2022 Medicaid Numbers
Last month in this blog I updated you on some of the new Social Security and Medicare numbers for 2022. With a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 5.9% as a result of higher inflation, next year’s increase is the largest in some time. Many other federal programs are tied to the
Married Couple Medicaid Redetermination Challenges – Part 2
Last week I started talking about Medicaid’s redetermination process. Pretty much every county Medicaid office is now sending out annual redetermination notices. As I said last week, married couple cases can be especially tricky. That’s because even after Medicaid is approved, the healthy spouse must keep certain rules in mind. Let’s first review some of the
Medicaid and Same Sex Couples
Since I wrote about the issue of same sex partnerships and Medicaid 4 years ago in this blog (February 1, 2010), much has happened in the area of same sex marriage. Last fall, the United States Supreme Court struck down a 1996 federal law, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
New Medicaid and VA Figures for 2014
Many of the programs that, as elder law attorneys, we deal with daily, such as VA Aid and Attendance and Medicaid, are adjusted annually to account for changes in the cost of living ie. inflation. The Social Security Administration announced that Social Security recipients will receive a 1.5% in benefits starting
How Does New Jersey Medicaid Treat a Married Couple’s Assets?
Medicaid combines both spouses’ assets together in determining eligibility. The healthy or community spouse is allowed to keep a portion of the countable assets after the couple spends down for Medicaid eligibility. This division of assets is known as the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA) and the maximum amount in
What is the CSRA and How is it Calculated? (Part 2)
Last week we were discussing the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA) and how to calculate it. I also explained that a mistake in determining that number can be quite costly. Here’s how. Using my example from last week, let’s say husband, Joe is in the nursing home and wife, Mary has
What is the CSRA and How is it Calculated? (Part 1)
CSRA stands for community spouse resource allowance, that amount of money that a healthy spouse can keep and still qualify the ill spouse for Medicaid. Sounds simple but if misunderstood and misapplied, it can cost the healthy spouse tens of thousands of dollars in lost assets and additional nursing home