Special Needs News

By now you know that you can start shopping for affordable health insurance at www.healthcare.gov, where you will learn about the insurance policies available on the New Jersey exchange as well as whether you qualify for government subsidies to offset the cost of insurance, and if you qualify for the Medicaid expansion. Considering the catastrophic cost of even one uninsured trip to an...

If you can no longer sustain employment due to severe, medically-determinable impairments that have lasted for a year or can be expected to last for a year or more, you may be thinking about applying for Social Security benefits (“SSDI” or “Title II”). Initial applications are filed online now. You start with http://www.ssa.gov and follow the instructions to...

Reverse Mortgages or home equity conversion mortgages are a type of loan which enables a homeowner to convert the equity in their home to cash that can be used for expenses.  For frail elderly people or individuals with disabilities who are running out of funds and need to pay for an array of services that are needed so they can remain in their house (such as home health aides), tapping into...

Frail elderly (over 65) and disabled individuals in New Jersey who reside in the community and require substantial assistance with their Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s) have opportunities to obtain home health care and an array of other benefits through the Medicaid Program. Gross monthly income presently cannot exceed $2,130, and there are resource limits as well for eligibility...

The Federal government shut down on October 1, 2013, and certain aspects of the Social Security Disability process will be affected because the work of many of the SSA employees is suspended Individuals who are receiving benefits will continue to receive their payments. Initial applications and Requests for Reconsideration will continue to be processed at the SSA Field Offices and by the State...

Applications for new government -supported health insurance plans are online today. Some people refer to the Affordable Care Act as “Obamacare.” If you have no health insurance or you cannot afford the premiums on insurance offered by your employer, go to http://www.healthcare.gov   to start your investigation. You will set up an account and a password. You’ll be asked to...

P.K. vs Union County Board of Social Services and DMAHS OAL docket no. HMA7069-09N, Final Agency Decision issued March 4, 2010 Immediate, nonassignable, irrevocable IRA annuity, purchased by the community spouse during the spend-down period, naming the State of New Jersey as the 1st remainder beneficiary to the extent of Medicaid benefits paid for the institutionalized spouse, is not an...

Duffy vs Velez, (U.S. District Court) Case no. 3:09-cv-05539-AET-LHG. This was an  action filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the A.D.A.), (Westlaw citation is Duffy v. Velez, 2010 WL 503037, (D.N.J.,2010)) seeking an accommodation for the plaintiff, specifically,  waiver of the income cap in the Global Options Medicaid Program so that Mr. Duffy could reside in assisted living...

Estate of M.M. vs Division of Medical Assistance & Health Services & Union County Board of Social Services, OAL docket no. HMA 13911-08 Final Agency Decision May 2009 adopting the ALJ Initial Decision, reverses County Board’s action that penalized pre-eligibility transfers of assets and that denied eligibility on the basis that the Medicaid applicant wasn’t a resident of New Jersey at...

J.P. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, 392 N.J.Super. 295, 920 A.2d 707 (N.J.Super.A.D.,2007). After a supplemental needs trust was created for a physically disabled wife and husband was ordered in divorce decree to pay $1550 per month in alimony to trust, county board of social services notified wife that the alimony would be considered income, for Medicaid purposes, to...