State issues guidance on Right to Privacy in Residential Spaces for Medicaid recipients
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...
Careful Consideration Should Go into Making Decisions Regarding Nursing Home Placement
If you need to select a nursing home for a loved one, there are several factors you should take into consideration.
Tell All of Your Friends — Open Enrollment Under the Affordable Care Act Starts February 15th!
The Biden-Harris administration has just announced that they are creating a new open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act. This will be for three months to start February 15th. The announcement is exciting. There are still way too many American going without medical insurance. Here’s the press...
What’s a Virtual Visitation Coordinator?
The covid-19 pandemic has produced many new occupational categories. One of them is the “virtual visitation coordinator,” a role that’s encouraged for New Jersey’s nursing homes. Executive Order 20-026 in Section I.7iv (at pages 4-5) describes the function and responsibilities of this...
Limited Visitation for nursing home residents ALLOWED at end of life AND Certain transitional Situations
Since early in the pandemic there have been strict rules that bar in-person visits within nursing care facilities. A client spoke with me recently asking about the parameters for the end-of-life exception to the restrictive policy. The State has adopted a policy, but each facility sets the hours and procedures. Facilities are classified according to their “outbreak...
Adult Adoption is Some Very Happy Estate Planning
A few months ago I was able to do something a little different for an Elder Law attorney. I got to put through an Adult Adoption of an individual who essentially was a “child” to a couple but was not officially so. Doing this had some very strong upside for the couple’s estate planning in...
Ideas to help your parents age safely at home
“Aging in place” is what most people want. Remaining in the community is a high priority goal for most elders. The challenge is that there might be many needs to be met to achieve this goal. Parents and children need to talk to each other about aging-related issues so that the parents can...
New Jersey provides portal for complaints about Nursing Home Care
To say that the care-delivery system in New Jersey’s nursing homes in 2020 has been fraught with problems and perils is, of course, an understatement. Certain facilities are just now beginning to admit new residents, and many new procedures for infection control and care delivery have to be put in place. The NJ Attorney General announced on April 16th that he is embarking on an...
NJ Medicaid confirms that CARES payments won’t interrupt benefits
Previously we reported on concerns about whether the $1200 per person payments or the $600 unemployment enhancements that would be arriving via the CARES ACT would be counted as income or a resource which would affect the means-tested benefits being received under New Jersey’s Medicaid (NJ FamilyCare) programs. We’re happy to report that the Director of DMAHS has released a...