Category Archives: Medicaid Planning
Dealing with Asset Transfers
By: Anthony J. Lamberti, Esq., Chairman, Elder Law Committee The gravamen of this article is how to assess gifts made by an individual who must now apply Medicaid due to a nursing home admission. The usual scenario is that the applicant has transferred or gifted a significant sum of money to help a family,… Read More »
New Federal Law Aid Persons with Disabilities ABLE ACT Becomes Law
By: Anthony J. Lamberti, Esq., Chairman, Elder Law Committee Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE ACT) On December 19,2014 President Obama signed into law the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE ACT) with significant bipartisan support. The intent of this Act is to solve the problems individuals face in finding and holding… Read More »
Five FAQs about Medicaid and the Recent Medicaid Expansion
What are the current Medicaid eligibility requirements? Medicaid currently covers all those whose modified adjusted gross income is up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ― this will increase to 138 percent in 2014 for states like New York that have opted into the Medicaid expansion program. For our elder law clients, there… Read More »
Medicaid and Managed Long-Term Care
Managed long-term care services in New York are available for those over the age of 65 and younger people with disabilities or chronic illnesses who do not have sufficient income to pay for the care they need. All of these plans accept Medicaid. There are three types of managed long-term-care service plans in New York…. Read More »
The Nursing Home Private Pay Charge-to-Medicaid Reimbursement Ratio
A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running. – Groucho Marx Alexis Rodriguez, an unemployed doorman, expected he would get a hospital bill after his three-week hospitalization for pneumonia at New York’s Bronx-Lebanon hospital. He almost had an asthma attack when the bill that arrived was for more than $44 million. In… Read More »
Advanced Health Care Directives
The New York Times reports that as the great anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition, his family is facing some very difficult decisions regarding his end-of-life care, particularly whether or not to continue life support. You can make it easier on your family by establishing some guidelines for them to follow by preparation… Read More »
The Obamacare Medicaid Expansion
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) is one of the most significant and controversial pieces of legislation to have been passed for many years. Despite numerous legal challenges, the U.S. Supreme Court has generally ruled that the legislation is constitutional. However, in a recent case, the Court held that states may opt out… Read More »
What a Difference a Day Can Make in Medicaid Planning
More than three million Americans will reside in a nursing home at some point this year. Many families cannot predict when their loved one must begin to rely on outside assistance — a sudden illness can cause a previously independent senior to be in urgent need of full-time care. Families should plan for this possibility… Read More »
Are You Eligible for Medicaid?
The rising costs of health care in the United States make it difficult for many Americans to get medical treatment. In fact, a recent study of older unemployed workers by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that Americans in their fifties who lose their jobs and their health insurance during an economic recession cut… Read More »
Medicaid Planning: Transferring Assets
Getting old and getting sick can place an enormous strain on families. With nursing home costs in New York often exceeding $12,000 a month, many elderly patients who need nursing home care simply cannot afford it. Some turn to their adult children to care for them at home while juggling their work and other family… Read More »