Fifty Plus Advocates

Cathleen H. Summers A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says, “people who reach age 65 will likely have a 40 percent chance of entering a nursing home. About 10 percent of the people who enter a nursing home will stay there five years or more. This year, about nine million [...]

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By Cathleen Summers When you apply for Medicaid (known as MassHealth in Massachusetts) to pay for nursing home costs for a parent or spouse, the state will look back to see if your loved one gave away any assets in the past five years. If no assets have been transferred, and the person otherwise qualifies [...]

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By Linda T. Cammuso Consider the following scenarios: •“My Medicare days are running out and I still need more rehab; what do I do now?” •“My mother needs nursing home care, and she never planned for this event — is to too late to apply for MassHealth?” While it is always better to plan ahead [...]

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By Linda T. Cammuso Nursing home care or the need for long-term-care services is among the most serious financial burden a senior will experience in his or her lifetime. In the United States, the average cost for nursing home care exceeds $70,000 annually — in fact some nursing facilities in Massachusetts cost well over $100,000. [...]

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By Cathleen Summers After acquiring a lifetime of assets, many seniors wish to transfer these assets to loved ones. Before doing so, it is well worth the time and effort to understand the basics of Medicaid (also called MassHealth here in Massachusetts) and the five-year look-back rule, which can be especially confusing. MassHealth is a [...]

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By Margot Birke In order to understand Medicaid qualifications, you first need to know how Medicaid treats your assets. Basically, Medicaid breaks your assets down in to two separate categories. The first is those assets that are exempt, and the second is those assets, which are non-exempt, or countable. Exempt assets are those that Medicaid [...]

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