Medicaid Planning

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will now give states the option to obtain a portion of their federal Medicaid funding via so-called “block grants.” This potentially [...]

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the 2020 federal guidelines for how much money the spouses of institutionalized Medicaid recipients may keep, as well as [...]

When it comes to long-term care costs, the charges for home care are now rising faster than those for nursing home care, according to Genworth’s 2019 Cost of Care survey. In the past year, [...]

Federal law requires the state to attempt to recover the long-term care benefits from a Medicaid recipient’s estate after the recipient’s death. If steps aren’t taken to protect [...]

After a Medicaid recipient dies, the state must attempt to recoup from his or her estate whatever benefits it paid for the recipient’s care. This is called “estate recovery.” [...]

Medicare covers preventative care services, including an annual wellness visit. But confusing a wellness visit with a physical could be very costly. As part of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare [...]

The basic Medicaid rule for nursing home residents is that they must pay all of their income, minus certain deductions, to the nursing home. The deductions include a $60-a-month personal needs [...]

There was buzz in national news last month about the potential for tens of thousands of Louisiana’s nursing home residents being evicted. The first draft of the state’s new budget from the House [...]

This month is National Family Caregivers Month and what better time to recognize all of those who give so much of their time to help family members who are no longer able to care for themselves [...]

In previous months, we’ve discussed Medicaid planning and the importance of planning ahead for the possibility of nursing home care.  But you don’t want to take planning advice from just [...]