When it comes to nursing homes and Medicaid, you often hear about “asset protection.” It’s a hot topic—who wouldn’t want to protect their assets? But asset protection is complex, and if something goes wrong your finances and your family could be in a lot of trouble. Protecting an asset means giving up control. At its […]
Are you worried about paying for a nursing home or other long-term care? Then you need the help of two professionals. You need a financial advisor and an elder law attorney—and you need them to work together. Unfortunately, not all lawyers play well with others. You Need a Financial Professional to Manage Financial Risk First, […]
Estate recovery is how the State of Wisconsin gets paid back for long-term care Medicaid benefits. If you or a loved one is elderly, blind, or disabled and might need help paying for long-term care, you should know about estate recovery. The Estate Recovery Program operates under laws allowing the Wisconsin Department of Health Services […]
You know that Medicaid can pay for long-term care, and that it’s basically the long-term care insurance policy for the middle class. But the question remains: Can it pay for your care? Are you eligible? Eligibility for Medicaid can be complex. It depends on the sub-program, age, where you reside, the level of care you […]
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Who Is Medicaid For?
“Isn’t Medicaid for poor people?” “If your business is helping people apply for Medicaid, how do you get paid?” I’ve heard these and similar comments a number of times over the past few months. They are often the first questions after I explain what I do to friends and family. Most people know that Medicaid […]
There’s been lots of talk at the national level about imposing new restrictions on Medicaid benefits. It’s enough to make anybody worry. So I’m here to give you the bottom line on the medical expense deduction, work requirements, and time limits on benefits. The Medical Expense Deduction is Still Here Last year I reported that […]
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What Is Medicaid?
Medicaid is a government benefit that pays for health care for the needy. “The needy” includes elderly, blind, or disabled people who fall into one of two groups. The first group can’t afford health care because they have very low income and no assets (called “categorically needy” in Medicaid lingo). The second group can’t afford […]
The medical expense deduction has a huge impact on long-term care, and the Republican tax bill now in Congress might eliminate it—or increase it. As the Washington Post reports in this article, there are two versions of the tax bill being considered: the House bill and the Senate bill. The House bill would eliminate the medical […]
An older woman and her daughter came into my office the other day. She was worried about having enough to support herself if her ailing husband ended up in a nursing home on Medicaid. It was a typical concern from a typical client—the kind of thing I deal with every day. But this woman was […]
She walked through our office door at 1:30 on a Friday afternoon. We checked the calendar, confused—no appointment. I wasn’t prepared, but she needed help; I could see it in her face. So I brought her back to my office to see what I could see. “Since January, everything that can go wrong has,” she […]