Posted on 12/16/2013 7:39:27 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
As thousands of state residents enroll in Washingtons expanded Medicaid program, many will be surprised at fine print: After youre dead, your estate can be billed for ordinary health-care expenses. State officials are scrambling to change the rule.
It wasnt the moonlight, holiday-season euphoria or family pressure that made Sofia Prins and Gary Balhorn, both 62, suddenly decide to get married.
It was the fine print.
As fine print is wont to do, it had buried itself in a long form Balhorns application for free health insurance through the expanded state Medicaid program. As the paperwork lay on the dining-room table in Port Townsend, Prins began reading.
She was shocked: If youre 55 or over, Medicaid can come back after youre dead and bill your estate for ordinary health-care expenses.
The way Prins saw it, that meant health insurance via Medicaid is hardly free for Washington residents 55 or older. Its a loan, one whose payback requirements arent well advertised. And it penalizes people who, despite having a low income, have managed to keep a home or some savings they hope to pass to heirs, Prins said.
With an estimated 223,000 adults seeking health insurance headed toward Washingtons expanded Medicaid program over the next three years, the states estate-recovery rules, which allow collection of nearly all medical expenses, have come under fire.
Medicaid, in keeping with federal policy, has long tapped into estates. But because most low-income adults without disabilities could not qualify for typical medical coverage through Medicaid, recovery primarily involved expenses for nursing homes and other long-term care.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.com ...
I think it’s fair to say that
the Obama administration’s domestic policy can be summed up in two words:
“Get Whitey”
I find it baffling that so many people here on FR would complain about this, when the reality is that without government-run health care most of the people mentioned in these articles would probably have died long before they ever reached this point. LOL.
Get Whitey, unless he’s really wealthy and contributes to “progressive” causes, LOL
Thanks...glad to know. For those who actually PLAN for the future.
I think it’s more than 3 years now....5 or 7 I think
This isn’t really new. In order to get into a nursing home on even Medicare you have to basically go through every dime you have before it kicks in. That includes equity in real estate.
Free ain’t free..................
Yes - if people plan far enough in advance they can legally & carefully liquidate their assets in a way that preserves at least some inheritance for grandchildren & children.
The problem is many (most?) people do not think about how they may need a nursing home several years in the future so they ignore careful planning.
It depends. For many people Medicaid is junk. They are now forcing people on it. Are the reclaiming only the actual medical expenses, or also imputed premiums?
Not everyone on Medicaid or going on Medicaid is in these circumstances. However, my understanding is that because the DeathCare law expands who is eligible for Medicaid, a large number of those newly-eligible are folks with a bit more money and often some assets.
Here is a link to an article about the woman that I cited:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303531204579207724152219590
It makes no mention of property in this article, but I can imagine that many people similarly-situated may have a home or a few assets, and find that they are being forced into Medicaid quite against their will, and for those with a few assets, against their own interests.
Expanded Medicaid eligibility - and forced enrollment - will ensnare more folks into this trap.
sitetest
if they or their estate can, why in hell shouldn’t they pay back the taxpayers? what’s so shocking about paying for what you take?
I think they should have paid for what they took when they took it, the govt should not be spending tax money giving things to people who don’t need the taxpayers’ “charity”
fix how the govt operates ... and then there will be a lot of money freed up ... that can be used for the (far fewer) cases where there’s real need ....and the majority of the funds can be refunded to the taxpayers. Thus we will achieve a far, far fairer system ...and some genuine stimulus for the sick Obama economy
I find it interesting how people use the words “healthcare” and “free” together.
$3500 coffin $700-$1000 on line.
Agree.
If I am not mistaken, the rule is now 5 years. My mother's estate was under the 3 year rule, just barely before it was changed several years ago.
That’s why irrevocable trusts exist.
The extortion would be when the govt requires them to purchase the health ins, in this case through medicaid, making them sign over their house when they could have chosen an affordable method to cover their health care except for that same govt.
***She was shocked: If youre 55 or over, Medicaid can come back after youre dead and bill your estate for ordinary health-care expenses.****
Yes they can! We found that out when my mom and my mother-in-law died in a nursing home.
Put everything in a Revocable Trust to keep their hands off!
Yes but you have to do it 5 years ahead of time.
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