Beyond Basic Medicaid and Medicare: Medical Savings Benefits

Below are guided online modules in English and Spanish that describe medical savings benefits that may be available to you in addition to medicaid or medicare benefits. For more information, please view the modules below. 

 

https://www.idaholegalaid.org/files/html/medical-benefits-savings-plans

https://www.idaholegalaid.org/files/html/programas-de-ahorro-de-los-beneficios-médicos (Spanish/Espanol)

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    Community Spouse Resource Allowance (2022)

    Pursuing an Upwardly Revised Community Spouse Resource Allowance

    prepared by Alan Wasserman, current as of May 2022

     

    One of the more powerful tools available for preserving a couple’s assets when one spouse needs long-term care is the ability to seek an upward revision to the community spouse resource allowance (CSRA). When a married person turns to the Medicaid program for help paying for long-term care, the general rule requires the couple to first spend down their assets to their CSRA, which is one-half of the total countable assets the couple had as of the date long- term care started. (For 2022, the maximum CSRA is $137,400, and the minimum CSRA is $27,480. Low asset couples may, therefore, be able to establish Medicaid eligibility with little or no spenddown, whereas the general rule requires high asset couples to spend down at least half of their countable assets.)

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      Idaho Senior Legal Risk Detector (English and Spanish (Espanol))

      The Idaho Senior Legal Risk Detector is a joint project of Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc. and ProBono.Net. The purpose of the risk detector is detect issues for seniors or the elderly related to housing, debt, financial exploitation, healthcare, and abuse and to do so quickly and accurately.

      To determine whether you, as a senior are at risk, or whether a loved one who is a senior is at risk, please visit our Idaho Senior Legal Risk Detector to answer some questions:

      Idaho Senior Legal Risk Detector

      Idaho Senior Legal Risk Detector - Spanish / Espanol

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        Immigration Sponsors and Applications for Benefits through IDHW

        Are you an immigrant family that has been denied Food Stamps or Medicaid because Health and Welfare asked you about the income and resources of your immigration sponsor?

         

        Immigrant families who apply to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW) for public benefits, like Food Stamps or Medicaid, may face a new problem getting those benefits. IDHW has recently started asking immigrant families to provide income and resource information for the immigrant's sponsor.  (Most immigrants have a sponsor from when they applied to become a lawful permanent resident).    This income and resource information may make the immigrant family ineligible for public benefits.  However, the family has the right to request a hardship exemption to receive public benefits.   If your family faces this problem, please contact Idaho Legal Aid for help.   

         

        ¿Es usted una familia inmigrante a la que se le han denegado los cupones de alimentos o Medicaid porque el Departamento de Salud y Bienestar Social le ha preguntado sobre los ingresos y recursos de su patrocinador de inmigración?

         

        Las familias inmigrantes que solicitan al Departamento de Salud y Bienestar de Idaho (IDHW) prestaciones públicas, como los cupones de alimentos o Medicaid, pueden enfrentarse a un nuevo problema para obtener dichas prestaciones. El IDHW ha comenzado recientemente a pedir a las familias inmigrantes que proporcionen información sobre los ingresos y los recursos del patrocinador del inmigrante.  (La mayoría de los inmigrantes tienen un patrocinador desde que solicitaron la residencia legal permanente).    Esta información sobre ingresos y recursos puede hacer que la familia inmigrante no tenga derecho a las prestaciones públicas.  Sin embargo, la familia tiene derecho a solicitar una exención por dificultades económicas para recibir las prestaciones públicas.   Si su familia se enfrenta a este problema, póngase en contacto con Idaho Legal Aid para obtener ayuda. 

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          Long-Term Care: Is Private Insurance Right For You?

          It’s a task that few of us look forward to: arranging for help to be there if, as senior citizens, we
          are no longer able to care for ourselves. For 1.4 million seniors, that care comes in a nursing home
          where most residents have their bills paid by the government through the Medicaid program. For
          millions of others, that care comes from family members or paid providers, in homes or assisted living
          facilities...

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            Spotlight on Long-Term Care Insurance: A Private Safety Net?

            As they plan for the time when they may need long-term care, consumers are likely to face some difficult and uncomfortable questions. What would I do if I were no longer able to care for myself? Would someone in my family take care of me, or would I seek care elsewhere? And how would caregivers get paid?...

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