Law Update

Access to telehealth services for seniors may take off in the coming years thanks to the CHRONIC CARE Act, signed into law in February 2018.  The new law was part of the newly approved federal budget that enables virtual doctor visits for Americans covered by Medicare Advantage plans. The new law will make it easier […]

2018 Elder Law Numbers The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the new Medicare premiums, deductibles, and co-payments for 2018: Basic Part B premium: $134.00/month (was $109.00 in 2017) Part B deductible: $183 (same as 2017) Part A deductible: $1,340 (was $1,316 in 2017) Co-payment for hospital stay days 61-90: $335/day (was […]

By Jane M. Fearn-Zimmer, Esquire Clients frequently want to know whether they may make gifts to their children and grandchildren for birthdays, holidays or to assist the child financially.  It is not uncommon to encounter confusion between the federal gift tax regulations with the Medicaid regulations, which are two entirely distinct sets of rules. Many […]

Republican Tax Plan Will Permit Grandparents To Establish 529 Plans for Grandchild’s K-12 Private School Education The Republican tax plan that was finalized on Friday and expected to become law by the end of the year, contains many provisions that arguably benefit wealthier families.  One of the new provisions involves changes to 529 plan funding.  Under […]

Practicing law without a license in the State of New Jersey is a crime, subject to prosecution.   On May 16, 2016, New Jersey’s Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, which is appointed by its Supreme Court, issued an opinion concerning permissible and impermissible activities of non-lawyer Medicaid advisors, including so-called “Application Assistors.” The Committee held that only a […]

Pennsylvania’s Aging Waiver Program is a Medicaid eligible program that covers home and community care and related services.  Effective April 1, 2016, Maximus is the Enrollment Broker for all of the Waiver Programs.  The below article written by elder law attorney, Dana Breslin, with contribution form elder law attorney, Leslie Wizelman, sets for the new procedure for enrolling in the PA […]

The Alzheimer’s Association has published its 2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.  The updated statistics regarding the financial impact of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementia should be eye opening.  You can read the updated report at the below link. 2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures

Our goal, as an elder care law firm, is to help families navigate the long-term care process when caring for a chronically disabled loved one.  An unfortunate example of the complicated long-term care health system is illustrated in a February 7, 2016 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Pennsylvania resident, Charles  Prozzillo, a dialysis patient due to […]

On January  11, 2016, Governor Christie signed the New Jersey ABLE Act into law.  The law is not scheduled to take effect until October 2016. Under the Achieving A Better Life Experience (ABLE) program, persons who become disabled before age 26 can open an ABLE account, and become the beneficiary of that account.  The beneficiary and […]

The Pennsylvania Medicaid penalty divisor is revised each year as nursing facility care costs increase.  Effective January 1, 2016, the penalty divisor is set at $302.42 per day and $9,198.61 per month. ($302.42 x 365 / 12 = $9,198.61).  These 2016 divisor amounts represent an increase of approximately 3% from the 2015 figures of $293.15 […]

We want to thank all of our clients, their families, and professional friends and colleagues who have made our elder care firm seminars so successful by attending our Professional and Caregiver Seminar Series over previous years.  We are proud to announce our 2016 seminar series for long term care professionals.  We will continue to offer continuing education credits […]

2016 Elder Law Numbers The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the new Medicare premiums, deductibles, and co-payments for 2016: Basic Part B premium: $104.90/month * (no change from 2015) Part B deductible: $166 (was $147 in 2015) Part A deductible: $1,288 (was $1,260 in 2015) Co-payment for hospital stay days 61-90: […]

Since the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (“DRA”), the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (“Department”) has attempted to limit the use of annuities in the asset protection strategy known as “half-a-loaf” gifting.  Half-a-loaf gifting is a technique used to reduce a Medicaid applicant’s resources by gifting one-half of his or her resources […]

The Obama administration touted ACOs as one of the most promising reforms in the 2010 federal health care law.  The administration set a goal that by the end of 2018, half of Medicare spending currently based on the volume of procedures a doctor or hospital performs will instead be linked to quality and frugality.  But, so far the […]

Case Law Update – Federal Appeals Court Rules Short Term Annuities Are Not Resources Preventing Medicaid Eligibility On September 2, 2015, in the case of Zahner vs. Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, a federal appeals court ruled that annuities with certain characteristics, including nonassignability clauses, are not assets to be counted as resources” for purposes of […]