Customer Reviews

The Complete Guide to Medicaid and Nursing Home Costs: How to Keep Your Family Assets Protected - Up to Date Medicaid Secrets You Need to Know

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm returning this book. It appears to be put together by someone who had a weekend to cut and paste from other sources and a target for number of pages to fill.

I was misled by the seven previous reviewers -- all from the summer of 2008 - who all rated this book at four or five stars. If you check, you'll find that some of these reviewers have only reviewed a few books, mostly published by Atlantic Publishing, and all rated (by them) at four or five stars. Draw your own conclusions.

Chapter 4, on asset protection, includes a number of pages on advanced directives, living wills, healthcare surrogate designations, and medical powers of attorney, great topics that are irrelevant to asset protection.

Chapter 8, "Creative ways to qualify for Medicaid", begins with two pages of anecdotes on various fraudulent practices. A dubious beginning, particularly as it includes some stories of provider fraud, which is again totally irrelevant to how elderly and their loved ones might qualify for Medicaid.

The book has useful information, but it's buried under obvious or irrelevant information. The index is no help. The only term indexed under F is "Family". When I wanted to refer back to the section on Miller trusts, my choices under M were "Married", "Meals", "Medical coverage", "MMMNA", and "Money".

This must have been written by a junior college author. The book is full of generalities ("check with an elder lawyer") and inaccurate statements. Therefore it is totally worthless.

In the United States, health care is increasingly becoming one of the biggest crisis that face families today. Government health care programs such as Medicaid offer limited solutions to low-income families, and the process to get proper care is often met with confusion and challenges. The Complete Guide to Medicaid and Nursing Home Costs addresses such scenarios and gives you valuable information on making levelheaded decisions about consultation and representation, achieving financial stability, and protecting your possessions from being seized.

First, it is imperative that you become more knowledgeable about the Medicaid program to navigate all of the glitches within this system. Also, you will learn how to take accurate estimates of your assets (from properties to finances) to determine what is at risk to Medicaid. Remember that the rules in one state may vary from another state and status (single, married, etc) is taken into heavy account. The state takes a vested interest in various areas of your life once you decide on the Medicaid program. This book suggests that you consider annuities, gifts, wills and deeds as critical components in understanding Medicaid as well.

The Complete Guide to Medicaid and Nursing Home Costs shares with you how to qualify for Medicaid by suggesting that you consider a number of conditions such as inflation protection and nursing home care. Needing care or being a caregiver is indeed a touchy subject that this book also addresses. The contact information of each U.S. state agency is included for direction on getting started. News on Medicaid in each state is incorporated for up-to-date knowledge.

There are policies, rules and regulations for every subject matter in this book, which signifies the seriousness of ensuring that your life's plan benefits the whole family.

As the bumper sticker says "Aging, if it's not your problem now it soon will be." This is a necessary book for everyone 55 and over or with a relative that is. It attempts to straighten the tangled web of Medicaid rules. It tells you how to avoid the pitfalls that make an elderly person not qualify for the aide and how to avoid having family assets seized when the bills come rolling in after a serious or long term illness.
This book contains an alphabetical list of Medicaid agencies for each state with address, phone, fax and web site and a short paragraph on the differences for each state listed in chapter 10. The book covers gifts and promissory notes to help when finances become tight. The book even covers alternative services to nursing homes because many states are trying to cut Medicaid costs by looking for alternatives to nursing homes. Each state has different ideas on how to do this. When looking into these programs for loved ones there are certain things one should look for. These are listed within the chapter within each type of program discussed. Probably most importantly chapter 14 deals with how to find a good elder care lawyer. This book even sports case studies, a bibliography and an index.
Although a wise purchase, a slightly difficult book to read because it has some very confusing parts

As a financial planner and "medicaid practitioner" I heartily recommend this book. It is accurate and up to date. If you are doing medicaid planning for a client - you can't be wrong. A small mistake can cost a client tens of thousands of dollars. This is one of my "go to" books on the subject. If you or a family member is contemplating dealing with medicaid - this is a must read.

With "baby boomers" beginning into their third trimester of their lives and the increase in life-expectancy, nursing homes (and Medicaid) are becoming more and more important. This book really focuses on explaining "what Medicaid is," and how to approach receiving your coverage; "what annuities are," and how you receive your investments. Also discussing topics such as gifts, wills and deeds, and other essentials for one's retired life, this book is straight-forward and easy to read, teaching any common reader about these important facts.

Although this book is set-up with a clean, precise, and informative approach, the focus leans more towards Medicaid procedures. Providing only one chapter on Nursing Homes (and more on alternatives to Nursing homes), the book is un-proportionate from its title/focus.

Finally, the case studies at the end of the text are great, but would be better suited throughout the text, rather than clumped together at the end.

Overall, the information in this text is thorough and complete, while the structure could be reconstructed to be more effective.

With more baby boomers joining an aging population, it's more important than ever for libraries to include Complete Guide to Medicaid and Nursing Home Costs on their health reference shelves: it provides a survey of legal means of protecting assets, teaches about state and federal laws regulating Medicaid and nursing homes, and tells how to plan ahead for proper asset management. Libraries catering to an aging popular will find this an increasingly popular reference to a complex topic.

"The Complete Guide to Medicaid and Nursing Home Costs" is an indispensable reference that contains all of the essential information you need to know when caring for your aging parent in times of illness. You will find helpful tips on qualifying for Medicaid, information on wills and deeds, how to transfer gifts, and contact information for state agencies. Accompanying this material is valuable advice about planning ahead, protecting assets, specialized nursing home care, finding caregiving services, and long-term care for Alzheimer's patients. The book also provides numerous examples that prove invaluable in explaining the issues under discussion.

Over the past few years, many new laws have been added to state and federal statutes regulating Medicaid and nursing homes. This book discusses the up-to-date statutes as well as new state-wide programs that allow family members to stay at home and be paid to care for elderly parents in the home as an alternative to a nursing facility. Other choices presented in the book really help the reader understand the various options available to them. Many real-life situations are presented and discussed thoroughly to aid in the understanding of the legal principles. Thorough discussions of issues relevant to seniors and their families make this a must-read for everyone helping an elderly parent. The book will also be welcomed by elder law attorneys, financial planners, health care organizations, and others concerned with health care issues. It is also suitable as a guide for nursing and health care students.

The political season has dug up again a controversial issue that often send jitters down the spines of millions of Americans--Health Insurance. It is a subject most people, whether insured or not, find quite intriguing. The complexity of the Health Insurance policy sometimes gets more complicated as one grows older. And many elderly people are worried about the extent of coverage they could get out of their Health Insurance Policy. It is quite interesting that The Complete Guide to Medicaid and Nursing Home Costs addresses these burning issues with utmost simplicity.
The book unravels many exciting topics related to Health Insurance Policies in the United States. It exposes every necessary information on Medicaid and Medicare: how to be qualified for Medicaid, the extent of its coverage and tips for Medicaid annuities payment for single and married. It gives unique explanation on how to keep your family assets protected, and how you could transfer gifts that won't result in Medicaid penalty. The Guide goes a step further to treat the issue of Wills and Deeds, elder lawyers and some alternative services to Nursing Homes.
Several case studies are discussed, and it also touches on how Medicaid handles patients with Alzheimer's Disease. It highlights Medicaid Policies in different States, making it easy for people to gain a lot of knowledge about Health Insurance Policies by merely flipping through the pages. This Guide will go a long way in debunking some mystery surrounding the subject of Health Insurance.