Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog
This case has drawn plenty of attention due to its legal and financial implications. Essentially, the case has escalated to the point of a federal judge warning state regulators that she would consider issuing an order to drop Ohio from Medicaid enrollment altogether, leaving the Buckeye State without federal funds to provide medical care for its elderly residents.
The State of Ohio is penalizing seniors by refusing to grant them long-term care benefits because a spouse or close relative has purchased a Medicaid-compliant insurance annuity. Medicaid administrators in Ohio say that an elderly nursing home patient is not entitled to long-term care benefits as long as he or she has a relationship with an individual who has purchased an annuity.
Other cases have been filed in federal courts in Ohio, and one federal judge has warned Ohio officials that she may hold them in contempt if they don’t follow federal law. The latest lawsuits filed against Ohio’s Medicaid administrators were brought by three elderly women whose husbands used their retirement accounts to buy annuities, which State Medicaid investigators say is illegal.
