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Medicaid Reform Again, But WORSE!
The SMART Act SB 2840 will reverse many of the DRA changes Elder Law attorneys fought for on behalf of our clients. The changes include the following:
- Legal fees are no longer exempt for 3-month backdating.
- Abolishes spousal refusal entirely.
- A homestead in Trust is no longer an exempt asset.
- Except for the Community Spouse Resource Allowance ($109,560) and Minimum Monthly Needs Maintenance Allowance ($2,739, HFS is no longer limited in how much it can seek when pursuing a support order against a community spouse.
- Reverts to the old limits on prepaid funeral contracts.
- Reduces the home equity exemption to the minimum allowed under federal law (base figure of $500,000, adjusted annually for inflation, rather than the $750,000 adopted in the DRA rulemaking).
- No exception for prepaid funerals for 3-month backdating.