In the Medicaid world, when I say “we need to get a snapshot,” I sometimes think my clients wonder where the camera is.

Sigh. Another case of bad information by the nursing home social worker. The truth is that a person does not have to sell his or her home to qualify for Medicaid.

I’ll tell you what’s really wrong with Family Care, in my opinion. The Budget proposals don’t fix the problems I am going to talk about.

In understanding the ins and outs of Medicaid and divestment, timing is everything.

With the State’s drastic changes to estate recovery, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of clients for whom an irrevocable trust becomes an attractive option for Medicaid planning.

In a decision dated June 6, 2014, Judge Barbara Crabb struck down Wisconsin’s constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage in Wisconsin. You can read her full decision here. As a result, many same-sex couples are happily marrying in Wisconsin.

Myth: “I heard I have to turn over my home to the state in order to get Medicaid.”

This article will delve into the second major area of misunderstanding in Medicaid: Divestment.

A fair amount of my work with clients and even other professionals involves clearing up misconceptions they have about how Medicaid works.

Today’s blog goes past the recent budget changes, to talk about an issue that is concerning to the families of Alzheimer’s patients, and that is not commonly known.

Having worked with the elderly for 23 years, particularly with the “Greatest Generation” who pride themselves on long-term marriages like my parents’ – 61 years before Dad died in 2008 – and being someone who deeply respects that people believe marriage to be a sacred relationship, I do not say what follows lightly.

This is the third in a series of articles looking at the changes made to Medicaid for nursing homes and the Family Care program in Wisconsin. These changes are in the latest Biennial Budget passed on June 30, 2013.