Medicare Premiums to Increase Dramatically in 2022
Medicare premiums are rising sharply next year, cutting into the large Social Security cost-of-living increase. The basic monthly premium will jump 15.5 percent, or $21.60, from $148.50 to $170.10 a month. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced...
Is It Possible to Put a Retirement Plan in a Special Needs Trust?
Retirement plans often make up a significant portion of the assets of parents of children with special needs, or of individuals who have become disabled as adults. In such cases, the question arises as to whether the retirement plan can be put into a special needs...
What It Means to Need ‘Nursing Home Level of Care’ for Medicaid Eligibility
When applying for Medicaid’s long-term care coverage, in addition to the strict income and asset limits, you must demonstrate that you need a level care typically provided in a nursing home. Whether you are applying for nursing home coverage or through a Medicaid...
Closing of Social Security Field Offices Disrupted SSI Benefits for Thousands, Lawsuit Charges
Plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) might describe it as an open-and-shut case. When the SSA closed its field offices at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it remained open for the purposes of denying benefits. But,...
Who Makes Health Care Decisions When You Can’t?
Being able to make health care decisions for ourselves is so important to us, but what happens if you become incapacitated and are unable to voice your opinion? If you don’t have a health care proxy or guardian in place, state law chooses who can make those...
Medicaid Protections for the Healthy Spouse
Medicaid law provides special protections for the spouses of Medicaid applicants to make sure the spouses have the minimum support needed to continue to live in the community while their husband or wife is receiving long-term care benefits, usually in a nursing home....
Hiring a Caregiver: Should You Employ One Yourself or Go Through an Agency?
For those aging in Kansas City, we are blessed with many wonderful senior living communities. However, some seniors do prefer to stay at home as long as possible rather than move into an elder care community such as assisted living. For many families, this means...
Return of Transferred Funds to Community Spouse Means Institutionalized Spouse Can Qualify for Medicaid
A New Jersey appeals court holds that the state cannot impose a penalty period against a Medicaid applicant whose daughter returned transferred property to the non-institutionalized spouse. L.C. v. Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (N.J. Super. Ct.,...
When My Dad Applies for Medicaid, Will His New Wife’s Assets Be Counted Even Though They Have Kept Their Assets Separate?
Under the Medicaid rules, when one member of a married couple applies for benefits their combined assets and income must be reported to determine the eligibility of the nursing home spouse. However, there is an exception that is often used in cases of late, short-term...
Should Your Agent, Trustee, Successor Trustee Also Be a Beneficiary?
Written By: Evie Curtis – Development Director, Assured Trust Company It happened again. The conversation that starts with, “BUT, it’s my inheritance.” My reply, “BUT, it’s not your money. It belongs to Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle ….” It is the time when families have that...
Nursing Home Did Not Prove That Transfers from Resident to Agent Under a POA Were Fraudulent
An Ohio appeals court rules that a nursing home failed to prove that assets transferred from a nursing home resident to her agent under a power of attorney were fraudulent transfers because the agent testified credibly that she was acting according to the resident’s...
State Bans on Mandatory Hospitalization Requirements Do Not Apply to LTC Policies Already in Effect
The Sixth Circuit holds that long-term care policies purchased by residents of Ohio and Florida remained in force continuously from their effective dates, so they were not affected by both states’ subsequent ban on long-term care policies requiring a hospital stay...
The Attorney’s Role in Medicaid Planning
Do you need an attorney for even "simple" Medicaid planning? This depends on your situation, but in most cases, the prudent answer would be "yes." The social worker at your mother's nursing home assigned to assist in preparing a Medicaid application for your mother...
In 2022, Social Security Beneficiaries Will See the Biggest Increase in 39 Years
The year was 1983: The U.S. invaded Granada. A gallon of gas cost 96 cents. Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video premiered. That year was also the last time that Social Security recipients saw a cost-of-living increase steeper than the one just announced for 2022. This...
8 Tips for Having ‘The Talk’ with Aging Parents
During the holidays, most are blessed to spend time with loved ones...including and especially an aging parent. While this is a time for celebration, it is also a chance to really see how your aging loved one is doing. How is his/her memory? Are they able to take care...