From the category archives:

Nursing Home Crisis Planning

FAQ: What happens when two spouses both enter the nursing home?

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 25, 2009

When both spouses of a married couple need nursing home care, the most immediate result is a catastrophic bill of $12,000.00 per month or more. Without the advice of an elder law attorney, the couple will continue to spend down assets until their assets reach just $4,000.00 in cash. Substantially better results can be achieved [...]

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FAQ: What is the community spouse resource allowance?

by Jerrold Bartholomew October 16, 2008

Medicaid qualification is full of its own jargon that can make the process a mystery to almost anyone. One key concept to understand is the “community spouse resource allowance.” To speak in the jargon of Medicaid for a moment, the community spouse resource allowance is the value of non-exempt assets that a married couple is [...]

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FAQ: What assets are exempt from Medicaid qualification?

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 31, 2008

QUESTION: I have heard that you are allowed to keep some things and qualify for long-term care Medicaid. What are you allowed to keep?
ANSWER: It is true that some property may be exempt for purposes of Medicaid qualification. And indeed, converting non-exempt assets to exempt assets is one valuable method of spend down. The following [...]

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FAQ: Do I have to sell my home?

by Jerrold Bartholomew July 30, 2008

QUESTION: I am concerned about my parents. My dad just entered the nursing home. His care costs more $6,000.00 per month and my mother is almost out of savings. Does she have to sell the house (which is worth about $250,000.00) to pay for my dad’s care? And what about estate recovery? What is that?
ANSWER: [...]

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A New Concept In Nursing Home Care

by Jerrold Bartholomew May 19, 2008

The reality is that families faced with the chronic illness or disability of a loved-one often have few options but a traditional long-term care facility. Aside from the financial devastation that this usually entails, there is the fact that a traditional nursing home is a difficult place to be in. It is good therefore to [...]

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Understanding Medicaid Planning

by Jerrold Bartholomew April 24, 2008

Sue Schiebel has written an excellent article on Medicaid Planning. While her article concerns MassHealth, which is the Massachusetts Medicaid program, the rules and ideas explained are the same in Michigan. She writes:
A lot of middle-aged people don’t realize Medicare, the federal health insurance program, pays for a very limited amount of skilled nursing home [...]

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Retirement Assets and Medicaid Planning

by Jerrold Bartholomew April 7, 2008

Retirement assets (401ks, IRAs, etc) are considered available assets for purposes of Medicaid qualification in Michigan. In simple terms, that means that those funds have to be spent down until the threshold for asset eligibility is met. In the case of a single person, asset eligibility is generally about $2,000.00, with some additional allowances for [...]

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Rapid Changes in Medicaid Law Require Constant Vigilance

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 7, 2008

An astounding thing happened during the fall of 2007. Michigan changed its Medicaid policy with respect to annuities and implemented those changes with retroactive effect.
The new policy requires annuities to have several features in order to avoid being considered a divestment. Among the requirements is a rule that the state of Michigan must be named [...]

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The Basics of Medicaid Qualification

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 6, 2008

It is important to understand the basic rules of qualifying for Medicaid Long Term Care Assistance in order to cope with the financial realities of a relative’s long-term care. The rules below apply in Michigan and have been updated for 2008.
First, you should understand that the rules are different for single people and those who [...]

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Medicaid Applications Scrutinized More Than Ever

by Jerrold Bartholomew March 6, 2008

Under previous Medicaid policy, applicants for long term care were given the benefit of a doubt most of the time. In some cases, a demonstrated intent to complete asset conversion, which is the process of converting non-exempt assets into exempt or excluded assets and is the heart of Medicaid planning, would be enough to pass [...]

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