Elder Law News

Qualifying for Medicare hardly means free health care — there are still premiums and deductibles. However, people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid (called “dual eligibility”) receive help paying their out-of-pocket costs. 

Medicaid long-term care benefits traditionally pay mainly for nursing home care, but the federal government can grant “waivers” to states allowing them to expand Medicaid to include home and community-based services. The downside is that receiving care in a nursing home is an entitlement, while getting care at home is not.  

If we pay a lump sum for a personal care attendant and the senior receiving the care unexpectedly has to enter a nursing home, does the personal care attendant have to transfer the remaining funds to Medicaid?

Thousands of SSI recipients have been falsely accused to owning real estate because of the Social Security Administration’s reliance on a private database that is “riddled with errors,” according to a new report.

The federal government has expanded access to protections for spouses of reverse mortgage holders who are not named in the loan document, allowing more such spouses the ability to stay in their home if the borrowing spouse dies or moves to a care facility. 

I am my mother’s agent under a power of attorney. I have a large SUV that is difficult for her to get in and out of. I want to get a smaller vehicle that would be easier to access, but the loan would need to be in her name. She has dementia, so do I have the right under the power of attorney to sign the loan for her?

Medicare prescription drug plans can have a coverage gap—called the “donut hole”–which limits how much Medicare will pay for your drugs until you pay a certain amount out of pocket.

We have been waiting for an answer from Medicaid about home care for our mother. We have sent in every type of documentation they have asked for, but each time we do, they come up with more that they need and wait days before telling us. We call constantly and they ignore us. This has been going on for three months. Today, we tried to get ahold of a supervisor and they hung up on us. Our mom cannot be alone, so we have depleted her savings to pay someone to be with her. The cost is unsustainable. How can we get a decision on whether Medicaid will cover the cost of her care?