News & Articles
Letter to the editor: Alzheimer’s disease
David Wilson, Chair of the Leadership Council of Greater Idaho Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, wrote a letter to the editor in the Idaho Statesman regarding the burden that Alzheimer’s places on families in our state. After recently returning from the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement Advocacy Forum in Washington, DC, David […]
Boise Family Experience With Dementia
The Idaho Statesman ran a story today about one family’s experience with dementia. It is a must read. Unpaid family caregivers are a huge part of what makes old age work in any society; in ours they are much under-appreciated. Its description of aphasia seemed especially spot on.
The article can […]
Recent Fair Hearing Changes Department Position on Retirement Accounts?
Retirement accounts held in the name of the community spouse should be exempt and not a countable resource in a Medicaid application. A recent Medicaid application denial and subsequent fair hearing decision puts that long held Idaho rule in jeopardy. In that case, the applicant had used a portion of […]
VA may shut hospitals due to budget shortfall
The Department of Veterans Affairs is threatening to shut down some hospitals next month if Congress does not address a $2.5 billion shortfall before Congress’ August recess.
Qualifying for Medicaid: Countable and NonCountable Assets
Under Medicaid law, assets are either “countable” or “exempt.” Countable assets affect the individual’s immediate Medicaid eligibility and must be transferred, restructured, or spent down in order for the person to become eligible for Medicaid benefits. Exempt assets, in contrast, are not counted towards the individual’s Medicaid eligibility.
Remember this basic […]
Is Medicare and/or Medicaid Paying for Unnecessary Care?
An article in the New Yorker recently discussed studies indicating widespread recommendations by physicians of care that studies show to be of little or no use to the patient. In addition to the other ways in which we need to act to bring the cost of care under […]