Elder Law Today Podcast Show #8 Medicaid Horror Stories

Elder Law Today Podcast

In show number 8 of his podcast, Elder Law Today, practicing elder law attorney, Yale Hauptman, discusses some real life case studies to illustrate how the Medicaid laws can trip people up and cause much stress and financial loss for the unprepared and unwary.

Yale first discusses the case of the granddaughter caring for her grandmother full time, with Grandmom providing the funds to support both of them. Things go wrong when Grandmom’s condition deteriorates to the point where nursing home care is necessary and the money has run out. Learn the mistakes that this family made and why it has become much harder to fix them under the new Medicaid laws.

Next, Yale discusses a call he received from a son in Mississippi who took in his parents to his own home, moving them from New Jersey. The parents transferred their home to Son, who then put it up for sale. The plan fell apart when Dad took ill and needed nursing home care much sooner than anticipated. He applied for Medicaid and was denied because of the home transfer. The Medicaid caseworker told the family they would need to transfer the home back and spend down the sale proceeds before Dad could then qualify. Learn why their course of action was the wrong one for more than one reason and what they could do fix it and immediately qualify Dad and preserve the funds for Mom.

Yale then discusses the call he received from the frantic daughter who was sued by the nursing home when, after 8 years, Mom lost her Medicaid eligibility. The nursing home sought $80,000, the private pay cost of care for Mom. Why did it happen and what do you need to do to prevent it from happening to your family? Tune in.

The final case study concerns a couple who was unprepared when suddenly Husband took ill, needing nursing home care. They were told that he would qualify for Medicaid but that some amount of money would have to be spent down first. Unfortunately, Wife did not fully understand the urgency and did not spend down to the necessary levels for 6 months. The nursing home presented them with a bill for $70,000, the private pay amount for that period of time, for which Medicaid will not cover. Yale talks about why this outcome didn’t have to happen and what could have been done to avoid it.

Yale also takes time to answer some more listener emails. Learn what to do when a bank resists honoring a power of attorney that is presented to it. This 8th installment is sure to answer many of the questions you have about common elder law issues.

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