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Medicard
HEALTH Minister Nicola Roxon has struck a Senate deal on the Medicare levy surcharge changes, delivering a tax cut to 250,000 Australians. The new income threshhold before tax penalties cut in will be $70,000 for singles. For couples, the new ...
Publ.Date : Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:06:00 GMT
A compromise version of the Rudd government's changes to the Medicare levy surcharge has been approved by parliament's upper house. The government's bill will lift the income thresholds at which taxpayers, without private health insurance, are ...
Publ.Date : Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:19:00 GMT
The Government has agreed to Independent Senator Nick Xenophon's demands to make changes to the Medicare levy surcharge threshold bill. The Government will now revise the threshold down from its proposed $75,000 for singles to $70,000, and from $150 ...
Publ.Date : Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:19:00 GMT
A COMPROMISE version of the Rudd Government's changes to the Medicare levy surcharge has been approved by Parliament's Upper House. The Government's Bill will lift the income thresholds at which taxpayers, without private health insurance, are ...
Publ.Date : Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:19:00 GMT
The Rudd government's Medicare levy surcharge bill is now likely to pass after an agreement was reached with key senator Nick Xenophon. The bill will lift the income thresholds at which taxpayers, without private health insurance, are slugged a one ...
Publ.Date : Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:13:00 GMT
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Will You Lose Your Home To
Medicaid?
by Jeff Voudrie
“Guarding Your Wealth” is a nationally syndicated weekly personal finance
column written by Jeffrey D. Voudrie, CFP. Mr. Voudrie is the President of
Legacy Planning Group, a private wealth management firm that employs
sophisticated proprietary strategies designed to protect and grow its clients'
investments. Please visit our website,
www.guardingyourwealth.com to read past articles in our archive.
(PRWEB) July 7, 2005 -- The largest financial risk that seniors face today is
the potential of assisted living and nursing home costs to devour the nest egg
that has taken a lifetime to build. Many will end up relying on Medicaid to pay
these costs. If that’s the case for you, chances are that Medicaid will come
after your home when you die.
Before you get alarmed, make sure that you are not confusing Medicare with
Medicaid. Medicare, available to seniors who have paid into the government’s
Social Security system, covers roughly the first 100 days of skilled nursing
home care following a hospital stay of at least 3 days. Medicare doesn’t help
with custodial care.
Since Medicare is, in essence, insurance you have paid for through payroll
taxes, the government can’t try to reclaim that money when you die. Medicaid, on
the other hand, is a welfare program that provides health care to the poor of
any age. Qualifying for Medicaid requires the patient’s liquid assets to be no
more than $2,000, not including their home.
Traditionally, Medicaid has allowed a patient to keep their home while they’re
in the nursing home. Since Medicaid doesn’t force the sale of the home at that
time, many seniors assume they will be able pass it to their heirs at their
death. Recent actions by states are making that less likely.
Back in 1993, Congress passed a law that required the state agencies that run
Medicaid to make every effort to get reimbursement for the money spent on each
patient. This means the states are required by law to take any assets remaining
at death, up to the amount spent by Medicaid. So if Medicaid spends $75,000 for
your care, the states will seek to recover $75,000 from your estate when you
die.
For years, many states completely ignored this law or only casually attempted to
recover Medicaid costs. But those days are over. Facing budget crunches and
exploding health care costs, many states are now aggressively pursuing recovery
of their expenses.
There is a whole industry devoted to shielding seniors’ assets from the
government so that they qualify for Medicaid. These include the use of
irrevocable trusts, placing assets in the name of a child or the purchase of an
annuity. But there are already rules in place that disqualify you for Medicaid
when assets have been transferred to a trust or child within 3 to 5 years of
your application. It will not surprise me to see states try to make it harder to
move or otherwise protect assets.
More common are situations like this hypothetical one. A widow named Thelma
develops dementia and Ted, her son, moves his mom out of her house and into a
nursing home. Thelma’s meager bank accounts are drained and she soon qualifies
for Medicaid. For the next two years, Thelma’s health gradually declines and she
finally passes away.
Several months later, Ted is preparing to fix up the old home place as a
retirement home for him and his wife. But he’s shocked when he receives a notice
from Medicaid that $85,000 is owed to cover the cost of Thelma’s nursing home
care. Ted will then have to sell the old family home, get a mortgage on the home
or use other money he has saved for his own retirement to pay the bill.
Regardless, the result is that the bulk of Thelma’s estate went to the state
instead of to Ted.
What if Thelma’s home wasn’t worth the $85,000 that the state was trying to
recover? States are now beginning to go after other assets and personal
possessions such as vehicles, family heirlooms and antiques. The state can force
the auction of all of Thelma’s belongings by placing a claim against her estate.
The state can legally pursue any and all of Thelma’s assets in an attempt to
recover what was spent on her care. Fortunately, the state can NOT seek to
recover any remaining shortfall from Ted.
Investigate the procedures of the state where care is being received, because
each state has different standards and procedures for Medicaid cost recovery.
The trend will continue for states to increase their attempts at Medicaid
recovery from estates of recipients. Be aware so you aren’t caught off guard.
Have financial questions? I’ll personally answer them. Go to
www.guardingyourwealth.com and click on ‘Ask Jeff’.
In addition to being a nationally syndicated columnist and Certified Financial
Planning Practitioner, Mr. Voudrie provides personal, private money management
services to clients nationwide.
Looking for an energetic expert who is passionate about financial and wealth
management? Mr. Voudrie is an excellent speaker who will excite and inspire your
audience. Mr. Voudrie is available for a limited number of speaking engagements,
television appearances and radio talk shows. For booking information, email
e-mail protected from spam bots.
Related Articles can be found at
www.guardingyourwealth.com under the Guarding Your Wealth Article Archive.
http://www.guardingyourwealth.com
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