Elder Law News

An applicant for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care is not eligible if the available resources exceed a certain level. The regulations for New Jersey Medicaid specify how joint accounts are treated: “All funds in the account are resources to the individual, so long as he or she has unrestricted access to the funds (that is, an “or” account) regardless of their source. When...

Eligibility for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care or community care is all about the numbers. Starting January 1, 2018, the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA) for the community spouse of a married Medicaid applicant is being raised to $123,600 (from $120,900 in 2017).  This is the amount of countable available resources that the community spouse can have as of the date they want...

Veterans and their families may be aware that property tax exemption is available for 100% service-connected disabled veterans and disabled veterans suffering with certain specific severe conditions. The state law is found at N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.30.The law also makes these exemptions available to the veteran’s surviving spouse:  ” b. (1) The surviving spouse of any such citizen and...

It almost goes without saying that if your loved one is admitted to a health care facility, somebody outside of the institution needs to immerse themselves in the treatment & care planning process, read the chart on an ongoing basis, know what’s being prescribed, speak with the care providers or treatment team frequently, and demand answers to reasonable questions about What is being...

House and Senate Republicans have approved their plans to reform the tax code and are currently in a conference committee. The House legislation calls for ending the medical expense deduction (MED). This proposed change will cause major disruption to individuals and families trying to privately pay for the catastrophic costs of long-term services and supports (LTSS). The MED has been in the...

Today I had the great fortune to participate in a case in which a person who has been under guardianship for six years had their capacity restored in full.  This kind of situation doesn’t often happen, but it’s really fabulous. This case started in 2010 when the parent and sibling came to me in an emergency to report that their loved one who I’ll call “X” had...

A person who has been appointed as administrator of an estate or Executor under a Last Will and Testament is appointed to their role by either the Surrogate’s Court or Surrogate’s office. I’ve previously blogged about the steps to take if a fiduciary wants to quit the job. Previously, it was necessary to file a formal Complaint in Superior Court on notice to the...

After the Governor and the Assembly leader resolved their Fourth of July Weekend Budget Kerfuffle, some positivity came out of it for Medicaid long-term care providers and beneficiaries. Nursing home reimbursements would be increased by $10.5 million, shifting funds from Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS). This would be $5.25 million of state funds with an identical federal match....

Generally speaking, the Medicaid program is the payor of last resort. If an individual is eligible for Medicare as his or her primary health insurance, Medicare would be the primary payor for medical needs, and Medicaid would become the secondary payor for any remainder. If an individual maintains a “medi-gap” insurance policy, that policy would be secondary and Medicaid would be...

“What on earth is a QIT?” Under the New Jersey Medicaid program, there are some extra hoops to jump through when the applicant’s gross monthly income from all sources exceeds $2,205.00. This number is colloquially referred to as the “income cap,” and up until late 2014, it created a hard barrier to eligibility for home and community-based Medicaid services for...