Marshall Parker & Associates - PA Elder Law, Estate Planning, Long Term Care Resource Center

Final Home Care Agency Regulations Submitted

Another Court Upholds Purchase of Annuity by a Community Spouse

Join Us for the 2009 Alzheimer’s Memory Walks!

Marshall, Parker & Associates’ Upcoming Free Workshops

Final Home Care Agency Regulations Submitted

Written By: Attorney Jeffrey A. Marshall, CELA*

Final Regulations governing the operation of home care agencies and registries in Pennsylvania have been submitted to the Regulatory Review Commission by the Department of Health. The regulations set minimum standards for the operation and licensure of home care agencies and home care registries as required by Act 69 of 2006.

The final regulations and a regulatory analysis are available here. Comments on the regulations and other related matters are available on the website of the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission here. The Commission must now approve or disapprove the final regulations. Its public meeting is set for October 1, 2009.

Attorney Marshall can be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Attorney Marshall is available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html

Another Court Upholds Purchase of Annuity by a Community Spouse

Written By: Attorney Jeffrey A. Marshall, CELA*

An Ohio Court of Appeals has upheld a community spouse’s purchase of an annuity to protect excess resources.

When Warren Vieth entered a nursing home in November 2006, he and his wife Susan had too many financial resources to qualify for Medicaid. To reduce the couples assets to the level required for Medicaid payment of nursing home costs, Susan purchased two Medicaid compliant annuities for $141,000. Warren then applied for Medicaid payment for his nursing home care.

The State of Ohio Medicaid Agency denied Warren ’s application on the basis that the purchase of the annuities by his wife constituted a transfer of assets and made Warren ineligible for benefits. However, the State agency’s attempt to deny benefits was rejected by an Ohio Court of Appeals in Vieth v. Ohio Dept. of Job & Family Services.

The Court of Appeals held that "funds used to purchase an actuarially sound, non-revocable, non-transferable commercial annuity, for the sole benefit of the community spouse, are not countable resources for Medicaid eligibility purposes." In support of its decision, the Ohio Court relied on James v. Richman, a Pennsylvania federal court case won in 2008 by Marshall, Parker & Associates attorney Matthew Parker.

The Court also found that the recently enacted Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) does not prohibit the purchase of a DRA compliant annuity in order to convert excess resources into an income stream for the community spouse. Citing another Pennsylvania case, Weatherbee v. Richman, the court rejected the argument that a provision in the DRA gives the state Medicaid Agency the ability to treat a Medicaid compliant annuity, or its payments, as an available resource.

Attorney’s note: the case citation is Vieth v. Ohio Dept. of Job & Family Services (Ohio Ct. App., 10th Dist., No. 08AP-635, July 30, 2009). The full text of the Vieth decision is available online at http://paannuity.com/pdf/Vieth_Ohio.pdf.

Join Us for the 2009 Alzheimer’s Memory Walks!

Walk with us toward a world without Alzheimer's disease! Marshall Parker is once again proudly sponsoring the 2009 Memory Walk. Memory Walk is the nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research because every 70 seconds, someone will develop Alzheimer's.

This year, the Marshall, Parker & Associates’ staff and families participated in the Wilkes-Barre Walk on Saturday, September 19^th at 10:00 AM in Kirby Park and in the Lycoming/Clinton County Walk on October 10, 2009 at 10:00 AM at Indian Park in Montoursville. Join our team, make a donation or stop by the day of the walk to show your support.

-Information about the Wilkes-Barre Walk team is available at HERE

-Information about the Lycoming/Clinton Walk team is available HERE

This year, the Lycoming/Clinton Memory Walk will feature an antique Car Cruise-In, Chinese Auction, Kid’s Games, the Goof Troupe Clowns and food. We are also featuring 11 x 17 full color, laminated posters that will line the walk route. Family members who have a loved one affected by Alzheimer’s can purchase one of these posters for only $20.00. They can feature a photo of your loved one and/or their name. Businesses can also display their logo on the sign for only $20.00. The deadline for submission is October 1, 2009. More information and samples of the posters are available at www.paelderlaw.com/2009MemoryWalk.html

Melissa can be contacted at webmail@paelderlaw.com or at 1-800-401-4552. More information about Melissa is available on our website at www.paelderlaw.com/staff.html

Follow Jeff Marshall on Twitter

As an additional way to help you stay on top of the ever-changing world of elder and special needs law, our managing attorney is now “tweeting” on Twitter. You can follow Jeff Marshall at http://twitter.com/ElderLawGuy. Just click on that link or on the Twitter link below in this newsletter.

Jeff is giving his “followers” links to online articles he is reading on issues of importance to seniors and to people who may need long term supports and services. Here are some examples:

- The Beers list - a list of drugs that may be harmful to the elderly -http://www.dcri.duke.edu/ccge/curtis/beers.html

- How to Find the Right Doctor (its not easy)- http://tinyurl.com/notd2c

- Medicare will cover both flu vaccines this year, not just one shot as in prior years. http://tinyurl.com/nklxha

- "Caring for a Person with Alzheimer’s Disease: Your Easy-to-Use Guide from the National Institute on Aging." http://tinyurl.com/m8quuj

- Will Seniors be winners or losers in health care reform? http://tinyurl.com/mdwe82

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Twitter, it’s basically micro-blogging. Writers are forced to communicate in 140 characters or less (which is exceedingly tough for lawyers to do). You can get lots of information very quickly. It’s free to sign up. Plus, it’s fun. Sign up to be able to access all of Jeff’s “tweets.”

Marshall , Parker & Associates’ Upcoming Free Workshops

-Protect Your Home & Assets from Long Term Care Costs scheduled for Saturday, September 26, 2009 from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM at The Clinton Country Club in Mill Hall

- Protect Your Home & Assets from Long Term Care Costs Saturday, October 24, 2009 from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM at The Holiday Inn Downtown, 100 Pine Street in Williamsport

- How to Plan for a Child or Grandchild with Special Needs Saturday, November 7, 2009 from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM at the Hilton Hotel and Convention Center, 100 Adams Avenue, Scranton. Contact us to register

Follow Marshall, Parker & Associates’ Managing Attorney

Jeff Marshall on twitter at:

www.twitter.com/ElderLawGuy

Contacting Marshall, Parker & Associates for Assistance

Marshall, Parker & Associates is a nationally recognized law firm which provides long-term care planning, estate planning & estate administration services to Pennsylvania clients from our offices in Jersey Shore, Williamsport, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.

Marshall, Parker & Associates is the ONLY law firm in the United States with more than two Certified Elder Law Attorneys (CELAs) on it's staff. Each of our five attorneys is a CELA. CELA status, which has been attained by only 37 attorneys in Pennsylvania, is authorized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In approving the CELA professional designation, the Supreme Court found that it provides a measure of assurance to the public that the attorney has an in-depth working knowledge of the legal issues impacting the elderly,

If you or someone you know needs assistance with estate planning or with qualification for Medicaid benefits for nursing home or home care you can trust the specialists at Marshall, Parker & Associates. Please call us toll free at 1-800-401-4552 or email our Scheduling Coordinator, Lynn Wesley at webmail@paelderlaw.com.

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*Attorneys Marshall, Parker, Grebas, Weber & Colbert are certified as Elder Law Attorneys by the National Elder Law Foundation under authorization from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

**In addition to her law degree and CELA status, Attorney Colbert holds an advanced legal degree (LLM) in Estate Planning from the University of Miami School of Law.

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