DIC Claim Appeal and Administrative Efficiency – St. Paul Pension Management Center
Last week, the St. Paul Pension Management Center granted on appeal the surviving spouse of a veteran Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). The issue on appeal involved a dependency status question when the marriage lasted less than one year. While marriage for one year is the normal predicate question for spousal status, in this case “status” was satisfied under 38 C.F.R....
Unpublished Opinion from Fed. Cir. Addressing Lack of “Class Relief” Under Title 38
Last week, we published a short article concerning the Yale Veterans Clinic’s petition under the All Writs Act in Monk v. McDonald. In the ensuing week, numerous websites have published articles about this petition, to include the New York Times (accessible at April 7, 2015 New York Times Article).
In addition to press articles, a number of veterans (to include clients) have emailed me...
Family Estate Planning to Protect Children with Special Needs (part II)
Parents of children with special needs are typically aware that their child may need to be financially eligible for important governmental programs through Medicaid, SSI or the DDD. Under these programs, there is an limit on the amount of assets the child can have. These parents will often consider (1) leaving the child’s share of the estate in a supplemental needs trust, or (2) not...
Project on Government Oversight (POGO) Article on a Fink Rosner Veteran/Client
On October 6, 2014, David Hilzenrath, an editor for Project on Government Oversight (POGO), published a lengthy and comprehensive article on a veteran the firm began representing last year. The claim involved a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical malpractice claim under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 that has been pending at different levels of the VA adjudication process since 2006. At the time...
Critical timing with Lawsuit settlements and Special Needs Trusts
A person who receives Medicaid or SSI (Supplemental Security Income) can not have more than $2,000 in countable, available resources while they receive these benefits. There are also limitations on their monthly income, and things that don’t seem like “income” can still be counted as such. If the person is under 65 and is about to receive a lawsuit settlement, it is well...
It could happen here — wages paid for caregiver services can be treated as gifts
A recent appellate case in Michigan involved a Medicaid applicant who was paying a private home caregiver during the years just preceding his Medicaid application. The employee was not related to him. He paid a rate that was reasonable and necessary to maintain him at home. However, there was no advance written contract for the work to be done. When she applied for Medicaid benefits, all of...
Despite the JIMMO settlement, Medicare benefits are being prematurely terminated
Back in January 2013 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) settled a class action lawsuit called Jimmo v Sebelius concerning premature cutoffs of skilled care benefits under Medicare Part A. The problem was that patients in skilled care facilities after hospitalizations, who were placed there for skilled nursing and rehabilitation, were finding that their benefits were being cut...
Advocates for the Aged – upcoming events
If you are active in the social services or political action fields concerning issues that affect the aged members of our society. you may be interested to attend these upcoming programs.The White House Conference on Aging is holding three regional forums in New Jersey this year – Friday May 12th in East Windsor, Wednesday June 10th in Cherry Hill, and Friday June 26th in Whippany. See...
Yale Veterans Clinic files Writ Petition Requesting Certification of Class Action
As documented by various news organizations, the Yale University Veterans Legal Services Clinic has filed a petition for writ of mandamus regarding the delay in adjudication on appeal for a Vietnam veteran, Mr. Conley F. Monk, before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). While petitions for a writ of mandamus before the CAVC are filed and denied on a daily basis by the CAVC, Mr....
Medicaid estate recovery liens often take people by surprise
On March 24th, PBS news hour had a segment called “The Medicaid Bill that doesn’t go away when you die.” www.pbs.org. The program described the impact of estate recovery liens which are pursued by State Medicaid Programs. Estate recovery is required by federal law in 42 USC 1396p. The New Jersey lien statute is at N.J.S.A. 30:4D-7.2(a)(2). The lien is imposed after death...