nj medicaid Tag

Funding a first party Special Needs Trust with alimony, an inheritance, or a personal injury settlement can preserve those assets for benefit of a person who is receiving or applying for means-tested government benefits such as SSI, DDD or Medicaid/MLTSS. There is quite a process to establish the trust and then fund it with these assets. But that’s just the beginning — not the end....

The Medicaid program determines eligibility for a married applicant based on the amount of resources owned by the applicant and his spouse. If the community spouse dies first, the program will count as a resource the amount of assets that the surviving spouse is entitled to receive from the Estate to satisfy his claim for the “elective share.” If the individual fails to pursue his...

When a person applies for Medicaid under the NJ MLTSS program after having made gift transfers during the most recent 5 years, there will likely be a penalty period in which Medicaid will not pay for the care that this person needs (unless the transfers were exempt, such as transfers to a spouse or disabled child). This transfer penalty is mandated by federal law, and the greater the amount...

The need to place a beloved family member in a nursing home may be one of the most harrowing and heartbreaking decisions a person has to make. Not only is there a terrible sense of guilt and failure, but the sheer cost of a single month in a nursing home is staggering, and leaves the family with a bleak view of their future security. They feel vulnerable, because they are at the mercy of...

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...

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...

Self-settled special needs trusts must have a payback provision to be considered an exempt trust  under the federal and state Medicaid program. A Medicaid applicant under 65 can transfer his or her excess resources (assets) into a “special needs trust” and avoid the usual transfer penalties, but only if the trust meets all of the requirements of the federal and state law. Also, if...

New Jersey Medicaid has a program to deliver home and community-based services to people who meet the “institutional level of care” but would be able to remain at home as long as they receive an array of long term services and supports (LTSS). Examples of LTSS are: bathing, grocery shopping, meal preparation, feeding, dressing, safety supervision, and hands-on help with...

Every day, families are struggling to care for their loved ones at home. The patient may be young with severe disabilities, special needs and nursing needs, or may be aging and unable to live alone due to dementia, confusion or physical weakness. The patient may be dependent on complex durable medical equipment such as  a ventilator, and may require frequent attention from trained attendants,...

Special Needs Trusts are established with the assets belonging to a disabled person, and if they are properly structured and properly administered, the assets won’t be countable as “resources” and the distributions won’t be countable as “income.” This is particularly important when the beneficiary depends on Medicaid, SSI, DDD and other means-tested...