Miller Trust Texas | Houston Medicaid Attorney » community spouse

Texas Nursing Home Costs Increase 9%

Rich Shea — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:16:42 +0000

The Health and Human Services Commission recently completed their annual determination of the average cost of nursing home care in Texas. The new daily rate they found is $142.92 while the previous daily rate was $130.88. This is an increase of over 9% in one year.

For one year, the average cost of a nursing home in Texas now exceeds $52,000. How long can your family afford to keep up at that rate? It is more important than ever to review your situation with an experienced Texas Medicaid attorney that can help you pay for the nursing home without going broke. Not taking advantage of this opportunity can cost you $52,000 or more, every year.

For married couples it is critical to protect your assets before you write too many of those large checks to the nursing home because once the money is gone it can’t be brought back. I can’t stress enough how important it is to maintaining your standard of living that you speak with an experienced Medicaid attorney when your spouse needs nursing home care. With the proper advice and representation you can protect a lot more than you might think, but you have to take that first step and contact us or call us at 832-592-7913. Do nothing and you may very well be impoverishing yourself while enriching the nursing home.

The Greater Houston Nursing Home Guide

Rich Shea — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:18:49 +0000

Families faced with placing a loved one in a skilled nursing facility are often overwhelmed. Where do you begin? How do you find a good nursing home? How can your loved one receive good care while staying in the nursing home? And lastly, how can your loved one afford a nursing home without losing everything?

Those are just a few of the questions I help local families solve and today I have a new free resource available to all of the families that visit TexasTitle19.com looking for answers to those questions.

I am proud to announce the availability of my free guide to nursing homes in the greater Houston area. At this time only nursing homes in Montgomery and Harris County are included; however the information about how to find a good nursing home and pay for it without going broke applies no matter where you live in Texas. In the future I will be including additional neighboring counties to the Nursing Home Guide.

You can download your free copy of the Texas Nursing Home Guide by clicking on the link below.

Houston Nursing Home Guide

How Much Can You Protect or Give Away?

Rich Shea — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:30:35 +0000

This is probably the number one question I hear on a sometimes daily basis from families that are facing a nursing home issue or that are planning ahead in case a nursing home becomes necessary:

“How much assets can we protect, give away, keep?”

The question is pretty straightforward, but the answer is not.

A balancing act takes place in these situations between 1) the financial needs of the potential Texas Medicaid applicant; 2) the potential Texas Medicaid applicant’s desire to protect family assets from nursing home costs; and 3) the eligibility rules of the Texas Medicaid program. In my experience all three factors must be evaluated and resolved in order to provide a complete picture of the situation. Ignoring one often leads to unintended consequences down the road, especially when confronted with a potential 5 year timeline in some cases.

My starting point to answer the asset protection question is to always begin with what is at risk. It does not make much sense to me for a client to spend time and money protecting assets that are not at risk. So, what is at risk? The answer is different for everyone. It depends on the medical and financial condition of the potential Medicaid applicant as well as careful review of assets, income, and expenses.

For example, in the case of a married couple where one spouse is confronted with the immediate need for nursing home care the healthy spouse at home is able to keep assets in a range of $21,000 – $109,000. That is a wide spread and nobody knows the answer in a specific case from just eyeballing a couple of numbers (if they pretend to know the answer without running the numbers odds are they are missing something). The exact answer depends on several calculations based on their specific assets, income and expenses. Until those calculations are done it is impossible to know what assets are protected, and without knowing what assets remain protected nobody knows the best protection strategy for your situation.

So, how much can you protect? I don’t know right now but after we review your situation we can have an accurate picture of what is protected, what is at risk, and what options you have. Speak with a Texas Medicaid Attorney today to protect your life savings from rising nursing home bills.

TexasTitle19.com is your connection to an experienced Houston Medicaid Attorney who can help you find the right nursing home, get the best care, and pay for it all without going broke. We are currently focused on Harris and Montgomery Counties, including the areas of Houston, Conroe, The Woodlands, Spring, Tomball, Humble, and Katy. We also provide consulting services throughout all of Texas.

How Much Can You Give Away Without Penalty?

Income Eligibility Limit – Married

Rich Shea — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 02:12:58 +0000

One essential criteria to qualify for Houston Medicaid nursing home benefits is income eligibility. For a Houston Medicaid applicant that is married, the income limit for 2009 is $4,044 each month.

If the applicant and the applicant’s spouse has monthly income less than $4,044 then the applicant has established his income eligibility and can move on to the next step of winning Houston Medicaid nursing home benefits.

If the applicant and the applicant’s spouse has monthly income above that amount then they fail the income test. If you have been denied Houston Medicaid nursing home benefits because your income was too much, a Houston Medicaid Attorney may be able to help you create income eligibility with advanced legal techniques depending on your unique facts.

The income eligibility limit is redetermined each year and is subject to change.

TexasTitle19.com is your resource to find an experienced Texas Medicaid Attorney who can help you find the right nursing home, get the best care, and pay for it all without going broke. We are currently focused on Harris and Montgomery Counties, including the areas of Houston, Conroe, The Woodlands, Spring, Tomball, Humble, and Katy.

The Spousal Protected Resource Amount

Rich Shea — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:44:11 +0000

This is the first in a series discussing the key terms and principles you will encounter when applying for Texas Medicaid nursing home benefits. We will begin with the SPRA, or Spousal Protected Resource Amount.

The Spousal Protected Resource Amount refers to the value of assets the “community spouse” is allowed to keep while the institutionalized spouse remains eligible for Texas Medicaid nursing home benefits. The “community spouse” refers to the spouse remaining in the home that is not receiving Medicaid benefits.

The starting point to determine the value of the SPRA is one-half of the married couple’s non-exempt assets valued as of the first day of continuous institutionalization. That figure is then either increased to $21,912 or decreased to $109,560 (as of 1/1/09).

It doesn’t end there however. While it may appear that the at-home spouse can only keep a maximum of $109,560 in non-exempt assets while the institutionalized spouse qualifies for Texas Medicaid nursing home benefits, there is another opportunity to increase the SPRA. That opportunity comes in the form of a Fair Hearing.

The Fair Hearing is your chance to protect more of your assets if certain conditions are met. It is important to note that the social worker assigned to your case does not have the authority to increase the SPRA, only the Fair Hearing Officer has the authority if you satisfy your burden of proof.

The SPRA is one of the items you’ll be focusing on if your spouse needs to qualify for Texas Medicaid nursing home benefits and alternative asset protection strategies are not available. Make sure your Texas Medicaid Attorney is prepared to protect your rights if your spouse needs nursing home benefits.