Author: Linda Ershow-Levenberg

When an application for Medicaid benefits is filed with a County Board of Social Services in New Jersey, it may be many months before the applicant hears back from the caseworker who is processing the application. If the applicant is in a nursing home or is suffering with Alzheimers Disease or other dementias it is crucial that they have a representative such as a family member, agent under...

Back on May 29-30 I participated in the 3rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship in Arlington VA and followed up with blog posts about alternative approaches to guardianship around the world. Supported Decision-Making is a concept that is gaining traction in many places and certainly deserves careful consideration here in New Jersey. It’s more complicated than merely entering an...

You know by now that the New Jersey Department of Human Services has been developing a new Medicaid Long Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) program under its 2013 Comprehensive Medicaid Waiver. It’s still a work-in-progress. This program affects all elderly and disabled Medicaid applicants and Medicaid recipients who need  long-term care Medicaid services outside of nursing homes. Three...

I previously posted about the upcoming changes to the New Jersey Medicaid programs that pay for nursing home care and home and community-based services (HCBS) for people whose gross monthly income exceeds $2,163. This amount was formerly called the “income cap,” and people in that group could only receive Medicaid benefits in nursing homes. That was under the “Medically...

The New Jersey Supreme Court has issued a decision that will be very helpful to disabled children of retired NJ police and firefighters, called Saccone v Board of Trustees of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement  System (9/11/2014), http://caselaw.findlaw.com/nj-supreme-court/1677772.html Under the rules for the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS), upon the death of a...

It is axiomatic that aged individuals would prefer to remain in the comfort of their familiar surroundings rather than finish their lives in an institutional setting. This is the case whether the person lives in a mansion or a little apartment, in a house with their beloved  front porch or a home with their comforting tiny living room or sunny little back yard. Federal initiatives exist that...

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) was started in the 1970’s as a program of the federal government that was administered by local non-profit organizations all over the USA to provide a way for retired people to continue to use their vast knowledge and skills to benefit others. In fact both my grandfather and my uncle — retired printers from Barton Press Inc. of Newark and...

In 2000, the Social Security Administration began mailing annual benefit statements to all workers age 25 and up. The benefit statements show the posted earnings history and the retirement and disability benefits available to the worker and his or her dependents. Individuals unable to continue working due to disability and individuals thinking of retiring could easily see their potential...

A person with disabilities who is incapable of engaging in substantial gainful activity for self-support in the competititve workplace may be receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and the Medicaid benefits for health care that accompany the SSI.   http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dmahs/clients/medicaid/abd/index.html   The person may reside in the community, in an assisted living...

People who are responsible for the care of frail elderly relatives may be interested in a bill that has just passed the NJ Assembly and is headed to the state Senate for consideration. The bill is A2955. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2014/Bills/A3000/2955_R1.HTMA2955 The bill is designed to improve discharge planning for patients returning to their homes, and to decrease the frequency of...