One of the most common and devastating misconceptions about elder law estate planning is that it is too late to save money from nursing home costs. On the contrary, there are crisis planning tools that may save substantial assets from being spent on nursing home costs, even after the client…
Articles Posted in Elder Law
What is Elder Law Estate Planning?
“Elder Law Estate Planning” is an area of law that combines features of both elder law (disability planning) and estate planning (death planning) and relates mostly to the needs of the middle class. Estate planning was formerly only for the wealthy, who wanted to shelter their assets from taxes and…
Qualifying for Medicaid to Pay for Long-Term Care
Spend-down. Look-back. Penalty Period. Uncompensated Transfer. These are just some of the terms Medicaid uses to determine eligibility for long-term care coverage. Medicaid is a combined federal and state program that pays for long-term care at home (community Medicaid) or in a nursing facility (institutional Medicaid). Asset, income and gift…
Feds Issue Warning about Denying Care to Individuals with Disabilities
Federal workers are currently reminding the country’s health care workers that withholding treatment due to an individual’s disability is frequently illegal. Withholding services in such a way is illegal even if resources are few. The US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights is currently informing providers…
Staying Away from Financial Elder Abuse
A 90-year-old woman is a recent victim of elder abuse. The financial scammers hacked into the woman’s account and removed $20,000. Frequently, financial abuse scammers present themselves as technical support or service representatives who offer to resolve issues connected to compromised email or bank accounts or even the renewal of…
The Stonewall Era of LGBTQ+ Elders Approaches Long-Term Care
One new study found that many LGBTQ+ individuals worry that prejudices held by long-term care facility staff could continue placing these elderly individuals in an environment rife with discrimination and misunderstanding. Many elderly LGBTQ+ individuals even feel the need to go “back into the closet” due to fears about being…
Health and Human Services Lengthens Deadline for State Improvements to Some Medicaid Services
The Department of Health and Human Services through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently notified states that they have one more year to utilize funding from the American Rescue Plan to bolster both community- and home-based services for Medicaid recipients who require long-term care support and service. The…
Audits Could Leave Many People Without Health Insurance
State audits have the potential to impact 15 million individuals including 6 million children losing their health insurance. Some state workers are concerned that they might lack the resources to aid people in finding new insurance coverage. The existing federal public health emergency will expire this year, which will subsequently…
Postal Service Switches Retirement Benefits to Medicare
Congressional efforts to revise the country’s mail service might come at the cost of an even more nuanced issue involving Medicare. The Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 would help to free post office costs by resolving the unusual and challenging legal requirement to fund 75 years of retirement health…
The Impact Covid Has on Long-Term Care Insurance
Over the last few years, Covid-19 has caused many people to think deeply about health issues. Now that the height of the pandemic has passed, many people are left wondering how this has impacted long-term care insurance. A noticeable increase in long-term care insurance has occurred following the summer of…