I love her columns, I really do. A few weekends ago, she nailed it once again. Read her column here where she tells older parents why they need to talk to their adult children about the care they would like as they age. Keep in mind that the cost figures she cites are...
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Caregiver Contracts – Tax Benefits
If you would like to care for your parents full-time, or close to it, and your parents want to pay you for this, then there are some tax issues that you need to be aware of.
Most importantly, if you are providing hands-on care, making meals, doing the shopping, taking your parents to doctors’ appointments,...
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Nursing Home Care & MassHealth – Eligibility Rules for the Single Person
As you well know, privately paying a nursing home bill is a very costly undertaking. Should you need nursing home care someday, typically Medicare and your supplemental insurance cover up to 100 days. After that, you either privately pay or look to Medicaid (MassHealth) to pay. This post explains the basic MassHealth rules for...
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Couples: Protect Your Assets from the Cost of Nursing Home Care
As you well know, privately paying a nursing home bill is a very costly undertaking. Should you need nursing home care, typically Medicare and your supplemental insurance cover up to 100 days. After that, you either privately pay or look to Medicaid (MassHealth) to pay.
For a married person to receive MassHealth assistance with paying...
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The Single Person: Protecting Your Assets from the Cost of Nursing Home Care
If your loved one is single and would like MassHealth to pay her nursing home bill, then the basic rules are these: (1) She medically requires nursing home level care, (2) she has no more than $2,000 in “countable” assets (that’s money in the bank, retirement accounts, life insurance, etc.), and (3) she has...
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Consider Using a Pooled Trust with MassHealth Nursing Home Planning
If a single person wants MassHealth assistance with paying for nursing home care, but has more than the $2,000 in assets that MassHealth will permit her to keep, one option is to transfer the excess assets to a pooled trust.
A pooled trust is a trust managed by a non-profit for the benefit of disabled...
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Testifying at the State House
Last week, I headed to the State House to once again testify on bills that could plug some holes in the MassHealth nursing home payment system and make things a bit easier for families caring for frail elders.
The shorthand for this bill is the "transfer of assets" bill. It comes down to...
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Department of Public Health Survey on Health Needs for People with Disabilities
This landed in my inbox. It took about 5 minutes to fill it out. Due date is May 31. Here are the details:
Help influence health care in Massachusetts! The Health and Disability Program, part of Office of Health Equity at the MA Department of Public Health (DPH) is conducting a health...
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Another Good Reason to Buy Long-Term Care Insurance
I talk to a lot of my clients about buying long-term care insurance (LTCI). Many people come to my office asking about "nursing home planning" - how to make sure they don't use up all of their savings if they end up in a nursing home. And my response is always, "Your nursing home...
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Good News on Pooled Trusts
When a single person is entering a nursing home, and if she needs MassHealth to assist her with paying for that, then she needs to bring her assets down to $2,000. Elder law attorneys often recommend setting aside a "cushion" in a pooled trust - since $2,000 amounts to bubkes, really. Having a cushion...
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