Seemingly “Innocent” Transfers and Medicaid

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Brian Willie

Did you know that even seemingly innocent things like adding a son or daughter as a joint owner on an account can be viewed by Medicaid as a transfer of assets? We talked last time how transfers of assets for less than fair market value can create long periods of ineligibility. Well when most people think of transfers, they only think of the obvious-things like giving a loved one a gift of cash or giving them a car or maybe even transferring stock into their name.

But, even things like........read the whole post

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Medicaid Transfer of Asset Rules

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Brian Willie

I see it everyday in my practice. A family member comes to see me because their money is quickly running out and they must put their loved one in a nursing home. They want to know how they can qualify for Medicaid to try and preserve at least some of their loved ones’ hard earned income and assets.

But through mis-information over the years, they have gone about things in the wrong way. Two of the biggest mistakes I see are:

1. The person with Alzheimer’s Disease gave away or loaned money to a relative, or a family member listed on a joint account thought that they needed to move the money away from the account to protect it-so they transferred it-either to themselves or someone else.

2. The family member who may have power of attorney provides care for the person with Alzheimer’s for several years in home, and may be compensating themselves out of the bank account of the person with Alzheimer’s.

Both trigger “transfer of asset” problems. What is the transfer of asset rule Medicaid follows? It differs from state to state, but in general this is a rule that Medicaid applies to determine if someone gave another person property or money for less than fair market value. In other words, if there was an actual fair market exchange (i.e. money for services) then Medicaid may not have a problem. But, if someone....... read the whole post

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Alzheimer’s- Me on Medicaid?

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Brian Willie

I often have families come to me and proclaim that they would never need to go on Medicaid. “Isn’t Medicaid for poor families or families with limited resources?” Consider this: A spouse has $200,000 in savings, a home worth $300,000, a car and some personal property. The husband has had Alzheimer’s Disease for 6 years now, and unfortunately, it has steadily progressed to the point where his wife must place him in a skilled nursing facility. That facility charges $5,000 per month. The wife believes that she has too many assets to qualify for Medicaid, and so continues to pay privately, month after month, year after year.

You can guess what happens can’t you?.....read the whole post

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Alzheimer’s- Me on Medicaid?

payingforalzheimerscare
BRIAN WILLIE
I often have families come to me and proclaim that they would never need to go on Medicaid. “Isn’t Medicaid for poor families or families with limited resources?” Consider this: A spouse has $200,000 in savings, a home worth $300,000, a car and some personal property. The husband has had Alzheimer’s Disease for 6 years now, and unfortunately, it has steadily progressed to the point where his wife must place him in a skilled nursing facility. That facility charges $5,000 per month. The wife believes that she has too many assets to qualify for Medicaid, and so continues to pay privately, month after month, year after year.

You can guess what happens can’t you? Only 3 years into his stay, their savings is now gone. Four years later, the wife who has had a stroke and has burned through what Medicare will pay, needs to be in a 24 hour skilled nursing facility. How will she pay? Unless she has very high income (which most people at her age don’t), she will be required to use Medicaid paid nursing care. Let’s assume further that the couple has a 45 year old daughter with special needs who cannot care for herself. Had they considered Medicaid as.....click here to read the whole post

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Alzheimer’s and dementia facts

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Brian Willie

We’ve talked before about countable vs. non-countable assets, but one thing that must be considered as well is that Medicaid also looks at transfers of property, money etc that have occurred. In general, if your loved one with Alzheimer’s needs to apply for Medicaid, they will look back at all transfers that took place over the last 5 years (depends on your state) to see if they were proper or improper.

If Medcaid believes an improper.... click here for the whole story

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Alzheimer’s Facts

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We’ve talked before about countable vs. non-countable assets, but one thing that must be considered as well is that Medicaid also looks at transfers of property, money etc that have occurred. In general, if your loved one with Alzheimer’s needs to apply for Medicaid, they will look back at all transfers that took place over the last 5 years (depends on your state) to see if they were proper or improper.

If Medcaid believes an improper transfer took place, they can apply a penalty period for a transfer. So if for example your mom needs to go into a nursing home and apply for Medicaid, but 2 years ago she gave you $40,000, this may be viewed as an improper transfer subject to a penalty (it was within 5 years of the date she is in the nursing home and applied).

The penalty means.......click here for the whole story

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Alzheimer’s, Medicaid and Resources

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Brian Willie

When a family member has Alzheimer’s, it’s often neccesary to seek the assistance of Medicaid. Medicaid will want to know all resources (assets) available to the person applying. However, this does not mean that they will count all resources. Generally, there are countable and non-countable resources. When I say non-countable, this means that although they must be disclosed, Medicaid will not take them into consideration when determining whether your loved one qualifies. The following is a list of assets that in most states are considered non-countable:

A home, if the applicant has an intent to return home (generally up to $500,000 in equity)
One automobile
Personal effects
Life insurance with a total face value of $1,500 or less
Property used in a trade or business
It’s important to keep in mind ......READ THE WHOLE POST

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Alzheimer’s, Medicaid and the Problem of “Too Much Income”

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Brian Willie
There are times when someone with Alzheimer’s must go into a nursing home and must apply for Medicaid to help pay for some or all of the costs. But, what happens when the Medicaid agency tells you your loved one with Alzheimer’s has “too much income” to qualify? Depending on your state, certain states are known as “income cap” states. This means that if your family member has over a certain amount of income, they exceed that “cap” and may not qualify for Medicaid. But wait a second–not so fast.

In many income cap states there is.....read the whole post

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Alzheimer’s and Home Health Care

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Brian Willie
For many families, home health care is the way to go to take care of their loved one with Alzheimer’s. That is, at least for awhile. There are some very good home health care providers, but they can be very expensive. The average cost is $16-24/hour. For the family that needs moderate levels of help, this may not be bad, but as care needs increase, and more and more hours must be spent on home health care, the Alzheimer’s family will face tremendous expenses. I recently met with someone who runs a home health service and she told me that it’s not uncommon for round the clock care to cost as much as $3,600 a week!

We will talk more about how a little known Veteran’s Benefit can.....read the whole post

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Alzheimer’s Disease and Annuities

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Brian Willie
This is more of a warning than anything. For families facing Alzheimer’s-you must always be on the look out for unscrupulous financial planners and annuity sales people. Now don’t get me wrong, there are certainly reputable, good people out there who sell these products. The problem is, people with Alzheimer’s have a very high chance of needing skilled nursing care in the future.

This also means that they may very well need.... read the whole post

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Medicare and Alzheimer’s Disease

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by Brian Willie

Did you know that Medicare does not cover most of what a person with Alzheimer’s needs? Many people confuse Medicare and Medicaid. I like to look at it this way: Medicare only cares if you are “lucky” enough to have the right disease! I know –it sounds absurd. But it’s true. If your family member had a stroke and needed rehabilitation in a skilled nursing facility following a hospital stay-Medicare probably cares about her and will pay-at least for awhile. If on the other hand your loved one has Alzheimer’s and needs that same skilled nursing stay-Medicare no longer cares. In that case other methods of paying must be explored.

For great tips, tricks and techniques on helping to pay for Alzheimer’s care visit: http://www.PayingForAlzheimersCare.com and get my FREE Ebook today

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