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Medicaid is a means tested public assistance program. In short, welfare. Expected to be the safety net of public assistance that ensures access to the quality of long-term care for people who are able to provide themselves.Over the years, however, Medicaid has grown to become the main third-party payer for long-term care for most Americans, not just those in need.
Contrary to popular opinion, eligibility Medicaid long-term care does not impose income limits to program beneficiaries or assets.
The income can be unlimited if doctors expenses including the cost of nursing home care are sufficiently high.
Assets can be unlimited, provided they are carried out in form of exemption, as a business, home, auto, term life insurance, prepaid funerals, etc.Medicaid 's income and eligibility rules assets are easily drawn, even beyond these limits, and very generous.
Medicaid planning attorneys are in the business to do just that. Through creative legal strategies, artificial means of impoverishing the class and even wealthy clients to qualify for Medicaid LTC benefits. This practice has had devastating consequences for the program.
Today, Medicaid funded long term care has a reputation for serious problems of access, quality, reimbursement, discrimination and institutional bias. However, the program continues to explode in cost.
Because Medicaid funding long-term care has been so readily available for forty years, the American people have become to the risk of anesthesia long term care. Rarely, the plan to save, invest or to ensure that risk. Therefore, most end up on Medicaid when they need long term care.
A crisis is ahead. On the crest of age and accidents in the next 30 years, America can not maintain an unfunded liability 84 trillion U.S. dollars in Social Security and Medicare programs, and continue to provide well-funded long term care to non Americans in need.
That's why Reduction Act Deficit was a measure so important. It removed some of the perverse incentives of the responsible public policies that have discouraged long-term planning attention.
By extending the "look back" period from three to five years, the DRA discourage the common practice of giving away wealth to qualify for welfare. Incidentally, the "look back" in the system of socialized Germany LTC is 10 years, twice ours.
Changing the date of transfer of assets eligibility penalty takes effect, the DRA eliminated the single most common strategy Medicaid planning, called "half-a-pan" eliminating the main reason people gave away assets to qualify for Medicaid.
By reducing Medicaid home equity unlimited exemption to no more $ 750,000, the DRA Medicaid discouraged the routine practice of planning "hide the money in the home." Indeed, the exemption of home equity is only $ 36,000 in the UK system of socialized LTC.
By restricting the use of annuities, auto-notes the cancellation of shares, property life and other heinous Medicaid planning tricks of self-impoverishment, DRA sent another clear message to state Medicaid planners that their practices are not unwanted and against customers and the best interests of citizens.
In 1996, Congress passed and then President Clinton signed a law that criminalized practice of advising clients for a fee to transfer assets to qualify for Medicaid. Although not required, that the law clearly states the intent of Congress and the presidency to preserve bipartisan Medicaid as long-term care safety net for the poor.
Thus, Congress should be commended for trying in RBA to save Medicaid. Instead, it has been accused of denying access to the lack of long term care.
Critics have said the RBA to penalize the people routine for gifts to charities or grandchildren.
They have said that deny people care very much needed after all assets have been spent.
Such attacks are completely unfounded. Nothing in the DRA changed the clear statement in the Social Security Act, for asset transfers should be made punishable in order to qualify for Medicaid. Routine Gifts to family members, religious tithing, and transfers of other assets is not exempt if the purpose of social benefits. What about the claim that people are denied care when they most need. This is nonsense too.
The DRA eliminates the main reason people gave assets – half of a strategy of bread. That is, give half their money and qualify for Medicaid in half the time. By Therefore, Medicaid planners can not recommend that strategy, there is no longer any reason for people to give away assets, and therefore, nobody should be vulnerable to a penalty.
But what if it happens? The DRA strengthened rules governing "undue hardship exemptions" to protect people unwittingly incur a transfer of assets penalty.
Let me conclude by explaining the real reason for the attacks on the brave members of Congress who voted in favor of the Deficit Reduction Act. Medicaid planning has been a sub-lucrative law practice 25 years or more.
Medicaid planners routinely make six-figure income and seven of the company's revenue figure diverting scarce Medicaid resources the truly needy-often to their wealthy clients.
The DRA makes this harder to do and therefore oppose Medicaid planners and attack people who voted for him. Responsible policy public requires direct public assistance to the truly needy and encourage everyone else to plan early, save, invest and ensure care long term.
In the long run, that is the only way to guarantee access to quality long term care for all Americans, rich, poor and in between.
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About the Author:
Stephen A. Moses is author of this article on Health Care BPO.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Future of Long Term Care and Medicaid in US
