While nursing home bills accrue, the healthy or well spouse, known as the “Community Spouse,” [Note 1] struggles to identify and keep income and resources that are necessary to support herself. [Note 2]. To remedy this situation, Congress enacted spousal impoverishment provisions as part of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 (“MCCA”). [Note 3].
The spousal impoverishment provisions were designed to end the pauperization of Community Spouses by allowing them to protect a sufficient, but not excessive, spousal share of the marital resources and income to meet their own needs. Meanwhile, the Institutionalized Spouse is in a nursing home at Medicaid’s expense. The spousal impoverishment provisions are codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1396r-5.
After Medicaid eligibility is established, 42 C.F.R. § 435.725 addresses how income is treated. For…
In Harrison v. Young (5th Cir. June 6, 2024), the Fifth Circuit considered Ms. Barbara…
From time to time federal regulations covering nursing home quality of care are updated. Thus…
Nursing homes that accept Medicare or Medicaid are required to comply with quality of care…
On June 11, 2024, the Gerontologist published an article on Medicaid enrollment and Intergenerational transfers…
Dementia affects more than 50 million people worldwide. The Virtual Dementia Tour is designed to…