A son tells of life situations that force a nursing home choice on a family

An Annuity Is an Investment Before I get into my opinion let’s first establish an understanding. When I refer to Veterans benefits, I am referring to the special improved pension that most folks know by “VA Aid and Attendance.” Let’s also understand that annuities are investments and as such have a place in one’s investment…

House Bill 6698, “Stop Unfair Medicaid Recoveries Act”, Needs to be Enacted Now The Bill introduced by Representative Jan Shakowski, would repeal Medicaid Estate Recovery (MER). This is the part of the law that says the government must take – collect against – any property a Medicaid recipient of long term care services  (e.g. nursing…

Here’s a common situation. Dad has died Mom has been living in the home with help of the children. She refused to leave and live with her daughter. Then she had a bad fall, broke her hip and she could not return to home so she had to stay in a nursing home. The kids…

Many healthy seniors choose a Medicare Advantage plan with high out of pocket costs and high deductibles. This is quite understandable for someone who does not have a chronic medical condition and has “not seen a doctor in years.” But, they may get hit hard if they visit the hospital emergency department with a routine…

It’s a fact. Everybody knows that many elder seniors can only remain in their homes with help. It might be help with general upkeep, or financial matters,  or it might be for personal assistance items like help with bathing or preparing meals. What if Mom pays a neighbor or daughter to help her and some…

This post is the second in a series on Medicaid estate recovery, or “the government gets your house law.” Here we question why Medicaid has estate recovery but Medicare does not. Both are “medical insurance” for sick elders and both spend large sums of money for sick elders. The “Economics” of Medicaid The Medicaid program…