Law Update

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 […]

Illinois has recently joined the small list of states to pass a law that allows nursing home residents and their families to place video or audio monitoring devices in resident rooms.   Illinois joins Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Maryland who have previously enacted granny cam statutes.  The new law allows residents of nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities or […]

On July 16, 2015, CMS published in the Federal Register an exhaustive proposed rule on requirements for long-term care facilities. It is the first update of nursing home regulations in over 20 years.  One of the proposed provisions concerns dispute resolution — specifically, binding arbitration agreements — at Sec. 483.70(n). CMS’ posted background on this topic provides, […]

Legislation that will require hospitals to notify patients of their status as outpatients has passed Congress and should be signed into law by the President.  Outpatient status limits the patient’s ability to receive Medicare coverage for care in a skilled nursing facility after discharge from the hospital. The law will apply in situations where a […]

Medicare has recently proposed reimbursement to health care providers for counseling on end of life issues.   You can read about the proposed regulation at the below link. Medicare Proposes Doctor Reimbursement for End of Life Counseling      

On June 23, 2015, the Jimmo Implementation Council convened at the US Capitol in Washington, DC sponsored by the Center for Medicare Advocacy (CMA).  According to CMA “The purpose of the Jimmo Council is to nurture a community of experts committed to working together to implement the Jimmo v. Sebelius Settlement – to open access to Medicare and […]

This past February, Jerry and I both blogged on the ABLE Act, which created a new type of tax-advantaged savings plans for the benefit of disabled individuals under § 529A of the federal Internal Revenue Code.  ABLE accounts will be somewhat similar to educational savings accounts established under I.R.C. § 529.  The new provision is […]

With support from the John A. Hartford Foundation, the Center for Medicare Advocacy has created a Council of beneficiary advocates, providers, policy-makers and other partners to discuss, analyze and advance the implementation of the Jimmo v. Sebelius “Improvement Standard” Settlement. The Council will convene on June 23, 2015 in Washington, DC. I have the privilege […]

Effective April 1, 2015, the New Jersey Department of Health and Human Services has announced that the Medicaid penalty divisor has been increased to $332.59 per day or $10,116.28 per month.  The previous divisor was $313.50 per day or $9,535.25 per month. The new divisor shall be used for all new and pending Medicaid applications for an eligibility […]

he U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held its first hearing of the 114th Congress on February 4, 2015. Signifying the importance and timeliness of elder abuse, the Committee chose “Broken Trust: Combating Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Seniors” as its topic.

By Jane M. Fearn-Zimmer, Esquire Jerold E. Rothkoff, Esquire blogged on new legislation passed by Congress called the ABLE Act, which allows  people who can show that they become disabled prior to the age of twenty-six (26) and their families, to enjoy tax-favored savings for a variety of expenses, by establishing an  a savings account […]