Brooklyn Center for Rehabilitation and Residential Health Care, located on Coney Island Avenue, appeared in a May, 2012 Department of Health Certification Survey for several deficiencies. Among these shortcomings was the failure to properly manage the personal funds of its residents.
A nursing home facility is bound by the duty to manage the personal funds of a resident if the resident so requests. In concert with this duty is to ensure that the resident and/or his or her legal representative is aware of Medicaid eligibility limits. The facility must also inform when the resident’s personal funds come within $200 of the eligibility limit. Currently, the resource limit for a resident of a nursing home is $14,250.00. The DOH report documents one resident whose personal funds accrued to over $15,000.00 without notification. Two other residents were in excess of $24,000.00. In all three cases, there was no documentation that the residents’ respective next of kin was notified of nearing, and then surpassing, this limit. When interviewed, the nursing home administrator admitted that the facility was not reviewing these personal funds.
The full report can be found here.
Medicaid planning and asset allocation is an essential aspect of elder care and estate planning. If you or a loved one needs to discuss these important issues, please contact the elder law attorneys at Gallivan and Gallivan here.