Elder Law Newsletters

Asset Management – Viatical and Senior Settlements

In a viatical or senior settlement, a person who owns a life insurance policy sells the policy for a lump sum payment, usually a percentage of the policy’s face value, to a buyer. The buyer of the policy then becomes the beneficiary, pays the premiums, and receives the full amount of the insurance when the original owner dies. Viatical settlements can be risky for both the sellers and the buyers and should be evaluated carefully.

Available Resource Requirements for a Single Person

Medicaid will pay for medically necessary care in skilled or intermediate care nursing homes. Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal and state governments, and individual states have their own methodologies for administering their Medicaid programs.

Housing – Residential Facilities and Voting Rights

Although the right to vote is fundamental in the United States, state law governs the manner in which this right is exercised. Although almost one-half of the states have passed laws addressing the voting rights of those living in residential facilities, these laws differ significantly.

Medicare Fraud

Every year, Medicare is cheated out of millions of dollars due to fraud. Fraud includes billing Medicare for services never provided or for services different than those provided. It also includes using someone else’s Medicare card to obtain health care.

Medicare – Limiting Charges and Assignment

Medicare limits the amount it will pay for some services, supplies, and medical equipment. This is called the Medicare limiting charge. Whether a limiting charge is available to help limit the cost of services or supplies, however, depends upon who is rendering the service, whether the provider has agreed to accept assignment, what type of item or service is at issue, and whether the physician and the patient executed a private contract. Assignment means that a provider has agreed that it will accept the Medicare-defined reasonable and customary fee for its services. A full discussion of assignment appears in a separate article.