Jan Neal Law Firm, LLC

Alabama Estate, Elder and Special Needs Law

Tag Archives: Long-term Care Planning


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Avoid The Ultimate Co-mingling of Assets

It is standard advice to avoid co-mingle property of an older relative with your own money because it may be necessary to prove what belongs to each.  For instance, if your relative needs to apply for Medicaid it may be difficult to provide a clean trail of his or her assets and expenditures for five years prior to application as is required by Medicaid.

But the ultimate co-mingling is when families live on property owned by the older relative who never partitioned the property to deed individual parcels to the children or grandchildren. It is not unusual to see families who live and operate businesses off the property of an aging mother, father, or grandparent.  This can provide a great family support system and work for all parties involved.  Until it doesn’t. 

If the aging parent becomes sick enough to need nursing home placement and there are not enough liquid resources to pay for that, then the property will need to be liquidated to provide income to pay for nursing home care or to spend down assets before qualifying for Medicaid.  This leaves the relatives living on the property in a very precarious position.

If you are in this position, get legal advice now about what you can do to protect yourself and your aging relative before it becomes an emergency.     


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How Gift Giving Can Affect Medicaid

If you will need Medicaid to pay for long-term care for you or your spouse in the next five years, you need to be careful with gift giving because giving away money or property can interfere with your eligibility. 

Under federal Medicaid law, if you transfer certain assets within five years before applying for Medicaid, you will be ineligible for a period of time (called a transfer penalty), depending on how much money you transferred. Even small transfers can affect eligibility. While federal law allows individuals to gift up to $16,000 a year (in 2022) without having to pay a gift tax, Medicaid law still treats that gift as a transfer.  In fact, for every $6600 you give away you will incur a one month period of ineligibility for Medicaid. A month of penalty means Medicaid will not pay for your care, no matter how destitute you are.    

Medicaid reviews all bank records for five years prior to application. Any transfer that you make, however innocent, will come under scrutiny. For example, Medicaid does not have an exception for gifts to charities. If you give money to a charity, it could affect your Medicaid eligibility down the road. Similarly, gifts for Christmas, weddings, birthdays, and graduations can all cause a transfer penalty, however reasonable gifts are usually allowed. If you buy something for a friend or relative, this could also result in a transfer penalty.  Also selling property for less than the tax assessor’s appraised value is considered an uncompensated transfer of the amount for which you sold the property for less than the tax value.  You will need documentation showing that you received fair market value in return for a transferred asset to avoid incurring a penalty. Repaying a debt not supported by a promissory note will also be considered a transfer subject to a penalty.

While most transfers are penalized, certain transfers are exempt from this penalty. Even after entering a nursing home, you may transfer any asset to the following individuals without having to wait out a period of Medicaid ineligibility:

  • your spouse
  • a trust for the sole benefit of your child who is blind or permanently disabled
  • a special needs trust for the benefit of the Medicaid applicant

In addition, special exceptions apply to the transfer of a home. The Medicaid applicant’s home may be transferred to the following individuals without incurring a transfer penalty:

  • A spouse
  • A child who is under age 21
  • A child who is blind or disabled (the house does not have to be in a trust)
  • A sibling who has lived in the home during the year preceding the applicant’s institutionalization and who already holds an equity interest in the home
  • A “caretaker child,” who is defined as a child of the applicant who lived in the house for at least two years prior to the applicant’s institutionalization and who during that period provided care that allowed the applicant to avoid a nursing home stay.


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Safety Warning For Adult Portable Bed Rail Models

An advisory issued earlier this month warns people against using a series of adult portable bed rail models after at least three people — including one in a nursing home and another in an assisted living facility — were entangled in them and died of asphyxia.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission named the following 10 models of Mobility Transfer Systems adult portable bed rails in which it says users may become trapped, resulting in serious injury or death:

  • Freedom Grip (model 501)
  • Freedom Grip Plus (model 502)
  • Freedom Grip Travel (model 505)
  • Reversible Slant Rail (model 600)
  • Transfer Handle (model 2025)
  • Easy Adjustable (model 2500)
  • 30-Inch Security Bed Rail, single-sided (model 5075)
  • 30-Inch Security Bed Rail – Extra Tall, single-sided (model 5075T)
  • 30-Inch SecurityBed Rail, double-sided (model 5085)
  • 30-Inch SecurityBed Rail – Extra Tall, double-sided (model 5085T)

The Commission’s advisory “urges consumers to immediately stop use, disassemble, and dispose of” these bed rails, which have been on the market since 1992 and available through such online retailers as Walmart.com and Amazon.com.

Users can report any incidents related to these rails at www.SaferProducts.gov.


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Medicaid Personal Liability

When Nursing Home Medicaid eligibility has been established there is an amount of income that the nursing home resident must pay directly to the nursing home.  After that amount is paid Medicaid picks up the difference in that personal liability and the nursing home Medicaid rate for room and board.    

Before paying the personal liability Medicaid will allow the resident to keep:

  • The personal needs allowance of $30 per month;
  • The spousal minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (enough money to bring the income of the spouse at home up to $2178);
  • Family maintenance needs allowance (a similar allowance for minor or dependent adult child, a dependent parent or a dependent sibling of either spouse);
  • Costs of necessary medical or remedial care not covered by a third party (e.g. Medicare Part B premium).

These allowances are made to the extent the resident’s income can cover them.  It is entirely possible for the patient to exhaust his or her income before paying any personal liability at all to the nursing home.

It is important to remember that during the time a Medicaid application is pending the resident should pay the estimated personal liability or risk receiving a bill for this amount from the nursing home.  After eligibility is established Medicaid will publish the exact personal liability to use.

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Alabama Medicaid for Long Term Care

To assist caregivers who are making arrangements for long term care a booklet concerning Alabama Medicaid is being made available to provide clarity for some of the issues that may arise and to provide basic information about the application process. The booklet is made available here and will remain available in the Publications section of our website. It can be read online or downloaded and printed.

Qualifying for Alabama Medicaid for Long Term CareDownload


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Long Term Care for Veterans in Alabama

The Veterans Administration has a federal and state program addressing health care needs of veterans and provides an option for long-term care.

There are four VA nursing facilities in Alabama:

  • Bill Nichols State Veterans Home in Alexander City; 
  • William F. Green State Veterans Home in Bay Minette; 
  • Floyd E. “Tut” Fann State Veterans Home in Huntsville; and 
  • Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home in Pell City.

In the VA system State VA and Federal VA contribute toward the charged rate, leaving the veteran responsible for the remainder. Actually this VA system is a highly affordable nursing home care option after the state and federal government provide subsidies. 

In 2019 the out of pocket cost for care in the VA facilities in Alexander City, Bay Minette and Huntsville is $355.02 per month, and the out of pocket cost for care in the Pell City facility is $732.  

The average wait for a bed is four to five months for Alexander City; six months for Bay Minette; three to four months for Huntsville; and two to three years for Pell City.

In July 2019 The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans to build an additional $60 million veteran’s home on 27 acres in one of nine Southeast Alabama Wiregrass counties. The new nursing facility will provide care for 150 – 175 elderly veterans and will be located in either Barbour, Butler, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Houston or Pike County. 

The VA is required to provide nursing home care to any veteran who needs that level of care because of a service-connected disability, has a combined disability rating of 70 percent or more or has a disability rating of at least 60 percent and is deemed unemployable or has been rated permanently and totally disabled. Other veterans in need of nursing home care will be provided services if resources are available after the priority groups are served.


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Publication on Long-Term Care Planning

Making a long-term care placement is often surprisingly complicated for those who have not previously made a placement. Finding an affordable facility to meet the needs of the person in need of care can be a challenge. Planning is critical to know what to look for and to understand cost of care and payment options for various levels of long-term care.

This e-book will provide information for those persons who will be eventually making a placement, and provide specific information for care in Alabama. It will remain available in Publications at this web site.

Guide to Planning for Long-Term CareDownload


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New VA Pension Benefit Rules To Be Implemented 10/18/18

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has finalized rules that were originally proposed in 2015 that will make it more difficult to qualify for VA pension benefits known as Aid and Attendance and Housebound Benefits. These new rules will change how much an applicant can own and how much an applicant can give away and qualify for benefits by establishing an asset limit, a look-back period, and asset transfer penalties for claimants applying for VA pension benefits that require a showing of financial need.

The VA offers Aid and Attendance as cash payments to low-income veterans (or their spouses) who are in nursing homes or who need help at home with everyday tasks like dressing or bathing.

Currently, to be eligible for Aid and Attendance, a veteran (or the veteran’s surviving spouse) must meet certain income and asset limits. The asset limits aren’t specified, but $80,000 is the amount an applicant is usually allowed to keep. However, unlike with the Medicaid program, there historically have been no penalties if an applicant gives away assets at any time before applying. That is, before now you could transfer assets over $80,000 before applying for benefits, and the transfers would not affect eligibility.

Not so anymore. The new regulations will resemble, to some extent, the existing Medicaid regulations in that the new VA rules set a net worth limit of $123,600, and applicants will be penalized for giving away property within three years of application. This net worth limit of $123,600 will include both the applicant’s countable (non-excluded) assets and his or her income, and net worth will be indexed to inflation in the same way that Social Security increases.

The net worth limit is calculated after first deducting property that will be excluded.  Excluded property includes an applicant’s house (up to a two-acre lot and additional acreage if it is not marketable), and it will not count as an asset even if the applicant is currently living in a nursing home.  Other exclusions from net worth include payment for medical care from their income, including the payments to assisted living facilities.

The regulations also establish a three-year look-back provision. Applicants will have to disclose all financial transactions they were involved in for three years before the application (similar to the Medicaid five year look-back). Applicants who transferred assets to put themselves below the net worth limit within three years of applying for benefits will be subject to a penalty period that can last as long as five years. This penalty is a period of time during which the person who transferred assets will not be eligible for VA benefits. There are exceptions to the penalty period for fraudulent transfers and for transfers to a trust for a child who is unable to provide “self-support.”

Under the new rules, the VA will determine a penalty period in months by dividing the amount transferred that would have put the applicant over the net worth limit by the maximum annual pension rate (MAPR) for a veteran with one dependent in need of aid and attendance. In 2018 that amount is $2169.67.

For example, assume the net worth limit is $123,600 and an applicant has a net worth of $115,000. The applicant transferred $30,000 to a friend during the look-back period. If the applicant had not transferred the $30,000, his net worth would have been $145,000, which exceeds the net worth limit by $21,400. The penalty period will be calculated based on $21,400, the amount the applicant transferred that put his assets over the net worth limit (145,000-123,600).  The transfer subject to penalty would be divided by the 2018 MAPR of $2169.67, resulting in a 9.86 month penalty ($21,400 divided by $2169.67 = 9.86).  The penalty begins to run on the first day of the month following the month of transfer.

The new rules go into effect on October 18, 2018. The VA will disregard asset transfers made before that date.

The new regulations may be read at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/18/2018-19895/net-worth-asset-transfers-and-income-exclusions-for-needs-based-benefits


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New Federal Direction on Home and Community Based Waiver Eligibility

When a person applies for Medicaid to pay for long-term care, either in a nursing home or through the Home and Community Based Waiver (HCBW), Medicaid examines the applicant’s financial transactions for five years preceding the application to determine if any funds were given away or property sold for less than the value assigned by Medicaid.  If so, a penalty is calculated by dividing the value of the amount transferred by $6100 (as of 2018) to determine the number of months of ineligibility.

In nursing home Medicaid cases it was always clear that the penalty started to run when the person resided in a nursing facility and would meet all requirements for Medicaid eligibility but for the existence of the penalty for transferring assets.  In that situation a person is approved for Medicaid subject to the applicable penalty.  He or she is billed privately during the penalty period, often at the peril of relatives who need to come up with funds to pay the bill.  When the number of months of penalty assigned runs out, Medicaid will then pay for the resident’s care.

It has not been so clear about how to get the penalty running in HCBW cases.  If the penalty cannot run until the person receives HCBW services, but the person cannot receive HCBW because of the transfer of assets, then you can never get past the penalty period.  When the application is not taken upon identifying asset transfers, the penalty becomes permanent ineligibility for HCBW services.

On April 17, 2018, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services provided revised guidance on how to establish the start date for transfer penalties for HCBW applicants. In that directive CMS indicates that the penalty would begin to run at the point at which a state has: determined that the applicant meets the financial and non-financial requirements for Medicaid eligibility and the level-of-care criteria for the waiver; developed for the individual a person-centered service plan; and identified an available waiver slot for the individual’s placement. The penalty period for that applicant begins no later than the date on which a state has confirmed that all of these requirements are met, and transfers that would be subject to a penalty would be those that were made on or after the 60 months preceding this same date.

It would appear that persons who have transferred assets need to request that the application for HCBW still be taken, a care plan developed and proof provided that a waiver slot is available to establish the date all of these requirements have been met.  Hopefully Medicaid will develop procedures to document eligibility for HCBW subject to the penalty so that services can begin when the penalty has run.

The CMS revised guidance can be read here.


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Planning for the Rising Cost of Long-Term Care

Physiotherapist Holding Senior Patient's Hand On WheelchairPlanning for long-term care is an important issue to tackle, and the latest forecast shows that the associated costs of care are reaching well beyond the average person’s means.  This makes planning to save an estate an important proposition, and the earlier the planning, the greater the options.

The median cost of a private nursing home room in the United States has increased to $97,455 a year, up 5.5 percent from 2016, according to Genworth’s 2017 Cost of Care Survey.  Genworth, an insurer, surveys and publishes long-term care prices across the country annually and provides a benchmark for what caregivers will need to finance long-term care.  The company reports that the median cost of a semi-private room in a nursing home is $85,775, up 4.44 percent from 2016.

The price rise was slightly less for assisted living facilities, where the median rate rose 3.36 percent, to $3,750 a month. The national median rate for the services of a home health aide was $22 an hour, up from $20 in 2016, and the cost of adult day care, which provides support services in a protective setting during part of the day, rose from $68 to $70 a day.

For Alabama, the Genworth survey reports that the average semi-private nursing home room in 2017 was $72,996 per year/$6,083 per month (up from $71,172 per year/$5931 per month from 2016), and the average private nursing home room was $77,568 per year /$6,464 per month (up from $75,192 per year/$6,266 per month in 2016).  The average assisted living facility was $36,684 per year/$3,057 per month (up from $34,800 per year/$2,900 per month in 2016).

Alaska continues to be the costliest state for nursing home care, with the median annual cost of a private nursing home room totaling $292,000. Oklahoma again was found to be the most affordable state, with a median annual cost of a private room of $63,510.

The 2017 survey was based on responses from more than 15,000 nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult day health facilities and home care providers. The survey was conducted by phone during May and June of 2017.