacted by the 2017 Equifax Data Breach?

Don’t forget to file your claim and take advantage of free credit monitoring services! The deadline to file a claim is January 22, 2020. If you would like to exclude yourself from the settlement, comment, or object to the settlement, the deadline is November 19, 2019.

For more information about deadlines and filing a claim, visit the Equifax Data Breach website. If you were affected by the breach, you’re eligible for free credit monitoring or up to $125 cash payment.

Want to know if you were affected by the Equifax data breach?

Visit the Equifax Data Breach Settlement website to find out.

“I was affected by the data breach. Should I worry about identity theft?”

A breach does not necessarily mean you are a victim of identity theft. A breach means you are now susceptible to identity theft.

Identity theft is the unauthorized use of another person’s personal information to obtain credit, goods, services, money or property (for more information on Vermont laws regarding privacy and data security, click here).

Identity theft may involve fraudulent use of credit card or bank account information. In some cases, your social security number and other personal information may be used to fraudulently obtain driver’s licenses, lines of credit, loans or other consumer accounts.

Additionally, you may want to consider placing a security freeze on your credit reports. This is the most effective step you can take to block unauthorized use of your personal information. However, it does carry some costs and can create some minor difficulty if you need get a loan, credit card or other credit account. A security freeze does not affect your ability to use accounts that you have now. Find out more about freezing your credit files below and from the Federal Trade Commission.

Concerned about protecting your minor children from identity theft?

The Federal Trade Commission has excellent resources on child credit protection.

For the latest information about the Equifax Data Breach, visit the Vermont Attorney General’s website or the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

Contributing Writer: Madison Braz

Content Editor: Crystal Baldwin

Attorney General Donovan Joins Fight Against Illegal Robocalls

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Robocalls are annoying. But, when a scammer is on the other end of the call, they can also be dangerous. That’s why Attorney General Donovan with attorneys general from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., formed a public-private coalition with 12 phone companies to implement anti-robocall strategies to help protect consumers from illegal robocalls and make it easier for attorneys general to investigate and prosecute bad actors.  

The Anti-Robocall Principles address the robocall problem in two main ways: prevention and enforcement.

12 phone companies—AT&T, Bandwidth, CenturyLink, Charter, Comcast, Consolidated, Frontier, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon, and Windstream—will work to prevent illegal robocalls by:

  • Implementing call-blocking technology at the network level at no cost to customers.
  • Making available to customers additional, free, easy-to-use call blocking and labeling tools.
  • Implementing technology to authenticate that callers are coming from a valid source.
  • Monitoring their networks for robocall traffic.

These phone companies will assist attorneys’ general anti-robocall enforcement by:

  • Knowing who their customers are so bad actors can be identified and investigated.
  • Investigating and taking action against suspicious callers – including notifying law enforcement   and state attorneys general.
  • Working with law enforcement, including state attorneys general, to trace the origins of illegal robocalls.
  • Requiring telephone companies with which they contract to cooperate in traceback identification.

Moving forward, phone companies will stay in close communication with the coalition of attorneys general to continue to optimize robocall protections as technology and scammer techniques change.

If you have received an illegal robocall, you can act by reporting it to the Consumer Assistance Program (CAP). CAP tracks scam trends occurring throughout Vermont, and provides timely alerts about rising scams. Call CAP toll free at (800) 649-2424.

Contributing Writer: Madison Braz

Content Editor: Crystal Baldwin

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