Signing an Admissions Agreement on Behalf of Another (Part 2)
Signing an Admissions Agreement on Behalf of Another (Part 2) In my blog post last week, I talked about the importance of knowing what is in a long term care facility admissions agreement before you sign it. Because the resident being admitted is usually unable to handle his or her affairs,
Signing an Admissions Agreement on Behalf of Another (Part 1)
As I have written about often recently, the State has raised the bar significantly in terms of what an applicant needs to produce and explain in order to qualify for Medicaid. The level of increased scrutiny leads to many more failed applications and reapplications than even a few years
Nursing Home or Assisted Living (Part 2)
In my blog post last week I began to highlight the differences between nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Understanding the differences is especially important when one has limited assets and Medicaid benefits will be needed to pay for care at some point. The private pay rate for care for both
Nursing Home or Assisted Living (Part 1)
I’ve written a number of blog posts over the years about the failure to recognize the the differences between nursing homes and assisted living facilities. A number of recent cases in our office highlight the point and the mistakes that can be made, specifically with regard to the impact on
SECURE Act 2.0
At the end of 2019 Congress passed the SECURE Act which contained a number of changes to retirement accounts that I detailed in several blog posts in 2020 and then again in 2021 and 2022 as follow up regulations addressed some unanswered questions. Congress continued to tinker with IRAs and
Unexpected Medicaid Estate Recovery Hiccup (Part 3)
In this third post of three I finish telling you about the estate recovery problem we encountered with one of our clients. As I explained last week, when the client died and we asked the State what it was seeking to recover, what we got back was an amount
Unexpected Medicaid Estate Recovery Hiccup (Part 2)
Last week I started to tell you about the Medicaid estate recovery process in which the State attempts to recover from the estates of deceased Medicaid recipients, benefits it paid out. The process is usually pretty routine. The State runs a printout, which shows the dates and amounts
Unexpected Medicaid Estate Recovery Hiccup – Part 1
Medicaid's estate recovery law requires state Medicaid offices to attempt to recover paid benefits from the estates of Medicaid recipients after they die. New Jersey takes an expanded definition of estate, which includes probate assets (those passing by way of a will or otherwise thru the estate administration
2023 VA Aid and Attendance Numbers
In this week’s post I will review the updated numbers for 2023 for the VA program that provides a benefit to wartime veterans and their spouses. Known as the VA Aid and Attendance program, this benefit provides a special pension to eligible applicants who need long term care. The maximum pension
2023 Medicaid Numbers
Last month in this blog I updated you on some of the new Social Security and Medicare numbers for 2023. The recently announced cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 8.7% has resulted in another big jump in benefits for the second year. Many other federal programs are tied to the