IRS Issues Final Regulations For Achieving A Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts
The Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations this month providing details about how Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts should operate. ABLE accounts are designed to help people with disabilities and their families save up to $100,000 without risking eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and other government benefits based on financial need. Medicaid can.. read more →
The Seventh Circuit vacated a district court decision that allowed an Indiana Medicaid recipient to hire her own in-home health care providers as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, holding that more evidence was needed to determine if the recipient’s request can be granted consistent with federal requirements for funding. Vaughn v. Walthall (U.S… read more →
The Director of the Medicaid agency in New Jersey held that income in a Qualified Income Trust which was used to pay the room and board fee for a resident of an assisted living facility was not countable in determining the resident’s eligibility for Medicaid benefits. H.H. v. Monmouth County Board of Social Services – Final.. read more →
New York was the only state that didn’t have a look-back period for Medicaid home care, but that is now changing. New York Medicaid applicants will no longer be eligible for home care if they gave away assets within 30 months of applying. Medicaid, unlike Medicare, is a public benefit program based upon financial need,.. read more →
E.H., a 78 year old female, received $1,471.50 in monthly social security benefits. On April 1, 2019, E.H.’s checking account, contained $1,991.78. On April 4, 2019, E.H. applied for benefits under New Jersey’s Family Care Aged, Blind and Disabled Medicaid program. As part of her Medicaid application, E.H. submitted a pre-paid burial contract. Although pre-paid.. read more →
Upcoming FREE Webinar Learn How to Protect Your Assets from the Catastrophic Costs of Probate, Long-Term Care and Nursing Home Expenses Date: October 15, 2020 at 4:00 PM Eastern Time (expected to last approximately 2 hours, depending on Q & A) Attorney Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. will present at the Live Webinar. Don is a.. read more →
To help today’s Medicare beneficiaries, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) combined eight Compare tools, allowing users to easily find information that is most important in making health care decisions. The new platform is currently up and running. Using the new Care Compare Tool, CMS combined 8 original provider Compare websites. In the.. read more →
In this case, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, (1) restricted a guardian’s ability to make gifts to those individuals expressly named as residuary beneficiaries of the ward’s Last Will and Testament; (2) limited the amount of gifts to $14,000 per person each year pursuant to a power of attorney which the ward executed.. read more →
The New Jersey Director of Medicaid approved the transfer of an applicant’s home to a “caregiver child” who worked full-time because the applicant qualified medically for comprehensive home-based services under the Medicaid program. A.H. v. Bergen County Board of Social Services, OAL DKT. NO. HMA 09215-19 (June 26, 2020) When she was 92 years old,.. read more →
The New Jersey Appellate Division held that the state Medicaid agency is required to screen a Medicaid recipient for eligibility for all other Medicaid programs before terminating the recipient from the Medicaid program for which the recipient is presently eligible. D.C. v. Div. of Med. Assistance & Health Servs., 2020 WL 4290056 (N.J. Super. Ct… read more →
The Director of New Jersey’s state Medicaid agency overturned prior decisions to find that, when a Medicaid applicant resides in his or her home, the date on which the applicant is found clinically eligible for Medicaid benefits is the date the Mediciad agency should use in determining financial eligibility. S.W. v. Cumberland County Board of.. read more →
A New Jersey appeals court upheld a Medicaid penalty period imposed on a nursing home resident who, prior to admission, paid home health care aides via checks payable to “cash” without written contract, and didn’t prove that the rates paid to the aides were for fair market value. D.Z. v. Ocean County Board of Social.. read more →
The New Jersey appellate division sustained the denial of Medicaid benefits based upon the applicant’s failure to submit documents necessary to verify his eligibility. Even though the Medicaid applicant was incapacitated due to dementia, could not speak, and whose agent under his power of attorney failed to assist, the court held that the Medicaid agency.. read more →
Donald D. Vanarelli, Esq. (http://VanarelliLaw.com/) will present at the 2020 Elder and Disability Law Retreat to be held virtually via ZOOM on July 30, 2020 by the New Jersey State Bar Association Elder and Disability Law Section and the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Mr. Vanarelli will participate in a panel of attorneys.. read more →
New Jersey Bankers Association Financial Elder Abuse Webinar Date Time: Jun 10, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: On-Line Webinar on Financial Elder Abuse Financial Elder Abuse is a growing concern, with 4 million cases of elder abuse reported last year. The elderly are often bilked out of their savings, investments, and.. read more →
When she was admitted to a skilled nursing facility, petitioner owned a home. Following her admission, petitioner’s son, who was petitioner’s power of attorney, applied for Medicaid benefits on her behalf. Personnel at the facility informed the son that, in order to attain Medicaid eligibility, petitioner could have no assets. As a result, petitioner’s son.. read more →
The penalty divisor is the average daily cost of nursing home services in New Jersey. It is adjusted annually after a survey of all nursing facilities in New Jersey is conducted. The penalty divisor is used to determine the penalty period for an individual applying for Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports when that individual transfers.. read more →
The coronavirus relief bill includes a direct payment to most Americans, but this has Medicaid recipients wondering how the payment will affect them. Because the payment is not income, it should not count against a Medicaid recipient’s eligibility. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides a one-time direct payment of $1,200 to.. read more →
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“CV Response Act”) was signed into law on March 18, 2020. The CV Response Act bars all Medicaid terminations during the course of the public health emergency caused by COVID-19. All individuals enrolled in Medicaid as of March 2020 must have continued benefits, until the last day of the.. read more →
In order to qualify for Medicaid benefits, an applicant may not own more than $2.000 in countable assets. All assets are countable, with few exceptions. Annuities purchased by Medicaid applicants are countable resources unless they are irrevocable and meet certain other requirements. In this case, Jane Cushing purchased a single-premium, immediate annuity from the Croatian.. read more →
The New Jersey Department of Human Services (“DHS”) has announced that its Federal Section 1135 Waiver Request has been approved by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”). On March 20, 2020, the New Jersey DHS had outlined federal Medicaid requirements that “pose issues or challenges for.. read more →
The New Jersey Department of Human Services (“DHS”) has created a dedicated website for COVID-19 updates relating to the services and supports offered through all of its divisions. The new website can be found at: https://nj.gov/humanservices/coronavirus.html. It includes important updates for the following categories of information: Press Releases Child Care Developmental Disabilities: Individuals, Families And.. read more →
The Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE Act) is a tax-advantaged savings account used by an individual eligible for Medicaid or other public benefits to pay for “qualified disability-related expenses” and established by an individual whose blindness or disability resulted from a condition that began before the individual’s 26th birthday. The.. read more →
As a result of the declaration of a national emergency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has waived the requirement that Medicare beneficiaries must spend at least three days in a hospital before qualifying for coverage in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) for those beneficiaries who need to be transferred as a result.. read more →
As reported by Janet Colliton, Esq., a Pennsylvania Elder Law Attorney, in a March 4, 2020 article in The Mercury on-line newsletter, New Jersey, when compared with the rules in neighboring states, is one of the most difficult states in which to qualify for Medicaid benefits to pay for long-term care costs. Some excerpts from.. read more →
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