Something to be aware of when you or a loved one is applying for Medicaid is the Medicaid gift penalty. If you or your loved one has given a substantial gift to someone in what is called the lookback period they can be subject to a penalty that will suspend their Medicaid benefits for a [...]
While Medicaid is a federal program that every American may qualify for the program is administered by the states. This means if you or an elderly loved one are considering moving to another state, they may experience a change in their Medicaid benefits due to the move. Asset and Income Requirements The type of services [...]
Medicare fraud occurs when a healthcare provider purposely files a claim for services Medicare does not cover. For example: A medical equipment vendor bills Medicare for equipment a patient never receives or a doctor bills Medicare for services or tests that were never performed. Using someone else's Medicare card to obtain medical services or supplies [...]
Many nursing home residents miss out on spending holidays and other special occasions with their families because they fear they will lose their Medicaid or Medicare if they leave the facility. The rules vary statewide, but in most cases a resident can leave a nursing home for a family visit and still keep their Medicaid [...]
Long term insurance costs depend on the options chosen by the applicant. The more options you choose, the higher the cost of your plan will be, but it will still be more affordable than the price of long term care in a nursing home without insurance. Recognizing that the premiums for long term care insurance [...]
Prenuptial Agreements: When it comes to Medicaid, a married couples assets combine to become marital property, regardless of any prenuptial agreement. In order to be eligible for Medicaid, a married couple will have to go through the spend-down process with consideration to their combined assets. Mandatory Estate Recovery: Based on federal law, recovery of Medicaid [...]
While reverse mortgages do not affect Medicare or social security income, they can affect local programs such as Medicaid. In Ohio, the proceeds from a reverse mortgage that is received in a lump sum will count toward eligibility. If you are someone that needs to be on Medicaid, “gifting” and additional cash flow may ruin [...]
Each individual state will have the opportunity to help protect Medicaid budgets by implementing Long-Term Care Insurance Policy plans. Requiring that benefits of qualifying insurance policies be paid before Medicaid benefits can be assessed will help to greatly reduce the burden on the Medicaid program. These policies will also allow individuals to protect a portion [...]
Medicaid, established by federal law, is administered by each state individually. Medicaid is considered a long term care payer of last resort for frail seniors, people with health problems, mental retardation or mental illness and those with both physical and developmental disabilities. Each state determines coverage of the costs of long term care and services. [...]
An annuity is a contract between you and your insurance company in which you agree to pay your insurance company a specified monetary amount and the company agrees to send you a monthly check for the remainder of your life. In regards to Medicaid eligibility, most states do not consider the purchase of annuity as [...]