Medicaid penalty imposed when life tenant received no proceeds of the home sale
A “life estate” in property is an interest that has a quantifiable value. If ownership of property can be thought of as giving the owner a “bundle of rights,” the life estate is a partial ownership of that bundle. For instance, the owner of property has the right to sell it, improve it, demolish it, rent it, give away a partial interest, and reside in it. The life...
Concurrent Title 38 Disability Compensation and DoD Retirement Benefits for Retirees
A few days ago, I was speaking at an assisted living care facility regarding Title 38 benefits (Department of Veterans Affairs). These discussions usually involve the adult children of World War II and Korean War veterans so they can have a basic understanding of what benefits their mother/father may be entitled to through the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). The elderly spouse of a...
What if the Medicaid home care services aren’t provided? part II
Previously I blogged about the problems faced by Medicaid-eligible people living in home and community-based settings when there isn’t a sufficient provider network to provide the services needed to maintain them in their residences, or there is substantial delay in getting the services started. The issue is that the government is obligated to provide the services in the...
Veterans Affairs Extends Presumption Period for Persian Gulf War Veterans to December 31, 2021
Beginning in 1994, Congress implemented a statutory provision, 38 U.S.C. 1117, for a presumption of service connection for undiagnosed chronic multi-symptom illnesses for veterans who served in the Southwest Area theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. Because the Persian Gulf War is still considered a statutorily defined period of war, 38 U.S.C. 1117 applies to more recent...
The NJ Estate tax may be going away, but you can still do important planning with a Will
On October 14th, Governor Christie signed a tax package into law which does away with the New Jersey estate tax and certain income taxes in exchange for a 23 cent per gallon increase in the gasoline tax so that the roads and bridges can be repaired. There’s still no estate tax on any assets that pass at death to your spouse. At the present time, the estate tax exclusion is only...
Reduction of Home Care Hours Under Medicaid Can’t be Arbitrary
New Jersey Family Care is the Medicaid a program that provides MLTSS — Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports. The home care program is called HCBS — Home and Community-Based Services. Once the applicant has been found eligible for Medicaid and is assigned a Medicaid case number, s/he must select a Managed Care Organization (MCO). S/he will then receive a visit from a Case...
Feds announce new Medicaid/Medicare rule banning arbitration clauses in nursing home contracts
Effective in November, 2016, mandatory arbitration clauses in nursing home admissions contracts will be prohibited for all nursing homes which accept federal Medicaid or Medicare dollars. This is a dramatic shift in the landscape which will enable injured parties to decide whether to pursue their negligence claims or other claims through the civil courts or through binding arbitration....
VA Appeals Modernization Act of 2016 and Related Bills
There are a number of bills that have been introduced both at the House and Senate to modify the procedure by which veterans or claimants can dispute a decision from the Department of Veterans Affairs .
H.R. 5620: VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016 was recently passed before the House of Representatives and will be voted on at the Senate. The link to GovTrack above...
Start your long term care planning before the reverse mortgage is used up
I have encountered the following crisis too many times. A frail elder is living at home, and since the home is safe and nice, is happily aging in place. Once the homeowner reaches the point of hiring a home health aide, they start using up their savings. At that point, they place a reverse mortgage on the home. This provides a significant amount of cash that can be drawn out month after...
Some trust assets may disqualify a Medicaid applicant
One friend tells another, “Put your assets in a trust so the nursing home won’t take them.” But this technique isn’t necessarily the “magic bullet.” The concept of countable assets and resources is broader under Medicaid law than it is under some other bodies of law. Placing your assets into a trust structure might avoid some problems — like probate...