Month: February 2011
NYSBA Elder Law Section: The Proposals of the Medicaid Redesign Team
This is being provided to the General Practice list serve as a courtesy.
The Elder Law Section is committed to informing our members, on a timely basis, about issues that affect our practice. Below is a brief description, prepared by David Goldfarb, of the some of the changes proposed by the Medicaid Redesign Team.
The Proposals of the Medicaid Redesign Team
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo‘s submitted a proposed appropriation bill on February 1, 2011. It included language that for the next fiscal year (April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012) the Commissioner of Health could implement the recommendations of the newly created Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT), including modifying or discontinuing Medicaid program benefits. The proposed savings from the overall proposal was set at $2,850,000,000.
On February 24th, 2011, the MRT passed a number of recommendations, all of which the Governor has endorsed. The ones that primarily impact on our clients’ eligibility for Medicaid and the provision of Medicaid services are outlined below.
The recommendations of the MRT raise many questions. Some of the recommendations are still vague and ambiguous or misconstrue the present law. The MRT did not consider all of the implications of some of the proposed changes, which could drastically limit or nullify some of the proposed cost savings. Changing eligibility may also violate federal Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirements in both the federal Stimulus Act and the Health Care Reform Bill. Some of the changes would require federal waivers.
This is still early in the process. The Governor has 30 days (until March 2nd) to amend his budget, the appropriation bills, or his proposed legislation as of right. After that he may submit amendments only with the approval of the legislature. And of course, legislative approval of the budget is required in order for it to be effective.
The Elder Law Section believes it is important for you to know what is in the pipeline even though it is early in the process and much could still happen. We are committed to keeping our members posted as best we can to changes as they take place.
The official list of MRT adopted proposals can be downloaded as a pdf here.
Some of the highlights that affect our clients and us are as follows:
The Proposed Elimination of Spousal/Parental Refusal:
This proposal would eliminate spousal and parental refusal for community based Medicaid. It would require that the income and resources of legally responsible relatives residing in the same household as the Medicaid applicant be counted in determining the applicant’s eligibility for Medicaid. Under current New York law, a legally responsible relative living with a Medicaid applicant may refuse to make his/her income and resources available to the applicant. Under such circumstances, Medicaid eligibility for the applicant is determined based on only the applicant’s income and resources. Local departments of social services may pursue a recovery of Medicaid paid from the non-contributing spouse/parent. This proposal would count the income and resources of a legally responsible relative who is living with an applicant for purposes of determining the applicant’s eligibility for Medicaid.
The Proposed Implementation of a 60 month Look Back for Non-Institutional Long Term Care
The Proposed Expansion of Estate Recovery and Expansion of the Definition of Estate
The Section’s Budget Task Force and lobbyists are busy working to try to change the proposals or minimize their impact and will continue to monitor the situation and keep the members of the Elder Law Section informed.
Sharon Kovacs Gruer, chair of the Elder Law Section
Sharon Kovacs Gruer, Esq., CELA, LL.M. Sharon Kovacs Gruer, P.C. 1010 Northern Boulevard Suite 302 Great Neck, New York 11021 (516)487-5400 Web: nytrustlaw.com Email: skglaw@optonline.net
icloud
http://www.icloud.com/en
It’s nice to have documents, images, and other items from one’s home computer easily accessible, and icloud makes this possible, as it is essentially a virtual desktop with 3GB of available storage. After visitors sign up for a free account, they can store their documents and also collaborate with others via icloud. Visitors are also welcome to sign up for more storage, but there is a fee associated with this memory availability. This version of icloud is compatible with all operating systems.
From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/
NYLJ: Panel Finds Canadian Gay Marriage Valid in Probate Case
Surrogate’s Court, New York County
Criminal Practice
Same-Sex Spouse May Inherit Deceased Partner’s Estate
H. Kenneth Ranftle v. Craig Leiby, Respondent, 4214
Same-Sex Spouse May Inherit Deceased Partner’s Estate
H. Kenneth Ranftle v. Craig Leiby, Respondent, 4214
The Appellate Division, First Department, held yesterday in Matter of the Estate of H. Kenneth Ranftle, 4214, that recognizing the marriage in Canada of H. Kenneth Ranftle and J. Craig Leiby, who was designated as Mr. Ranftle’s “surviving spouse and sole distributee,” did not violate public policy. “[T]he Legislature’s failure to authorize same-sex couples to enter into marriage in New York or require recognition of validly performed out-of-state same-sex marriages, cannot serve as an expression of public policy for the State,” the unanimous panel wrote in an unsigned ruling.
Pocket Guide for Federal Judges Discusses Sealed Cases
| A recently published pocket guide for federal judges focuses on the occasional need to seal court records and proceedings.
Published by the Federal Judicial Center, the 22-page pocket guide draws on the voluminous case law to discuss the process courts use to keep some of the proceedings and records confidential. The guide states: “Essential to the rule of law is the public performance of the judicial function. On occasion, however, there are good reasons for courts to keep parts of some proceedings confidential . . . Usually that means that any transcript made of the proceeding will be regarded as a sealed record.” The guide (pdf) offers a procedural checklist of considerations when a record is sealed or when a proceeding is closed to the public.
|
Developer Preview of Mac OS X Lion
Apple today (2-24-2011) released a developer preview of Mac OS X Lion, which takes some of the best ideas from iPad and brings them back to the Mac for the eighth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system.
Lion features Mission Control, an innovative new view of everything running on your Mac; Launchpad, a new home for all your Mac apps; full-screen apps that use the entire Mac display; and new Multi-Touch gestures. Lion also includes the Mac App Store, the best place to discover, install, and automatically update Mac apps. The Lion preview is available to Mac Developer Program members through the Mac App Store today, and the final version of Lion will ship to customers this summer.
NYLJ: Second Circuit: Collection Agency Violated Venue Provisions of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Creditors and Debtors Rights
Hess v. Cohen & Slamowitz, 10-424
“…This case calls upon us to decide a question of first impression in this Circuit: whether a debt collector violates the FDCPA‘s venue provisions by suing a consumer in a city court in the State of New York when that court lacks power to hear the action because the consumer does not reside in that city or a town contiguous thereto. We hold that such a suit is not brought in the “judicial district or similar legal entity” in which the consumer resides, even when the consumer resides elsewhere within the county containing the city court, and therefore determine that Hess’s complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of the district court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion…”
NYLJ: Supreme Court, Disgruntled Ex-Employee’s Disparaging Blog Posts About Company Are Protected Speech
Nassau County, Trial/IAS, Part 1 Employment
“…defendant’s communications concerning the data loss are constitutionally protected, and plaintiff has not shown the extraordinary circumstances required for a preliminary injunction. Plaintiff’s motion for leave to renew its motion for a preliminary injunction, restraining defendant from communicating with plaintiff’s customers or law enforcement agencies concerning the data loss, is denied…”
Albany Law plans to cut its class size, budget
- Smartbrief.com
- Cuts at Albany Law may signal a trend
Union University’s Albany Law School says it will reduce its incoming class size by 4%, reduce its budget by 2%, halt employees’ pay raises and increase tuition 4%. Observers say such measures will become more common in legal education, as the weak job market for law-school graduates reduces enrollment. The National Law Journal (free registration) (2/18)
Wednesday, March 2nd at 10am PST/1pm EST for a free Webinar featuring Evernote and ScanSnap
Image via CrunchBase
Evernote helps millions of people worldwide remember everything that happens in their lives. Evernote can be used to organize scans of all your notes, documents, business cards and receipts. In addition to scans, you can use Evernote to save interesting web pages, create to-dos and shopping lists, attach images and PDFs, and so much more. Watch as it all instantly synchronizes from your PC or Mac to your smartphone, tablet and the Web, allowing you to find your important information at anytime from anywhere. .
lennyesq 