Medicaid proposal could hurt seniors (Wealthy don't do Medicaid - but

[papau]

rule sure would hurt the wealthy if they did - but in the meantime.....


senior citizens who made modest purchases or donations may be ineligible for Medicaid under rules Congress is expected to approve as early as Wednesday.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/aging/articles/2006/01/30/medicaid_proposal_could_hurt_seniors/

Medicaid proposal could hurt seniors

Critics fear antifraud plan may make many ineligible

By Alice Dembner, Globe Staff | January 30, 2006

Hundreds of thousands of seniors will find it tougher to get government help with nursing home costs under rules Congress is expected to approve as soon as Wednesday.

The rules are designed to keep wealthy seniors from qualifying for Medicaid by transferring money to their children so that they appear poor. But critics say many needy seniors may be denied coverage because they gave a modest gift to a child or a charity as much as five years before they applied for Medicaid. In the worst case, critics say, seniors could find themselves unable to get needed nursing home care.

''People who had no intention of defrauding the government -- people who gave money to their church or helped a family member -- are going to find themselves in trouble," said Kirsten Sloan, chief health lobbyist for AARP.

Medicaid, known as MassHealth in Massachusetts, is the only government program that pays for long-term nursing home stays. It is supposed to cover seniors who are poor or who become impoverished paying for nursing home care. But the National Governors Association and members of Congress, such as Representative Nathan Deal, a Georgia Republican, say that too many middle- and upper-income seniors are abusing the system by ''buying two Mercedes, giving them to their children and . . . reducing themselves to poverty."<snip>...A recent study suggests that as many as one-fifth of seniors whose nursing home stays were paid by Medicaid had transferred cash to a child or others in the four years before they entered the nursing home. But the study, by the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that on average, the amount transferred was $8,202 -- just slightly more than a month's worth of care.''If you're talking about someone who is wealthy, chances are that person is not clamoring to get into a nursing home," said Sloan of the AARP. ''They're going to get their care at home."

[Sapphire Blue]

1. STOP the budget cuts; call your Rep: 1-800-426-8073

For more info:

Rich get richer, poor get poorer, & House votes on budget cuts Feb. 1

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2411549

[preciousdove]

2. What about political donations ie "free speech'? n/t