Letter from the Editors
  • A note from Kelly and Betsy

Health Beat
  • Summary of Breaking News

Upcoming Events

Counselor's Corner
  • May Webinar
  • Introducing Our New Client Development Coordinator

Breaking News
  • Mississippi Medicaid: Treatment of Post-Eligibility Income May Be On The Verge of Change

Spotlight on Recent Success
  • Life Insurance Cash Value in Excess of State’s Resource Limit May Not Be Barrier to Eligibility
CMS declares Nursing Home Quality and Safety a Top Priority
CMS is developing a five-part plan to ensure the care provided in America’s nursing homes is of the highest possible quality.
May 15th:  
Join us on Wednesday, May 15th at 1:00 PM EST for our 2019 Best Practices Webinar,   Social Security Benefits 101 .

BLG Senior Associate  Jessica Bulos  and Attorney Katie Van Lake will delve into the intricacies of Social Security Benefits and offer tips on how to get your Residents qualified.

May 21st:
BLG partner Erin Saylor and BLG Attorney Vanessa Hunte will be presenting on the Effects of Resident Incapacity & Applying for Guardianship/ Conservatorship at the Leading Age Michigan 2019 Annual Conference.
We want to know what makes your business tick!
Does your facility enlist the help of an attorney for discharge hearings?
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Letter from the Editors

Greetings!

This month we celebrated Administrative Professional’s Day. We treated our support staff to lunch and some special treats – yet we truly cannot quantify our appreciation for the folks that keep our firm running so smoothly on a daily basis.

In planning this celebration, we began thinking more deeply about gratitude and the many people to which we owe it. In addition to our amazing support staff, we are so very grateful for our team of 26 dedicated attorneys who work diligently to achieve the best possible results for you. 

And we are sincerely appreciative of each one of you – our clients. Without your faith in our ability to find creative solutions and optimize your recovery, we would not be where we are today. From day one, it was the confidence of our clients that inspired us to succeed and grow. 

Success is not only measured in the “big wins”, but by what you do every day to successfully run your business. To help you achieve excellence in your day-to-day tasks, we are planning a special-edition “round table” webinar that will focus on topics and issues selected by you – our clients. Best practices in AR management can save you time, money, and create opportunities to bring your business to the next level.   Share with us what you need to get there!

You can submit a topic proposal  here  to let us know how we can help you lay the foundation for further growth.

In gratitude, 
Counselor's Corner:
Upcoming Webinars
Social Security Benefits 101

Join us on Wednesday, May 15th at 1:00 PM EST for our 2019 Best Practices Webinar, Social Security Benefits 101 .

BLG Senior Associate Jessica Bulos and BLG Attorney Katie Van Lake will delve into the intricacies of Social Security Benefits and offer tips on how to get your Residents qualified.

This was on of our most popular topics in our 2018 series and has been updated with more information - Space is limited, register today!
Introducing our New Client Development Coordinator
We are pleased to announce that Rhonda Slough has taken the position of BLG Client Development Coordinator. Rhonda is not new to BLG, but is new to this position and is looking forward to more direct interaction and communication with our valued clients.

Upon graduating from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, Rhonda began her career in the legal field in 1987 as a legal assistant. She transitioned into a paralegal role and worked for large law firms in Columbia that primarily practiced insurance defense and workers’ compensation defense until 2001. Rhonda left the big city behind and moved with her family to Pawleys Island, South Carolina in July 2001, where she has made her forever home. She continued her paralegal career and began working at BLG in March 2017. We know that Rhonda’s firsthand experience and knowledge of the the Medicaid process will make her an excellent resource for our clients. 
Breaking News
Mississippi Medicaid: Treatment of Post-Eligibility...

In accordance with Federal law, Medicaid-recipients must be allowed to apply their patient liability to pre-Medicaid expenses. Any limitations on this right must be approved by CMS. While working with providers in Mississippi, BLG discovered that ...

Read more
burgeonlegal.com
Spotlight on Recent Success
Life Insurance Cash Value in Excess of State’s Resource Limit May Not Be Barrier to Eligibility
Does your resident have a Whole Life insurance policy with Cash Surrender Value (CSV) above your State’s Medicaid resource limit? Don’t immediately despair! When the combined Face Value of all of a resident’s life insurance policies does not exceed the permissible maximum amount (for example, in Maryland, as in many other States, the limit is $1,500), the policy may be exempt as a countable resource for Medicaid, regardless of the policy’s total CSV. In a recent Maryland case handled by Attorney Jessica Bulos , the resident’s life insurance policy had a $1,000 Face Value, a $950 CSV, and more than $2,300 of Additional Insurance Value. However, because the Additional Insurance ( i.e. , insurance purchased every year by automatically reinvesting the policy dividends) increased the total CSV and not the policy’s Face Value, the policy was exempt as a resource despite it having total CSV in excess of the $2,500 resource limit in Maryland. Jessica’s recognition of this issue led to the swift reopening and approval of the incapacitated resident’s application and a full recovery for the provider – and avoided the time and expense of securing a guardian for the resident. 

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  www.burgeonlegal.com
 Pawleys Island, South Carolina 29585
Please note that this information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice and does not create an attorney client relationship.

Some of the contents in this newsletter is considered Attorney Advertising under the applicable rules of certain states. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.