Author: Linda Ershow-Levenberg

On January 1, 2023 the Social Security Administration will be giving its recipients an 8.7% Cost of Living Increase (COLA). You probably know that if a person on New Jersey MLTSS-Medicaid receives gross fixed monthly income in excess of $2,523 (that’s the 2022 threshold), they must establish a Qualified Income Trust (QIT) to receive the excess income, in order to preserve their Medicaid...

The NJ Department of Human Services, Office of Licensing, has just issued an Information Bulletin which outlines the requirements for licensed community residences which participate in the State’s Medicaid Home & Community Based Waiver Programs. These “waiver programs” include a diverse array of settings such as  Boarding Homes, Group Homes, Assisted Living, apartment...

Many of our clients served in the military between 1953 and 1987. Some of them spent time at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, became very sick,  and pursued claims at the Veterans Administration  for service-connected compensation over the years. Now there is a new avenue for civil lawsuits to be brought to obtain possible compensation. On August 10, 2022, President Biden signed the Camp...

An Assisted Living residence (“ALF”) is a facility which is licensed by the Department of Health and Senior Services, and subject to the regulations in N.J.A.C. 8:36, to provide apartment-style housing and congregate dining and to assure that assisted living services are available when needed, to four or more adult persons unrelated to the proprietor.  Apartment units offer, at a...

When an individual moves into a nursing home for long-term care, there are an array of admissions documents that get signed. These include everything from personal preferences information to insurance and financial disclosures, medical releases, selection of physicians etc. One of these documents contains the contract for payment for the services being rendered. Typically, the contract...

Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) is the government program that pays for nursing home care and long-term care in other settings for people who meet the stringent financial requirements. The application is filed once the non-excluded resources (assets) are below the specified levels.  Along with the application form itself, the applicant must supply numerous documents as proof...

The NJ Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS) has released Medicaid Communication #22-01 which provides the new numbers that are relevant to applications for Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) benefits.    22-01_Income_and_Resource_Standards_for_Medicaid_Only (1)      MLTSS pays for nursing home care (skilled nursing facilities), Assisted Living Facilities and...

Individuals who receive Medicaid to pay for nursing home care, assisted living or in-home care must meet stringent financial requirements. The non-excluded or inaccessible resources cannot exceed $2,000 at the time of application, and as of the first day of each successive calendar month, must be below that limit in order to maintain eligibility. What resources are “excluded” or...

The world can feel like a confusing, tangled mess when a loved one has dementia and needs to be discharged from a hospital with a major care plan in place. There are so many options, and hospital staff are in a huge hurry the minute the doctor signs the order clearing the patient for discharge. Staff speak in “shorthand,” using code words or acronyms that the patient’s family may not...

IT’S SPRING CLEANING TIME! DUST OFF YOUR OLD ESTATE PLAN   Spring time is when people often take a look around and start freshening things up. Home repairs, paint jobs, new furniture, new clothes, maybe a different haircut…… there’s something about seeing the new buds on trees and the blooming daffodils that gets us thinking this way. It’s the perfect time to pull out your old estate plan...