Since long-term care Medicaid (which helps pay some or all of a Medicaid applicant’s nursing home and drug costs) is “means-tested” (the government looks at the amount of assets and type of assets owned by the applicant), there are transfer penalty rules creating a certain...
The daughter of a Medicaid applicant came to our office in August in dire need. Her mother had to enter a nursing home around April 2017 and she had very limited resources (just a few hundred dollars and a small insurance policy). The nursing home...
Effective September 1, 2017, the “transfer of assets divisor” in Texas increased to $172.65 per day from $162.41. The increased figure applies to long-term care Medicaid applications in Texas submitted on or after September 1, 2017. When an individual needs long-term care (such as nursing...
Although most Texas homes are a non-countable resource (if equity is under $603,000 as of January 1, 2021 if you are single, unlimited if you are married for Medicaid applicants) for long-term care Medicaid eligibility purposes, the state usually has a right to make a claim against the Medicaid recipient’s estate after...
The Texas Senate has passed a bill (which has been sent to the Texas House) to facilitate the design and development of a Medicaid block grant waiver so that there would be a continuation of joint funding by the federal and state governments while allowing...
At the present time, the federal government matches (in some states up to 70%) state funds budgeted for Medicaid. This is an incentive for states to allot more of their budget on Medicaid and be inefficient in their spending. Medicaid spending has soared to the...
A House of Representatives bill entitled as the “Close Annuity Loopholes in Medicaid Act” has been proposed earlier this month to reduce the benefits of an asset preservation strategy for a commonly used benefit of the “well” spouse in Medicaid planning when the ill spouse...
At our December estate planning workshop, there were several questions about the use of enhanced life estate (“Ladybird”) deeds to protect a Medicaid recipient’s homestead from the state’s Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (“MERP”). After the death of the Medicaid recipient under present laws in Texas,...
As many of you know, Texas is an income cap state in connection with long-term care Medicaid eligibility. Presently, if an applicant for nursing home Medicaid has “countable” income (certain income is exempt or excluded) over $2,199 per month, then such applicant is ineligible for...
In an effort to avoid payment of public benefits, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services recently attempted a ploy that would even make Attila the Hun, the barbaric military leader, blush. Although the Third Circuit Court ruled against the state, it seems shocking to the...
