As we age we face unique financial and legal issues, including Asset Protection, Medicaid, and Estate Planning. The time to act is NOW! With proper planning, you will insure that things will be handled according to you wishes, and to protect your loved one’s financial security. Imagine the peace of mind you will have when you stop reacting to your situation and start putting into place a positive action plan which will allow you to protect yourself and your loved ones. Come to a FREE Workshop on asset protection and planning at Dutchs Daughter, Frederick, Maryland on April 23, 2013…
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal program that provides cash assistance to people with disabilities who are unable to participate in sustained gainful activities. Unlike some programs, like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid, SSDI provides benefits to people regardless of their financial circumstances. Because SSDI is an insurance program that most workers contribute to through payroll taxes, as long as an SSDI recipient is not earning much money from working, he or she can have unearned income (income not earned by working) and unlimited resources and still receive SSDI. On top of the cash benefit, people…
CMS released a proposed rule outlining standards that Navigators (organizations that will provide unbiased information to consumers about health insurance, the new Health Insurance Marketplace, qualified health plans, and public programs including Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program) in federally facilitated and State Partnership Marketplaces must meet, and clarifying earlier guidance about the Navigator program. To be assured consideration, comments must be received no later than 5:00pm on 30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register.
During a visit to my doctor, I asked him, "How do you determine whether or not an older person should be put in a Nursing Home?" "Well," he said, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the person to empty the bathtub." "Oh, I understand," I said. "A normal person would use the bucket because it is bigger than the spoon or the teacup." "No" he said. "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"
Although long-term care is a substantial financial risk for retired households, only about 10 percent purchase insurance, with many of the remainder relying on Medicaid. Faced with rising Medicaid expenditures on long-term care, states have attempted to encourage the purchase of private long-term care insurance through partnership programs that exempt purchasers of qualifying policies from the Medicaid asset test. Using numerical optimization techniques, and assuming plausible preference parameters, we show that the programs will only increase insurance coverage among single males by 5 percent and single females by 4 percent. Most of the program benefits will go to those who…
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released his budget for FY 2014 this week. The Ryan FY 2014 budget is very similar to his budget proposals from years past and recommends significant reforms to Medicare and Medicaid. The proposal would balance the budget by 2023, cut $4.6 trillion in a decade, and leaves the sequester in place. The Ryan Budget recommends spending $41 trillion over the next decade, which is approximately $5 trillion less than would be spent under the current Obama Administration policies. Congressman Ryan proposes to “simplify the tax code to make it fairer to American families…
Medicaid is an important source of coverage for people with disabilities, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) makes several changes to Medicaid eligibility and enrollment rules, effective January 1, 2014, that impact this population. This issue paper provides a short summary of Medicaid eligibility and benefits for people with disabilities today and explains how these issues will be affected by health reform in light of CMS’s new regulations. Provisions of the new Exchange regulations are discussed briefly to the extent that they relate to Medicaid eligibility determinations for people with disabilities.
How to Get Medicaid Coverage For Your Nursing Home Care … Without Selling Your Home or Leaving Your Family Without a Dime. One of the biggest fears that many people have today is the fear of having their life savings wiped out if they end up in a nursing home. What a shame to see someone’s life savings wiped out in a few months. Whether you or a family member is in a crisis or not, it is important that you understand what you can do to protect your hard earned assets! Most of the public does not realize that…
State funding and investment for mental health services have significantly decreased in recent years, even as demand for these services has increased. But there may be a glimmer of hope for advocates of expanded access to mental health coverage. In participating states, the upcoming Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act will increase both the number of eligible enrollees and the list of treatments and services covered, including mental health coverage. Both the Medicaid expansion and the establishment of health insurance exchanges are scheduled to roll out Jan. 1, 2014. The federal government will pick up all the costs for…
President Barack Obama renominated one of his top health care advisers to lead the federal agency responsible for overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, and the implementation of his 2010 health care reform law. If confirmed by the Senate, Marilyn Tavenner would become the first official head of the CMS since 2006. She currently leads the same agency as acting administrator. As part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CMS runs the Medicare and Medicaid health care programs that serve about 100 million elderly, disabled, and low-income people at a cost estimated at $885 billion for this year. Both programs…
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