Medicaid Long-Term Care: How Does Medicaid Treat Income?
Nursing home residents on Medicaid generally must pay all their income, minus certain deductions, to the nursing home. These deductions include the following: a monthly personal needs allowance (this amount varies by state, currently ranging anywhere from $30 to more...
How Much Money Can You Have and Still Qualify for Medicaid?
In order to be eligible for Medicaid benefits a nursing home resident may have no more than $2,000 in "countable" assets (the figure may be somewhat higher in some states). Note that Medicaid is a state-run program, so the rules are somewhat different in each state,...
What Is Medicaid?
Medicaid (called "KanCare" in Kansas, "MO HealthNet" in Missouri, "Medi-Cal" in California, "MassHealth" in Massachusetts, and "TennCare" in Tennessee....to name a few) is a joint federal-state program that provides health insurance coverage to low-income children,...
How Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person Program Aids Seniors
Congress established the Medicaid Money Follows the Person (MFP) Program to provide states with federal funding to help seniors who are receiving care in institutions but want to live at home. However, it is not a permanent program and is due to expire in September...
Feds Ease Enrollment Process for Medicare Savings Programs
Many Medicare recipients struggle to make ends meet. Special savings programs administered by each state can help cover certain Medicare costs, such as premiums and deductibles. The criteria one must meet to qualify for this assistance, known as Medicare Savings...
Can Alzheimer’s Disease Be Prevented?
While new knowledge becomes available each year about promising potential treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, recent research is also focusing on the prevention of the disease or mitigation of its symptoms. Newly developing treatment techniques and technology may...
TSA Hotline for Air Travelers With Disabilities or Medical Conditions
Concerned about negotiating the airport security checkpoint with a frail elderly or disabled traveler? Now there is a dedicated hotline that travelers with disabilities or medical conditions and their families can call with questions or concerns about the security...
What Are the Different Types of Adult Day Care?
Adult day care, also known as adult day services, includes programs that assist seniors in completing activities of daily living, such as bathing, going to the bathroom, and getting dressed. Adult day services also help older adults remain social as they age, an...
Who Gets Social Security Survivor Benefits?
When loved ones pass away, there are lots of considerations, including what happens to their Social Security. The decedent’s payments need to be stopped, but survivor benefits may be available to the spouse or, in certain cases, children. When a Social Security...
Notarizing Documents for Seniors With a Dementia Diagnosis
This article is written by Phillip W. Browne, VP of Communications of the National Notary Association An Alzheimer’s or dementia diagnosis can be a challenging journey for the person and family alike. When the diagnosis occurs, a ticking clock begins on the timeline...
Staffing in Long-Term Care Communities: What To Know
For residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, lack of sufficient staff has become an increasingly urgent concern in recent years. While we in the Kansas City area are blessed to have many well-staffed communities, shortages in this critical area...
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and the Need for Care
Most long-term care involves assisting with basic personal needs rather than providing medical care. The long-term care community measures personal needs by looking at whether an individual requires help with basic activities. ADLs Meaning ADLs, or activities of daily...
The Role of Assisted Living Facility Staff
Seven out of 10 people will require assisted living care in their lifetime. In 1995, the National Center for Assisted Living created National Assisted Living Week to shed light on the critical role that assisted living communities play in many older adults’ lives....
Can Life Insurance Affect Your Medicaid Eligibility?
When applying for Medicaid many people often forget about life insurance. But depending on the type of life insurance and the value of the policy, it can count as an asset. This may affect your eligibility for Medicaid. What Is Medicaid? Am I Eligible? Medicaid is a...
Medicare Part D Enrollees May Pay Less for These 10 Drugs
Are you among the roughly 50 million seniors with a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan? You may end up paying less for certain medications come 2026 – and beyond. Negotiating Prescription Drug Costs The cost of brand-name prescription medications has increased...