“Changes in Medicaid Rules May Pose Stark Choice for the Chronically Ill”

“Changes in Medicaid Rules May Pose Stark Choice for the Chronically Ill”
By Anemona Hartocollis
The article discusses the controversial place that thousands of Medicaid dependent elderly, are soon to be in. For years, New York’s Medicaid has been supplementing elderly who are applicable for both in home care, and institutionalized aid. New York’s understanding was that healthcare costs were to be covered if one spouse needed extensive long term care in order to keep the couple out of financial distress. This burden was taken over by the Medicaid office because living off of one person’s income was deemed hard enough. There are eligibility requirements such as combined income can not total $2,739 a month and assets can not total $109,560, with the exception of houses, cars, and other specified assets.
The federal offices of Medicare and Medicaid have now charged this rule. Medicaid will no longer be able to supply elderly receiving at home long term care with health coverage. This new regulation, which leaves couples like the Robinsons who receive $2,343 a month for living expenses, with two choices; one they can divorce at the ages of 84 and 64 to receive the health benefits, or two, Ms. Robinson, who is suffering from an end stage renal disease can stop receiving care, which includes at home dialysis. The regulation was supposed to go into effect December 2008, but due to the hard working elderly attorneys and health department, it is pushed back until March.
New York is the only state using Medicaid funds in such a way.

Hartocollis, A. (2009, January 23). Retrieved January 28, 2009, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/nyregion/24spouse.html