Wednesday, May 6, 2009
CAN A SPOUSE KEEP THE MARITAL HOME IF THE OTHER SPOUSE ENTERS A LONG-TERM FACILITY?
Many families are concerned that if a spouse enters a long-term care facility, then the marital home will be eventually lost. Medicaid has no intention of evicting the at-home spouse (also known as the “community spouse”). Nor does Medicaid require the at-home spouse to sell the home and apply the proceeds toward long-term care costs. However, Medicaid can, under the veil of estate recovery, place a “lien” of claim on the subject premises. When the community spouse passes away or sells the house, then Medicaid can demand to be reimbursed for all monies expended on behalf of the ailing spouse.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
STATE MAY NOT RECOVER FROM SURVIVING SPOUSE’S ESTATE IF MEDICAID RECIPIENT HAD NO LEGAL INTEREST AT DEATH
The Supreme Court of Minnesota rules that Medicaid may not recover from the estate of a Medicaid recipient’s surviving spouse if, at the time of her death, the recipient did not possess a legal interest in the property being claimed. However, the court also finds that federal Medicaid law does not totally preclude recovery from the estate of a surviving spouse of a Medicaid recipient.
Dolores and Francis Barg had been married for 53 years when Mrs. Barg entered a nursing home in 2001. Once she entered the home and began receiving Medicaid benefits, Mrs. Barg’s guardian transferred her joint tenancy interest in the couple’s home to Mr. Barg, individually. Mrs. Barg died in January 2004 without leaving a probate estate and Mr. Barg passed away five months later. The county Medicaid agency then filed a claim against Mr. Barg’s estate for the cost of Medicaid services paid on Mrs. ... >> full
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
NEW WASHINGTON STATE LAW TREATS DOMESTIC PARTNERS AS MARRIED COUPLES FOR PURPOSES OF ESTATE RECOVERY
On March 12, 2008, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law House Bill 3104, extending 170 legal rights and responsibilities to couples in domestic partnerships (same- or opposite-sex relationships). Among the new responsibilities is that the state will treat surviving members of the couple the same as surviving spouses of married couples for purposes of estate recovery by Medicaid.
The new law, which takes effect June 12, 2008, prohibits recovery by Medicaid if the agency would not have been permitted to recover from a surviving spouse in similar circumstances.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
NEW MEDICAID LAW MEANS ADULT CHILDREN COULD BE ON HOOK FOR PARENTS’ NURSING HOME BILLS
The adult children of elderly parents in many states could be held liable for their parents’ nursing home bills as a result of the new Medicaid long-term care provisions scheduled to be voted on by the House of Representatives February 1. The children could even be subject to criminal penalties.
The 750-page Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 includes punitive new restrictions on the ability of the elderly to transfer assets before qualifying for Medicaid coverage of nursing home care. Essentially, the proposed law attempts to save the Medicaid program money by shifting more of the cost of long-term care to families and nursing homes.
One of the major ways it does this is by changing the start of the penalty period for transferred assets from the date of transfer, as is the case now, to the date when the individual would qualify for Medicaid coverage of nursing home ... >> full
Thursday, February 12, 2009
MEDICARE ENROLLMENT STARTS NOVEMBER 15, 2008
If you work with individuals over the age of 65, you may be getting
phone calls requesting help with Medicare questions. It’s that time,
once again, to make changes to Medicare options. According to CMS,
which is the government entity that oversees Medicare, the six weeks
from November 15, 2008 through December 31, 2008 is a hectic time of
the year otherwise known as the Annual Election Period (AEP.) Once a
year, Medicare allows enrollees to opt in or out of Medicare Part D and
Medicare Part C — otherwise know as Medicare Advantage Plans. Before we
get into what that means, some background is in order.
Medicare consists of four parts — Part A, Part B, Part C and part D.
The majority of Medicare enrollees have Part A and Part B. In addition
they may have an employer-sponsored supplement or a Medigap policy to
go along with ... >> full
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