Blog: News & Insights

The Biden-Harris administration has just announced that they are creating a new open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act. This will  be for three months to start February 15th. The announcement is exciting. There are still way too many American going without medical insurance. Here’s the press release.   The online portal to find...

Some 2021 numbers are now published for New Jersey Medicaid’s MLTSS program. These apply to people who are applying for benefits under the MLTSS/ Medicaid program for long-term care services. These numbers relate to the resource limit for a married applicant and spouse, the income “cap” that would trigger a need to set up a...

How often do we put off taking care of something that we know we should do? Would, coulda, shoulda! That’s a sad conclusion! There can come a time that a person no longer has the options he had at an earlier time. In some circumstances, statutes of limitations will cut off the ability to pursue a remedy. Or death could be the thing that cuts...

A colleague just told me about this situation. It’s a perfect example of why you should see a lawyer to check-up your estate plan from time to time. Decedent’s Last Will and Testament appointed 3 executors, all of whom predeceased her.  The estate’s attorney helped the decedent’s grandchild file the application at the County...

The covid-19 pandemic has produced many new occupational categories. One of them is the “virtual visitation coordinator,” a role that’s encouraged for  New Jersey’s nursing homes. Executive Order 20-026 in Section I.7iv (at pages 4-5) describes the function and responsibilities of this person. Of course, this role may...

Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 20-026 contains the rules for visitation in skilled nursing facilities, among other issues. Section III(4)(c)(3) provides in-person visitation opportunity for people who are deemed to be “essential caregivers.” What’s that all about? An “essential caregiver” is ” an individual who was previously...

You may not be aware of it, but the State of New Jersey has an “information hub” pertaining to Covid-19 issues. You can sign up to be on its email list so that you receive regular updates. If you go to the hub site and scroll down on the home page you’ll find the sign-up box.  For those who are watching over the care of loved...

Since early in the pandemic there have been strict rules that bar in-person visits within nursing care facilities. A client spoke with me recently asking about the parameters for the end-of-life exception to the restrictive policy.  The State has adopted a policy, but each facility sets the hours and procedures. Facilities are classified according to their “outbreak status,” which...

A few months ago I was able to do something a little different for an Elder Law attorney. I got to put through an Adult Adoption of an individual who essentially was a “child” to a couple but was not officially so. Doing this had some very strong upside for the couple’s estate planning in light of New Jersey’s Inheritance...

Applicants for MLTSS/Medicaid need to be clinically eligible as well as financially eligible in order to receive payment for services. Financial eligibility is within the applicant’s control — usually — but to get the proof of clinical eligibility that’s required by the program, a “Pre-Admission Screening” or...