The House Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives conducted a hearing aimed at understanding and developing a strategy for combating abuses of Medicaid eligibility rules. Chairman Trey Gowdy (SC-4) began the hearing by explaining that Medicaid is currently an unsustainable system due in part to beneficiaries gaming the system. The costs of Medicaid nationally have exploded from less than 75 billion dollars per year two decades ago to over 400 billion dollars per year, causing both state governments and the Federal Government to struggle financially. “Although Medicaid technically has income and asset tests, these tests are easy to circumvent and abuse,” explained Chairman Gowdy, “In fact, an entire cottage industry has arisen seeking to educate the wealthy on how to transfer assets so tax payers can pay for their long term care.” According to panelists, wealthier individuals can artificially minimize their assets by taking advantage of a variety of exemptions. Home equity, for example, can be exempt from means testing up to a limit of $500,000 or $750,000, and assets held in one business, including capital and cash flow, can be exempt without any limit. Individuals also often transfer assets to children to qualify for benefits. Ms. Janice Eulau, Assistant Administrator of the Medicaid Services Division of the Suffolk County Department of Social Services, described the importance of more education as well as new laws in preventing abuses. She finds that most people do not understand what Medicare does not cover until they need a certain service and are denied by Medicare. “Wealthy seniors fail to realize the value or need for Long Term Care Insurance,” said Eulau. “Having a better understanding of the limits of Medicare would enable seniors to make timely and informed decisions regarding their future care needs.” Watch the full hearing: "Examining Abuses of Medicaid Eligibility Rules.” Suggested Articles: Consumer Funding Resources, Financing Senior Living – Consumer Education, Long Term Care Insurance, Long Term Care Insurance Education, Medicaid, Medicaid, Reports
Researchers examine the key issues surrounding entitlement program policy discussions and point out current societal shortcomings, such as the general...
cheatsheet, Financing Senior Living – Consumer Education, Medicaid, Medicare
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has issued a brief analyzing how raising the eligibility age for Medicare and Social Security would affect benef...
Financing Senior Living – Consumer Education, Medicaid
A study of the Money Follows the Person program, designed to transition Medicaid individuals living in institutions back into the community, has found...
Financing Senior Living – Consumer Education, Hearings, Medicaid
The House Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives conducted a hearing aimed at understanding and developin...
CEO, Financing Senior Living – Consumer Education, Long Term Care Insurance Education, Medicaid, Public Policy, Reports
A new report, designed to help states foster policies that encourage high quality care for older adults, analyzed the performance of long term service...
Elder Abuse, Medicaid, Medicare, Public Policy
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has released a memo offering guidance for nursing homes and hospices on a component of the Social Security Act t...
Financing Senior Living – Consumer Education, Medicaid, Medicare, Public Policy
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released plans for new initiatives aimed at providing better quality care for the nine million Americ...
Medicaid, Medicare, Public Policy, Reports
The Congressional Budget Office has released its 2011 Long Term Budget Outlook, predicting significant increases in health care spending for Medicare ...
Financing Senior Living – Consumer Education, Medicaid, Public Policy
The 90 billion dollars in federal financing, included in 2009’s economic recovery package as aid for Medicaid programs, is about to run out at the end...
Financing Senior Living – Consumer Education, Medicaid, Medicare
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – June 15, 2011 – The Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) today expressed its concern in a letter to the U.S. Centers for Med...
Financing Senior Living – Consumer Education, Medicaid, Medicare
ALFA has written a letter expressing its concerns with regulation proposed last April by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. If the rule rem...
Financing Senior Living – Consumer Education, Medicaid, Medicare
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the introduction of two new tools, aimed at improving care and reducing costs by al...
Medicaid
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid proposed a rule which may potentially prevent assisted living providers from participating in the Home and Communit...
Medicaid, Medicare, Public Policy
The bill to repeal last year’s healthcare reform law was defeated in the Senate last week, but the fight is far from over. Many Republicans and some D...
09/27/2011
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