William Penn Life, 1994 (29. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1994-03-01 / 3. szám

Page 2, William Penn Life, March 1994

William Penn

LIFE

Official Publication of the William Penn Association Published Monthly Office of Publication:

709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Phone: 412/231-2979 Third Class U.S. Postage Paid Pittsburgh, PA Permit No. 2724

E. E. Vargo Editor-in-chief George S. Charles, Jr. Frances A. Furedy Associate Editors

John E. Lovász Managing Editor

NATIONAL OFFICERS

E. E. Vargo National President

George S. Charles, Jr. National V.P./Secretary

Frances A. Furedy National V.P./Treasurer

Robert A. Kapinus Assistant Treasurer

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Joseph P. Arvay Chairman

Michael J. Hrabar Vice Chairman

Roger G. Nagy Vice Chairman

Anthony C. Beke Charles S. Fabian Louis A. Fodor Elmer A. Furedy Barbara A. House Michael R. Kara Michael F. Tomcsak Elmer W. Toth Frank J. Wukovits, Jr.

Frank J. Radvany Secretary of the Board

AUDITING COMMITTEE Charles J. Furedy Robert A. Ivancso Co-Chairmen

Margaret H. Boso Secretary

Dennis A. Chobody Joseph Hamari Ernest J. Mozer, Sr.

CONSULTANTS

Bruce &. Bruce Company Actuary

Horovitz, Rudoy & Roteman C.P.A.

Rothman Gordon Foreman St Groudine, P.C.

General Counsel

Dr. Julius Kesseru Medical Director

Unsolicited articles, letters, manuscripts, pictures and other material submitted to the WILLIAM PENN LIFE are forwarded at the owner's risk, and the WILLIAM PENN LIFE expressly denies any responsibility for their safekeeping or return. The WILLIAM PENN LIFE reserves the right to edit, revise or reject any article submitted for publication.

Postmaster: If undelivered, please send form 3579 to: William Penn Association 709 Brighton Road Pittsburgh, PA 15233

Providing for extended care

By Emil W. Herman, Esq., General Counsel

Having discussed in a series of articles the components of an estate plan, I will now address an issue that can affect even the most carefully prepared estate plan—the cost of long-term care in a skilled nursing

home. Very few people have assets available to them to pay for an extended stay in such a facility, and the amounts which are paid through private insurance are generally limited. As a result, many people are forced to seek government assistance to meet these costs.

The two major sources of government assistance are Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare is a federal insurance program, in which you pay for the insurance during your working years and become eligible for coverage when you reach age 65. Medicaid is not an insurance program, but is a federal and state welfare program for which anyone falling below certain income levels is eligible.

Neither program provides a "free ride.” Medicare will pay the full cost of a participant’s stay in a skilled nursing home, but only for the first 20 days of institutionalization, and only if the patient has been hospitalized for at least three of the last 30 days prior to admission to the nursing home. For the 21st to the 100th day, there is a deductible of $87 per day, and Medicare pays nothing after the 100th day.

For Medicaid to provide the "free ride,” your income and available assets must fall below certain income guidelines, and these are strictly scrutinized when you make an application. Moreover, the assets you hold at the time of application are not the only assets evaluated; rather, the examiners will "look back” 36 months to be certain that you have not given away assets to become eligible for Medicaid. If you have deliberately reduced your assets to qualify, Medicaid ignores the gifts and includes their value when calculating your income and available assets. Medicaid will only pay those costs which cannot be paid using all income and assets available to you.

To be eligible for Medicaid assistance for nursing home costs, your available non-exempt assets (not including monthly income) cannot exceed $2,400. Monthly income should be considered in addition to this asset value, but space prohibits discussion in this article.

If married, assets available to both spouses, regardless of how titled, are included in the calculation. This does not mean that your spouse will be left destitute. Rather, the community spouse (the spouse not being admitted to a nursing home) is entitled to retain a portion of the non-exempt assets. In 1994, the community spouse is entitled to retain one-half of all non-exempt assets, so long as that value is between $14,532 and $72,660. In making this calculation, the community spouse is entitled to at least the lesser of the actual total asset value of $ 14,532. If the total asset value is greater than $ 14,532, the community spouse is entitled to $14,532 plus one-half of the total value greater than $14,532, to a maximum of $72,660. The remaining

asset value is considered available to the spouse seeking Medicaid assistance. For instance:

Example 1: Total Assets - $30,000. Community spouse share is $14,532 plus one-half of $15,468 ($30,000 minus $14,532), for a total of $22,266. Remaining spouse asset value is $7,734.

Example 2: Total Assets - $200,000. Community spouse share is maximum of $72,660. Remaining spouse asset value is $127,340.

You may have noted that I referred to the assets being used in the calculation as "non-exempt” assets. Certain assets are exempt, and their value is not included in Medicaid calculations. Your home may be an exempt asset if you and/or your spouse are currently living in it, and you intend to return to it once you have been released from the nursing home. If, however, you are not living in the home, or do not intend to return to the home once released from the nursing home, your home’s value will be included in the Medicaid calculation.

Similarly, the value of one car that you own is exempt, so long as it is clear that the car has not been purchased for investment purposes (e.g., an antique car). Also exempt is the value of any irrevocable burial fund you may have established for yourself or a spouse, so long as the value is not unreasonable in light of the actual burial costs which could be incurred.

Insurance can also be an exempt asset, but only if either the face or the cash surrender value meet certain guidelines. If the total face value of all life insurance policies on your life (and the life of your spouse) is not greater than $ 1,500, then those policies would be an exempt asset. If the total face value, however, is greater than $1,500, then the examiners look to the cash surrender value. The first $2,400 in cash surrender value is an exempt asset, but any amount in cash surrender value greater than $2,400 would have to be converted to available cash and "spent down” prior to becoming eligible for Medicaid.

All other assets which you (and your spouse) own will be considered in determining your eligibility for Medicaid. This can include second cars, vacation homes, boats, trailers, bank accounts, savings certificates, brokerage accounts and the like. If it is available to you and/or your spouse, then its value is generally included in your available assets.

As the above indicates, there are a number of subtleties in the Medicaid and Medicare assistance laws and regulations, making elder care a growing area of the law. If you would like more information regarding how you may take advantage of these benefits, you should contact your lawyer.

William Penn Fraternal Association Scholarship Foundation, Inc.

ELIGIBILITY RULES FOR 1994 SCHOLARSHIP GRANTS

The Board of Directors has established the following rules governing eligibility for scholarship recipients:

a) The student applying for a scholarship grant must be a life benefit member of the William Penn Association for three years as of January 1 of the year for which application is made. A life benefit member is one who is insured for life or endowment benefits.

b) A parent or grandparent of the applicant must be a life benefit member of the William Penn Association, or the student must be a child of a deceased member.

c) Students may apply for scholarship grants only if they have been accepted by or are currently attending an accredited college, university or school of nursing. A transcript of the applicant’s scholastic record must be attached to the application.

d) Scholarship grants will be awarded to full-time students only.

e) Since the awarding of scholarship grants is based primarily on the financial need of the applicant’s family, the parents of the applicant must file a confidential financial statement on a form provided by the Scholarship Foundation and be willing to provide any and all other information which may be required.

f) All applications must be postmarked no later than Friday, May 20,1994. Late applications will not be considered.

g) Grants are awarded for a two- and four-year period. In order to be considered for scholarship grants in ensuing years, the student must notify the President of the Scholarship Foundation , by letter

postmarked no later than May 20,1994, that he or she wishes to continue receiving the scholarship grant. In addition, the student must submit his or her scholastic record for the previous semester and proof of enrollment for the continuing term as soon as such documents become available. Flowever, the letter requesting renewal of the grant must be sent even if the scholastic record and proof of enrollment are not available by May 20,1994.

h) We suggest that a student’s application or renewal letter be sent to the President of the Scholarship Foundation via certified mail so that there is no question as to the mailing date or receipt of same at the Flome Office.

i) All applications and renewal letters must be submitted by the student seeking the grant. Any request for a grant submitted by a parent or guardian will not be considered.

j) Applications for scholarship grants must be made on forms furnished by the Scholarship Foundation. All necessary forms may be obtained by contacting:

E. E. Vargo, President

William Penn Fraternal Association Scholarship Foundation, Inc.

709 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15233

k) Scholarship grants will be awarded by the Executive Committee of the William Penn Fraternal Association Scholarship Foundation, Inc., once each year. Grants will be paid directly to the applicant provided he or she is a member in good standing on the date the grant checks are issued.

Deadline for Applications - May 20,1994