Medicaid Application Finish Line Shortened
In the past several years, especially since COVID, the Medicaid application process has become more lengthy and time consuming. More documents are now required in order to achieve Medicaid approval than ever before. The 16 page application is the easy part but I always tell people that you must have your ducks
Increase in Medicaid Divisor
As I have written about frequently in this blog, when applying for Medicaid an applicant must establish by documentary evidence that he or she did not transfer assets in the 5 year period directly before the requested start date for benefits. Any transfers made for which product or service of equal value
Estate Administration to Pursue Legal Claims – Part 3
In last week’s blog post I talked about a call from an attorney who needed help. He was handling a wrongful death claim on behalf of the children of a father who had died of injuries suffered in a car accident. I was able to get the son appointed administrator ad prosequendum
Happily Married or Something Else? Part 3
In this third post of 3, I continue the discussion about second marriages and Medicaid and more specifically how to handle a fraudulent marriage. Last week I explained that if we make every effort to get the documentation from an ex-spouse for the Medicaid application process, regulations provide that the application
Longtime Partners but Never Married (Part 5)
In last week’s post about Bill and Mary, I told you that we applied for a guardian to be appointed for each of them. The court approved their neighbor and friend, Nancy. Bill had sufficient assets to pay for his care for at least several years. Mary did not. By the time we were
Longtime Partners but Never Married (Part 4)
In my last 3 posts I have been telling you about the saga of Bill and Mary. First Bill had a stroke. Mary called concerned about how to care for him and still be able to afford to pay her bills. Most of the assets, including the house, are in Bill’s name. Should they
Medicaid When a Spouse Owns a Business – Part 2
In my blog post last week I wrote about a more frequent scenario we are seeing with married couple Medicaid applications. It’s one in which one or both spouses own a business from which they derive income. As I explained last week, Medicaid allows the healthy spouse to keep a certain amount
Medicaid When a Spouse Owns a Business – Part 1
If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that in the case of a married couple where only one spouse is applying for Medicaid, the healthy spouse, known as the community spouse, is entitled to keep a certain amount of countable assets. The assets of both spouses are
2022 Medicaid Numbers
Last month in this blog I updated you on some of the new Social Security and Medicare numbers for 2022. With a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 5.9% as a result of higher inflation, next year’s increase is the largest in some time. Many other federal programs are tied to the
On Credit Cards and Medicaid – Part 2
In last week’s post I told you about two calls I received regarding Medicaid. In each case the caller was concerned about how credit card charges on a Medicaid applicant’s card affects eligibility. A common misconception about Medicaid is that debts affect eligibility. Not true, at least in the sense that the State