Another Medicaid Cautionary Tale – Part 2
In my blog post last week I told you about John’s call to our office. John had made several unsuccessful attempts to obtain Medicaid for his mom who was in a nursing facility. He called because he had been sued by the nursing home where his mom had been residing. The facility was
Another Medicaid Cautionary Tale – Part 1
We received a call some weeks ago from a caller named John, whose mother was in a nursing facility. He had attempted several times to qualify her for Medicaid. Each attempt was unsuccessful. After the last unsuccessful attempt he took his mother home to “regroup”. John called our office when he received a summons
The Types of Long Term Care Facilities and Why it Matters – Part 1
Searching for care options for a loved one can be very confusing. When you add to the mix the possibility that there may not be enough money to cover the cost of that care - in other words when government benefits such as Medicaid may be needed - it adds another
Is There Ever an Easy Medicaid Application? Part 4
In last week’s post I continued to tell you about a Medicaid application which our client characterized as easy but turned out to be not so much. One check deposited into an account we were aware of, then led us to 2 other accounts in another bank that we had
Is There Ever an Easy Medicaid Application? Part 3
Continuing the topic of my last 2 blog posts, I was discussing a snag we hit with a Medicaid application - the discovery of at least one account of which our clients had no recollection. When we identify the bank in these situations, that has always been enough for the bank
Is There Ever an Easy Medicaid Application? Part 2
In my post last week I began to tell you about an “easy” Medicaid application that suddenly became not so easy. A deposit in one of the applicant’s known accounts led to the revelation that there had been at least one other account unbeknownst to the applicant’s daughter. What this means is
Is There Ever an Easy Medicaid Application? Part 1
When I speak with people for the first time about the Medicaid application process - specifically about the 5 year look back and the amount of documentation required - they often tell me that in their case it should be easy. “Mom never had much,” they’ll tell me. But is that necessarily
The Home and Not Much Else (Part 3)
In this week’s post, I continue to discuss a common fact pattern we see in our office. The case involves someone who needs long term care, doesn’t have enough to pay for it but does have a house. As I explained last week, the available government benefit programs don’t always cover the
How Not to Lose Medicaid (Part 5)
In last week’s post I explained that when the non-Medicaid spouse dies, the Medicaid spouse must receive at least a minimum amount of assets from the deceased spouse. This is known as the elective share and in New Jersey is determined to be 1/3 of the deceased spouse’s estate less what
How Not to Lose Medicaid (Part 2)
In my post last week I explained that once a Medicaid application is approved, everything isn’t on autopilot. What I mean is that you must be vigilant so as not to lose the benefits once you have them. That can happen a number of ways such as a change in circumstance.