Medicaid: A Complex and Legislative Mosaic
By Benjamin T. Branche, Esq.
Why should parents of children or loved ones with disabilities understand the vast differences in state Medicaid Laws? What impact do the state differences have on families who are subject to temporary assignments to different states, such as military families, governmental workers and migrant workers?
Everyone who has ever been a parent of, cared for, or worked with a child or loved one with a disability has most likely heard of Medicaid. Medicaid is a state and federally-funded health care insurance program available to low-income individuals and families and those demonstrating the requisite need. The program was established on July 30, 1965 pursuant to Title XIX of the Social Security Act (“SSA”).
Dec 31, 2010 - 11:56:30 PM
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The Guidance and Information Document For Future Care Providers and Trustees
BY BRIAN RUBIN
Special Needs Alliance
WHY DO IT, WHEN TO DO IT, WHAT IT SHOULD INCLUDE.
As parents of a child with special needs, you possess a vast amount of information and history about your child that no one else possesses. You have your thoughts and wishes for your child’s future in your head. You know, in your heart of hearts, that no one else can truly understand your concerns, worries, and fears for what will happen to your child after you are gone.
Dec 31, 2010 - 11:28:25 PM
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When Persons Living With Disabilities Marry: Is There A Marriage Penalty?
BY LAURIE HANSON AND ED WILCENSKI
Special Needs Alliance
Now age 30, Carrie has been living semi-independently since she turned 21. She receives $694 each month from the Social Security Administration: $500 of CDB (Childhood Disability Benefit) and $194 of SSI (Supplemental Security Income). CDB is an income benefit for individuals who were disabled before age 22 and have a retired, disabled or deceased parent who paid into the social security system. CDB is based on the parent’s Social Security account. A description of how the entitlement amount is determined is beyond the scope of this article.
Dec 31, 2010 - 2:59:16 PM
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Planning Ahead For When Your Special Child Turns 18
Planning ahead is wise for all. It is essential for
the future of a child with special needs who is about to turn 18. In
most states, a child's 18th birthday signifies the moment when that child is legally presumed to be competent to make his or her
own medical, financial, and educational decisions. Unless parents take precautionary steps to overcome that legal presumption, their
child - legally - could quit school, sign up to purchase expensive toys or leave home. If an 18-year-old child is ill, the parents tech
nically lose the ability to be informed about the illness or to make medical decisions for their child.
What precautionary steps to consider, as that 18th birthday
approaches, is the subject of this article.
Mar 12, 2010 - 2:37:12 PM
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When Parents of Children With Special Needs Divorce
The Wall Street Journal reported in November 2008 on recent research suggesting that divorce rates of couples raising a child with a disability are even higher than the national average.
Some non-profit organizations have reported divorce rates as high as 75 to 85 percent for this population. Other reports have claimed these percentages are overestimated. Indeed, a recent study by Vanderbilt University’s Kennedy Center actually found divorce rates of parents who have a child with Down syndrome to be 33 percent lower than in marriages where the parents do not have a child with a disability.
Compare that, however, to the 2008 study by the University of Buffalo cited by the Wall Street Journal which reported that parents of a child with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are nearly twice as likely to divorce before the child reaches 8 years old as a couple with a child without a disability.
Feb 4, 2010 - 8:10:29 AM
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What Can a Special Needs Trust Pay For?
The purpose of a special needs trust is to supplement, but not to endanger, the public benefits for which the beneficiary may be eligible. Maintaining eligibility for means-tested government benefits like SSI and Medicaid is never easy because program rules are complex and often vary by region and state. Maintaining eligibility for SSI in many states means automatic eligibility for Medicaid and loss of SSI may mean loss of Medicaid.
This article will set out some general rules of thumb for coordinating eligibility for a program like SSI, that is designed to provide for basic needs like food and shelter, with a trust that is funded with the beneficiary’s funds and is designed to provide for his or her special needs.
Dec 2, 2009 - 12:15:27 AM
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