Long Term Care

01 Jul New Texas Law Promotes Using Life Settlements In Connection with Medicaid Planning

Posted at 19:18h in Assisted Living, Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Nursing Home

Governor Perry has just signed a law (to be effective as of September 1, 2013) that allows Medicaid applicants to sell their life insurance policies to life settlement companies and not jeopardize Medicaid benefits provided certain conditions are met. Medicaid is a jointly run state and...

06 Jun Social Security Amendment Clarifies Special Needs Trust Expense Planning

Posted at 13:02h in Beneficiary, End of Life Care Planning, Home Equity, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Quality of Life, Social Security, Special Needs, Special Needs Trust, Trusts

On May 15, 2013, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced changes to its Program Operations Manual System (POMS) to ensure that legitimate expenditures from special or supplemental needs trust are used for the sole benefit of a disabled beneficiary even if it may impart incidental...

29 Apr Texas Senate Approves Overhaul of Long-Term Medicaid Care

Posted at 08:30h in Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer

The Texas Senate has approved a bill on long-term and acute care Medicaid to expand managed care services, to provide services at capitulated costs and to re-design functional assessments to more accurately assess patient needs. Some have expressed fears that Medicaid managed care plans would reduce...

22 Apr Independent Survey Projects Dementia Care to Double by 2040

Posted at 08:31h in Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Long Term Care, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer

Based on an independent survey led by the RAND Corporation (financed by the federal government), it is projected that 9.1 million Americans age 71 or older will have dementia by year 2040. Presently about 15% of Americans 71 or older (3.8 million) have dementia. The survey...

28 Dec Proposed Texas Rule Excludes Tuition Savings Programs from being a Countable Resource for Medicaid Eligibility

Posted at 08:39h in 529 plan, Beneficiary, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicare, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, utma

Although irrevocable 529s (for college education) and UTMAs (accounts for minors) are not considered a resource for certain Texas Medicaid programs, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (which governs Medicaid eligibility in Texas) currently counts resources and income in prepaid tuition programs and higher...

02 Nov Long-Term Care Medicaid Reform Bill Proposed

Posted at 09:00h in Home Equity, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Nursing Home

In what could be a harbinger of things to come, House Bill 6300 (the Medicaid Long-Term Care Reform Act of 2012) has been recently proposed to make findings or substantial changes in connection with Medicaid long-term care financing (which helps pay for care costs in...

13 Sep Could a Child be Responsible for a Parent’s Nursing Home Bill?

Posted at 18:22h in Long Term Care, Medicare, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Nursing Home, Trusts

Although children are not generally responsible for a parent’s debts, 29 states have passed “filial support” bills whereby adult children can be pursued to pay the bills of their parents including their long-term care bills. A recent appellate court case in Pennsylvania allowed a nursing...

13 Aug Need Help with Nursing Home and Assisted Living Costs?

Posted at 07:05h in Assisted Living, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicare, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Nursing Home

Transfer Penalty Rules Different for those Seeking Medicaid Assistance at Home Most people in need of care would prefer to stay at home rather than go to a nursing home. However, if you don’t have long-term care insurance or other ways to pay for the cost...

27 Jun LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE BECOMING LESS AFFORDABLE BUT CAN YOU AFFORD NOT TO HAVE IT?

Posted at 23:26h in Asset Protection, Assisted Living, End of Life Care Planning, Estate Planning, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Medicaid Planning, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Nursing Home, Public Benefits Protection

With fewer insurance companies offering long term care insurance (at least 14 fewer in the last 5 years) and premiums rising (for new and some existing policies) fewer may be able to afford long term care insurance (insurance that can help cover personal care costs...

23 May STATE POLICY HANDBOOK ACKNOWLEDGES LADYBIRD (ENHANCED LIFE ESTATE) DEEDS DO NOT RESULT IN A TRANSFER PENALTY

Posted at 16:28h in Assisted Living, Estate Planning, Home Equity, Lady Bird Deed, Long Term Care, Medicaid Application, Michael Cohen Dallas Elder Lawyer, Nursing Home, Power of Attorney, Transfer of Death

As of March 1, 2012, the Texas Medicaid for the Elderly and People with Disabilities Handbook (which is a publication of the policy rules for long –term care Medicaid eligibility) now provides that “a transfer of a person’s home does not result in a transfer...