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As the next round of stimulus checks go out, it is important to know that nursing home residents are not required to turn their checks over to their nursing home. Also, Medicaid recipients  may need to spend the cash within a year if it puts them over Medicaid’s resource limit. In December 2020, Congress approvedRead more

It is natural for people to feel a greater sense of urgency as their parents advance in their senior years. The amount of time left to spend with them begins to feel as though it is constantly evaporating. Every new illness or medical issue starts to feel more and more serious. This is why itRead more

Nursing Home Safety – The COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of tension and anxiety across the United States, especially in nursing homes. The elderly and often ill residents are at a much higher risk of death or severe results when exposed. Infections can spread rapidly in long-term care facilities due to the enclosed quartersRead more

Rules for MassHealth nursing home eligibility are designed to help cover the costs of long-term care. The rules are notorious for being complicated, which can lead to misunderstandings about whether you qualify and for how much coverage. Countable Assets There is a limit on “countable” assets—that is, the assets that count against your MassHealth eligibility.Read more

MassHealth is Massachusetts’ Medicaid offering, designed to help low-income residents get the medical care that they need. At some point in your life, you might find that you or a loved one needs the care of a full-time nursing facility. This can be a lengthy and arduous process, given the amount of forms and informationRead more

It can be tough when you face the moment where you become responsible for your parents—but it may  happen. It’s smart to plan for that before illness renders your parents incapable of handling their own finances. Aging parents may find it hard to believe they are no longer fully capable of running their own lives,Read more

The average cost of a nursing home ranges from $50,000 per year up to $92,000 per year (for a private room), which is simply out of reach for many older Americans. In Massachusetts the number can exceed $150,000 annually.  That can deplete your resources quickly, and no one wants to see their life’s savings disappearRead more

When you’re looking into applying for MassHealth (Medicaid), you should consider seeking an attorney for professional assistance. MassHealth has strict asset limits and making even minor mistakes can lead to long disqualification periods. Sometimes, all you’ll need is help gathering documents and filling out the forms, but for some, this will require wealth transfers. WhenRead more

Longer lives don’t always mean healthy lives; according to the Alzheimer’s Association, about half of people who live past age 85 will suffer from some form of dementia. Watching a loved one lose their language, reasoning abilities and memories is tragic, which makes it important for them to have an estate plan. When you’re caringRead more

Part of life is a role reversal that hits as our parents reach old age. For many people, at some point they become incapable of truly caring for themselves or maintaining their own home, at which point that role reversal hits, and the children become the caretakers. By this time, the children have often reachedRead more

While you might need to “spend down” some of your assets to qualify for Medicaid or MassHealth in Massachusetts. To pay for your nursing home care, you typically will not have to sell your house as part of this process. However, there is still a chance the state will attempt to file a claim againstRead more

To be able to pay for certain types of medical care with Medicaid known as MassHealth in Massachusetts, you must first qualify to receive Medicaid assistance. Medicaid is typically reserved for people who have low monthly incomes and/or few available assets to pay for their medical care. There are some people who have too muchRead more

If you are at least 65 years old or are in need of long-term care services, you may apply for MassHealth, Massachusetts’ Medicaid program. There are three ways of applying for the program: Applying by mail To complete the application by mail, print out the Application for Health Coverage for Seniors and people Needing Long-TermRead more

Medicaid planning is an important part of estate planning for many people. Without the proper professional advice, there is the potential to make some mistakes that could cost you and your family quite a bit of money. Medicaid rules change frequently, so it’s important to work with an experienced elder law attorney who can helpRead more

It is an unfortunate reality that many seniors will become victims of elder abuse, and that these incidents of elder abuse add more than $5 billion per year to healthcare expenses in the United States. One report from the National Center on Elder Abuse estimated seniors lose $3 billion due to financial abuse per year.Read more

Many states have laws in place that make adult children responsible for paying for their parents’ medical care in certain circumstances. While these laws are not always (or even frequently) enforced, it is still worth understanding them to determine if you have any responsibility to pay nursing home bills on behalf of your elderly parents.Read more

As you may know, any gifts or assets you transfer within 60 months of applying for Medicaid benefits are subject to penalties. This 60-month or 5 year timeframe is what’s called the “look back” period. These penalties are not calculated in a dollar figure, but rather a set of additional months in which you willRead more

Medicaid is a federal healthcare program that offers free or low-cost healthcare to qualifying adults and children with low incomes. The program is federally and state-funded, and each state has control over its own Medicaid program — for example MassHealth in Massachusetts. While the eligibility rules for Medicaid vary from state to state, there areRead more

Financial scams targeting senior citizens have become unfortunately common, because they target a vulnerable population that tends to have more money in their bank accounts. These scams often go unreported and can be very difficult to prosecute, which makes them especially devastating to their victims. Therefore, it is important that victims are aware of someRead more

Every year, Genworth conducts a Cost of Care survey that pinpoints the median cost of private nursing home rooms in the United States. This year’s survey results were released at the end of October, and indicated a three percent increase in the median cost of a private nursing home from 2017. Now, that figure isRead more

At some point, your elderly relatives might reach a point at which they are incapable of keeping up with their financial matters, including paying their bills, managing their retirement income and Social Security and budgeting their expenses. If you decide to take on the responsibility of assisting them in these matters, it’s important you approachRead more

It is with unfortunate frequency that we see stories in the news about seniors being abused or neglected in the nursing homes that are supposed to keep them safe and happy. This abuse can range from stealing money and emotional manipulation to actual physical abuse and neglect. If you have an elderly parent in aRead more