Holiday Surprises
Usually when we hear the term “holiday surprises” we think about a special gift or an unexpected, but welcome visit […]
If My Senior Family Member Has to Go to the Nursing Home, Will Medicare Pay the Bill?
Many times when a senior falls, the result is a broken hip. After surgery, the senior will most likely be released from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility for help in regaining their strength and balance before ultimately returning home.
Florida Medicaid Basics – Countable and Non-Countable Real Estate
When you need to turn to Medicaid for assistance in paying the costs of your long-term care, one of the things that you need to do is to divide your assets into Medicaid countable assets and Medicaid non-countable assets. The amount of your countable assets cannot exceed $2,000. When it comes to real estate, some real estate assets are countable assets and some are non-countable assets.
Florida Medicaid Basics – What is a Patient Responsibility?
A nursing home resident receiving assistance from Medicaid still has a responsibility to pay a portion of their monthly nursing home bill. The resident’s portion of the bill is called the patient responsibility. The patient responsibility is calculated by subtracting Medicaid allowed deductions from the patient’s gross monthly income. The amount of income left after the allowed deductions are subtracted is paid to the nursing home each month as the resident’s patient responsibility.
A Tale of Two Medicare Recipients
Sam, who is 80 years old, recently had a stroke. Fortunately for Sam and his family, he is on the road to recovery. After an initial 4 day stay in the hospital, Sam was released to a skilled nursing facility for rehab. He needed to regain his strength and his balance. After 8 weeks in the skilled nursing facility, Sam was strong enough to go home.
Florida Medicaid Lets The Community Spouse Keep Their Income
Many stressful events can occur during a marriage and having a spouse no longer safely able to live at home due to declining health can be right up at the top of the list. Long-term care is expensive. In Florida, the monthly costs for living in a skilled nursing facility can range from $6,000 – $8,000 per month.
A Personal Services Agreement Can Be Used With Florida Medicaid
The Florida Medicaid long-term care program provides much needed services to its participants. However, even with Medicaid in place, there are still services that family members continue to provide to their loved one.
Florida Medicaid and the Community Spouse
When a spouse needs to turn to Florida Medicaid to help pay for the costs of long-term care, it can create anxiety for the well spouse for a number of reasons. First, there is worry about the spouse in need. Can their needs be met in an assisted living community or do they need the higher level of care that a skilled nursing facility provides?
A Gift Isn’t Treated The Same Under IRS and Florida Medicaid Rule
You decide that you want to make a gift to a favorite family member or friend. You write a check and send it off in the mail with that warm feeling that generous acts can inspire. Who would ever stop to think that making a gift could cause you harm? The hidden trap with gifting is that many people are familiar with the IRS annual gifting rules, but they are not familiar with the Florida Medicaid rules.
The PACE Program Helps Seniors Stay In Their Homes
Understandably, seniors want to maintain their independence in their homes as long as they can. However, as their needs for assistance increase, sometimes staying in their homes alone all day can create an unhealthy and unsafe situation. They may stop eating well because they don’t have the ability or the desire to cook.