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The Medicaid (i.e., Medical Assistance) process is very complex. At its core is the issue of making sure certain asset levels are in place. In order to be eligible for Medicaid, the applicant must have no more than $2,500 in countable assets. But, often the issue is, when do you need to have $2,500 in countable assets?
We have another nursing home win! In this matter, the nursing home worked with the client (before we were hired) to file the Medicaid application for her disabled husband. Client knew little of what was involved with the Medicaid application and relied on the nursing home to complete the application and file it. During the application process…
We just won another Medical Assistance appeal issue. In this case, Medical Assistance was initially denied for nursing home benefits and the son of the Medical Assistance applicant was handed an invoice from the nursing home for over $100,000. Needless to say, he was upset. We were able to successfully argue that that the transactions…
A very common situation for my clients (or potential clients) find themselves in is the chaotic situation of transferring their parent from a hospital to an area nursing home for rehabilitation. It is in this situation, when emotions are high, people are tired, that the nursing home will, at the last second, wants the son or daughter…
Medicaid Spousal Impoverishment Figures for 2012 The new minimum community spouse resource allowance (CSRA) is $22,728, and the new maximum CSRA is $113,640. The new maximum monthly maintenance needs allowance is $2,841. The minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance remains $1,838.75. This has yet to be implemented for Maryland. It is expected to come out shortly. It is unclear…
According to the newly published survey by Metlife, the average cost of long term care continues to rise. According to the report the average room nursing home rates rose nationwide by 4.4 percent to $87,235 a year or $239 a day, while assisted living facility costs jumped 5.6 percent on average to $41,724 a year…
A good portion of our clients engaged in virtually no planning (before they came to our office) when faced with a parent or loved one entering a nursing home. Even in this late stage of the game, there are plenty of opportunities to protect a parent’s or loved ones’ assets from nursing home related costs. …
What is cited below is another jurisdictional case which illustrates the limits of what a State may do to accomplish a Medical Assistance (i.e. Medicaid) recovery on community spouses’ assets. In this case, an attempt was made to put a Medicaid lien on the estate of a recently deceased community spouse at a time when the…
A Power of Attorney Holder’s Breach of Fiduciary Duty There is no question that a financial power of attorney holds what is called a “fiduciary duty” to act in the best interests of the grantor. But what if that power of attorney holder breaches that duty and takes “mom’s” funds for herself? What if her…
Metlife recently released their study confirming that nursing and assisted living rates increased nationwide between 2009 and 2010. For Maryland, in the Baltimore region nursing home costs for semi-private rooms ranged from $6,200/month to $8,742/month. Nursing home costs for private rooms ranged from $6,510/month to $11,005/month. Statewide, assisted living costs in 2010 ranged from $2,800/month…