Medicaid is a federally funded program in which the government helps pay for the cost of medical care for disabled and elderly individuals.  To recoup some of the cost of this enormously expensive program, the federal government has created the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (“Estate Recovery”) in which states are required to pursue reimbursement from […]

Medicaid planning for nursing home care is just what it sounds like - taking action to prevent the total loss of your assets in the event you require long-term care in a nursing home.  Ideally, Medicaid planning is done at least five years before your anticipated need for nursing home care.  This is because when […]

Medicaid is both a federal and state program that will cover the cost of long-term care either at home or in a nursing home.  However, only those that meet certain income and asset limits are eligible for Medicaid benefits.  It is possible to become eligible by removing certain assets from your name, however, in the […]

An unfortunate reality of life in this country is that a significant financial burden will almost always accompany a tragic medical diagnosis. Beyond the apparent worries about one’s own health and mortality, this leaves many ill Americans and those closest to them, concerned about what will happen to their medical debt when they pass away. […]

Medicaid is a program that provides medical care coverage for low income individuals, children, pregnant women, seniors and the disabled. In addition, Medicaid also provides coverage for the elderly population residing in nursing homes and assisted living facilities as well as community based home care medical services. The Medicaid home care services program includes private […]

When a client asks me if they can qualify for Medicaid in New York, I ask about their assets, income, living situation, and health. Some clients they may be able to qualify rather easily. Others may need to engage in some planning in order to qualify for Medicaid. Yet others automatically assume that they can […]

As parents get older, children begin to take on the role of caretaker and assist their parents in making various medical and financial decisions. In fact, I receive more phone calls from children of seniors looking for Medicaid planning for their parents than from the parents themselves. They are looking to understand what they can […]

Anyone who has researched Medicaid planning has almost certainly heard of Medicaid’s dreaded five year look-back rule. I am not exactly sure why out of all the idiosyncrasies of New York’s Medicaid laws, the five year look-back is one of the most ubiquitous, but my guess is because it is one of the harshest. This […]

Medicaid nursing home care is a means-based program, which means that the government looks at your income and assets to determine eligibility. Since you can’t gift away your assets and qualify for nursing home care for up to 5 years, elder law attorneys need to find creative legal ways for over-resourced seniors to qualify for […]

As we discussed in the previous article, in order to avoid Medicaid liens and estate recovery, elder law clients would be well advised to learn about their rights to protect their homes. This is true whether they need Medicaid home care and wish to avoid estate recovery, or whether they are planning for nursing home […]