Blog: News & Insights

I recently came across information about special programs events that may be of interest to you if you are caring for or assisting a family member who has special needs. The events took place in November in the greater Essex-Morris-Union county areas but they are the beginning of what will be many programs on these issues that will be run through the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest....

http://medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/eligibility/downloads/2015-ssi-and-spousal-impoverishment-standards.pdf Starting January 1, 2015, the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA) for the community spouse of a married Medicaid applicant is being raised to $119,220 from $117,240.00.  This is the amount of countable available resources that the community spouse can...

We recently began representation of a Korean War veteran who had appealed a denial of service connection for renal cancer causally-related to benzene exposure.  During the initial triage of claim and legal memorandum to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board), we had briefed a few issues regarding Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998) and the C&P examiner’s misreading of a...

On the heels of DoD Secretary Hagel and DA Secretary McHugh’s recent guidance concerning applications for discharge upgrades when there is an underlying issue concerning post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the Army Review Boards Agency (ARBA) has launched a new website devoted to the issue.   The webpage can be accessed at ARBA Discharge Upgrade/PTSD. The above webpage explains both...

If the State Medicaid program cuts your hours of service, appeal, appeal, appeal. NJ Medicaid  administers certain of its home care services through a program called the Personal Preference Program. The number of allocated hours of service is decided by the Division of Medial Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS). Personal Care Assistant (PCA) services are provided to the participant at a set...

Rarely a day goes by where a veteran — some days a baker’s dozen — does not contact me via email (sdirector@FRE-L.com) or telephone ((732) 382-6070) concerning issues they are having with the Department of Veterans Affairs.  These contacts come in from all geographic areas (to include out-of-country) and range in issue from initial claim processing confusion to issues...

On December 4, 2014, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims issued a decision in Gazaille v. McDonald (hyperlinked).  The majority held that the claimant, the wife of a deceased Vietnam War veteran, was not entitled to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) because she did not meet the statutory requirements (38 U.S.C. § 1304) or regulatory requirements (38 C.F.R. § 3.54(c)(2)) of being...

Tuesday evening I was privileged to participate in a lively panel at the JCC in Scotch Plains that was answering  questions on a wide range of elder care/ elder law issues. The panelists were terrific — Michele Morandi, D.O., geriatric physician based in Union and affiliated with Center for Hope Hospice https://centerforhope.com/ ; Chris Kaiser, MSW, LCSW, Director of the Older Adult...

If you apply for Medicaid benefits to pay for long-term care in a nursing home, assisted living or at home, you have to be prepared for the grueling 5-year look-back, a process that can leave you in a quagmire as you search for answers to the most minute questions about the personal financial lifestyle of your household or the applicant you’re assisting. Medicaid is now being referred to...

Back on June 5, 2014 I posted a blog called Advance Directives for Lifestyle. My concept was that as we age, we have to think about how our life will be managed by a third party when we aren’t so capable any more, and we should build more instructions into our documents to guide our agents regarding our preferences. Now I have ideas on strengthening the Durable Power of Attorney to build...