Signing an Admissions Agreement on Behalf of Another (Part 4)
In last week’s post I distinguished the terms “personal guarantor” and “responsible party” which are found in most long term care facility contracts. This week I’ll explain why they are so important, in light of the increasing difficulty in obtaining Medicaid benefits under the government programs that cover long term care
Signing an Admissions Agreement on Behalf of Another (Part 3)
In my blog post last week, I was discussing the terms “responsible party” and “personal guarantor” which are found in most nursing home and assisted living facility admissions agreements. They do not mean the same thing and we must always look to the definitions set out in the specific agreement being
Signing an Admissions Agreement on Behalf of Another (Part 1)
As I have written about often recently, the State has raised the bar significantly in terms of what an applicant needs to produce and explain in order to qualify for Medicaid. The level of increased scrutiny leads to many more failed applications and reapplications than even a few years
Nursing Home or Assisted Living (Part 2)
In my blog post last week I began to highlight the differences between nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Understanding the differences is especially important when one has limited assets and Medicaid benefits will be needed to pay for care at some point. The private pay rate for care for both
Unexpected Medicaid Estate Recovery Hiccup (Part 3)
In this third post of three I finish telling you about the estate recovery problem we encountered with one of our clients. As I explained last week, when the client died and we asked the State what it was seeking to recover, what we got back was an amount
Unexpected Medicaid Estate Recovery Hiccup (Part 2)
Last week I started to tell you about the Medicaid estate recovery process in which the State attempts to recover from the estates of deceased Medicaid recipients, benefits it paid out. The process is usually pretty routine. The State runs a printout, which shows the dates and amounts
Unexpected Medicaid Estate Recovery Hiccup – Part 1
Medicaid's estate recovery law requires state Medicaid offices to attempt to recover paid benefits from the estates of Medicaid recipients after they die. New Jersey takes an expanded definition of estate, which includes probate assets (those passing by way of a will or otherwise thru the estate administration
2023 Medicaid Numbers
Last month in this blog I updated you on some of the new Social Security and Medicare numbers for 2023. The recently announced cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 8.7% has resulted in another big jump in benefits for the second year. Many other federal programs are tied to the
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
Happily Married or Something Else? Part 1
Through the years we have had many clients who have been happily married for the second or third time. When it comes time to address a long term care crisis, however, navigating the long term care system and determining how to get the best care for the ill spouse while not