Public Housing and Medicaid Refreshers from the Congressional Research Service

Congress has released two new Congressional Research Service reports to the public. The reports, given to Congress in January, provide an introduction to two valuable government services.  

Introduction to Public Housing by housing policy specialist Maggie McCarty "serve[s] as an introduction to the federal public housing program. It provides information on the history of the program, how it is administered and funded, and the characteristics of public housing properties and the households they serve." The report reviews the trends in the public housing program and introduces the current debate surrounding the issue of private funding for public housing.

The second report, Medicaid: An Overview by Alison Mitchell, Evelyne P. Baumrucker, and Elicia J. Herz, looks at the basic elements of medicaid such as eligibility, services, and financing. The report then deals with selected issues relating to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: "the ACA Medicaid expansion, the impact of the ACA health insurance annual fee on Medicaid, and the ACA maintenance of effort (MOE) with respect to Medicaid eligibility."

These CRS reports cover the issues at a basic level, but they are an excellent resource for a quick refresher on Medicaid and the federal public housing program. Whether you want to be sure your aware of the issues that are of interest to Congress or need a perspective on how to introduce a client to aspects of these programs, you'll find something useful in the CRS reports. At under 50 pages each, they're worth the read.

Purchasing Life Estates to Protect Assets

Jeff Marshall recently posted an article on how to use life estates in estate planning on the Marshall Elder and Estate Planning Blog.  Marshall describes how older clients can use life estates to manage health care costs and protect their children's inheritance. From the article:

In the right circumstances, the purchase of a life estate can be an effective means to protect a parent’s assets and a child’s inheritance. For example, a parent may sell his or her home and move in with a child. As part of the arrangement, the parent can purchase a life estate in the child’s home. This transfers cash to the child while giving the parent the legal right to reside in the home for the rest of the parent’s life. The care provided by the child may help the parent remain in a supportive home setting. If a few requirements are met, the cash paid to the child will be protected from the cost of long term care that may be needed by the parent in the future.

As Marshall goes on to explain, a correctly structured life estate can shelter the money paid for the estate from medicaid cost recovery. The medicaid laws specifically allow for this kind of financial protection, laying out the requirements a life estate must meet to qualify. A qualifying life estate will not affect the owner's eligibility for medicaid, and the purchase price will be protected from future long term care costs.

But Marshall cautions against people running out and purchasing life estates in anticipation of long term care bills. Medicaid and health care costs are only one aspect to consider when developing an estate plan. One must also keep in mind tax consequences and other non-Medicaid issues. A life estate will not be an effective estate planning tool in every situation.

Medicare and Medicaid in 2014

Medicare and Medicaid are rapidly changing as state and federal agencies scramble to implement the Affordable Care Act. The Kaiser Family Foundation is a great source of information on the changes and how they will affect consumers.

The Kaiser Family Foundation releases many useful reports and issue briefs. I am going to highlight two reports released in the last few weeks.

The first report is Getting into Gear for 2014: Shifting New Medicaid Eligibility and Enrollment Policies into Drive. This report outlines the key policy changes coming to Medicaid programs in January, 2013, in states that are expanding Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act. It focuses on the eligibility and enrollment changes resulting from the Medicaid expansion. Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia are expanding Medicaid; everyone in those jurisdictions should be aware of the changes and their possible effects.

The second report, Medicare Advantage 2014 Spotlight: Plan Availability and Premiums, analyzes planned changes to the Medicare Advantage program for 2014. The report tracks the number of plans available through the Advantage program in 2014, the expected cost of the plans, and the changes to the plan benefits. According to the report, 15 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in insurance plans through the Medicare Advantage program in 2013, so the 2014 changes will have far reaching effects.