Category: Medicaid

Revocable trusts are a very popular and useful estate planning tool. But the trust will be ineffective if you do not actually place your assets in the trust.

Medicare Part C Coverage and Enrollment: What You Need to Know   Last time, we discussed Medicare coverage and enrollment in general. Now let’s look at Medicare Part C in greater detail. What Does Medicare Part C Offer? As you’ll recall, Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage, is administered by private insurance companies …

What You Need to Know About Medicaid’s Look-Back Period When a person applies for Medicaid to pay for long-term care, their eligibility depends upon meeting Medicaid’s asset limit. That is, a successful applicant cannot have more assets than the limit established by Medicaid. What is the Medicaid look-back period? The Medicaid look-back period was created …

Medicaid, Nursing Home Costs, and the Rumor Mill One-half of all Americans who reside in nursing homes receive assistance from Medicaid to pay for their care. This is not surprising, given the extraordinarily high cost of long-term care. The real surprise is that half of all Americans don’t seek Medicaid assistance to cover nursing home …

Can You Receive Medicaid Assistance to Pay for In-Home Care?   One-half of all nursing home residents in the United States receive assistance from Medicaid to pay for their care. Given that many people would prefer to live at home, and in-home care is typically less expensive than nursing home care, it would seem to make …

Managing a Medicaid Crisis Situation In the District of Columbia, the median annual cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home was more than $109,000 in 2018, while the cost of a private room exceeded $116,000.  Depending on the nursing home in question, and the level of care required, costs can be considerably higher. …

Planning for Long-Term Care: The Difference Between Medicare and Medicaid Many people are confused about the difference between Medicare and Medicaid as it pertains to the challenge of paying for expensive long-term care. This is not surprising. The two programs sound similar and both provide for medical care. Let’s start with a brief definition of …

Although Medicaid limits the assets that the spouse of a Medicaid applicant can retain, the income of the “community spouse” is not counted in determining the Medicaid applicant’s eligibility. Only income in the applicant’s name is counted. Thus, even if the community spouse is still working and earning, say, $5,000 a month, she will not …

The basic rule for Medicaid Eligibility in the state of Maryland is that (except for married couples sharing a room and applying for medical assistance within 6 months of entry) , an applicant may have no more than $2,500 in countable assets in his or her own name.  But, in most instances the home will …

Should a person who is terminally ill be able to control how and when they die? This issue has received national attention recently due to the well publicized cases of Brittany Maynard, a 29 year old woman diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor who moved to Oregon (one of only three states with statutes allowing …