Medicaid Power Of Attorney: Fill & Download for Free

The bulk of the evidence says Ayn Rand did accept Social Security and Medicare. We know for certain that Ayn Rand did accept Social Security, because a freelance writer named Patia Stephens filed a Freedom of Information Act request that uncovered a list of the dates and amounts of all Social Security benefits paid out to Ayn Rand and her husband Frank O'Connor (listed in records as Charles F. O'Connor). As the picture below indicates, Ayn Rand received Social Security benefits between 1974 and 1982.A similar Freedom of Information Act request that Patia Stephens filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) did not uncover any documents about Ayn Rand. Instead, the CMS would neither confirm nor deny that Ayn Rand received Medicaid benefits. However, even though we don't have 100% conclusive proof that Ayn Rand received Medicare benefits, we do have some solid evidence to back that up claim. To be specific, in 1998, Scott McConnell, then the communications director of the Ayn Rand Institute, conducted an oral history interview with Evva Joan Pryor, a social worker from New York who encouraged Rand to sign up for Medicare benefits. Here's the relevant part of the interview where Pryor talked to McConnell about signing Ayn Rand up for Medicare benefits:Pryor: She was coming to a point in her life where she was going to receive the very thing she didn’t like, which was Medicare and Social Security. I remember telling her that this was going to be difficult. For me to do my job she had to recognize that there were exceptions to her theory. So that started our political discussions. From there on – with gusto – we argued all the time.The initial argument was on greed. She had to see that there was such a thing as greed in this world. Doctors could cost an awful lot more money than books earn, and she could be totally wiped out by medical bills if she didn’t watch it. Since she had worked her entire life, and had paid into Social Security, she had a right to it. She didn’t feel that an individual should take help.McConnell: And did she agree with you about Medicare and Social Security?Pryor: After several meetings and arguments, she gave me her power of attorney to deal with all matters having to do with health and Social Security. Whether she agreed or not is not the issue, she saw the necessity for both her and Frank. She was never involved other than to sign the power of attorney; I did the rest.Pryor does not specifically say she signed up Ayn Rand for Medicare, but the reference to "power of attorney to deal with all matters having to do with health and Social Security" strongly suggests that she did, which would be totally consistent with her professional responsibilities as a social worker. According to the Patia Stephens article about this topic, Pryor and Rand were friendly to one another and would play Scrabble together, sometimes while having intense political discussions. Oh to have been a fly on the wall to hear some of those conversations!Source: Ayn Rand Received Social Security, Medicare

A regular power of attorney expires upon the signor’s incapacitation. A durable power of attorney continues upon a patient being deemed incapacitated and is one of several essential incapacity planning documents. But elder law and Medicaid planning go one step further with an Enhanced General Durable Power of Attorney. Planning for incapacity requires much more authority than what general estate planning attorneys usually provide for in their forms. This is one of the largest differences between estate planning attorneys and elder law attorneys and Medicaid planning lawyers. Medicaid planning lawyers or elder law attorneys are primarily focused on our client’s lifetime needs, while also considering what happens to our client’s assets after they pass and how best to protect their spouse and/or heirs. It is important to emphasize that I am not casting dispersions on estate planning attorneys. What they draft accomplishes the goals for which they were retained. But when a client comes to an elder-law or Medicaid-planning attorney, these documents will often need to be amended to accomplish a different set of goals: mainly to address some very specific lifetime needs related to health care costs, Medicaid qualification, VA benefits and the ability to conduct transactions that will allow someone who is incapacitated to obtain those benefits.Think of Power of Attorney as a voluntary delegation of rights, as opposed to an involuntary delegation of rights that come with the guardianship process. Power is the operative word. We want to provide you or your loved one with the power to choose the person or people who can make decisions when you or your loved one cannot make decisions for you/him/herself. It is important to remember that the person signing the power of attorney is not giving away control – that person is simply delegating rights to another person.Risks with a Florida Durable Power of AttorneyPower of Attorney Risks (click to see video)Watch Out For This Nursing Home Trick: Agents and Principal walk into a nursing home. Nursing home admissions put stacks of paper in front of agent who signs all of them - including a form that includes guarantee of payment language. Power-of-attorney law specifically states that the agent/attorney-in-fact is not liable personally for signing on behalf of principal. But, the agent needs to be careful that, when signing documents (especially those guaranteeing payment to a nursing home) that they sign and indicate on the actual signature line that they are signing as agent or attorney in fact.Our enhanced durable power of attorney documents makes sure to indicate that agent is only able to sign in a representative capacity.Different Types of Power of AttorneyDurable Power of AttorneyThis is the type of power of attorney necessary for incapacity planning because it is the only type of power of attorney that does not end upon the grantor (principal) becoming incapacitated. Not all durable powers of attorney are created equally, the law requires certain powers to be very specifically spelled out, otherwise, 3rd parties may not accept them. This is why it is very important to speak with a medicaid-planning lawyer or elder law attorney, who has experience crafting the types of powers an elder wishes a trusted family member or professional to be able to carry out upon their becoming incapacitated. This ensures that their wishes are met and that the agent is not hamstringed by the very document that is supposed to empower.Springing Power of AttorneyIn 2011, the Florida legislature made springing powers of attorney illegal. (a springing power of attorney is one that becomes usable only upon the principal becoming incapacitated).So, in Florida, all powers of attorney become effective immediately after they are signed with the proper formalities (signed by the principal, with two witnesses) in front of a notary.Limited Power of AttorneyThis is usually reserved for single use purposes (sometimes referred to as a "special power of attorney"). When you trade in a car, you will sign a limited power of attorney that the dealership will use to interact with the state and transfer title to the car in your stead. When you buy or sell a home you may give your lawyer a limited power of attorney to sign only the particular real estate documents in your name. A limited power of attorney might be used to let one person made deposits or withdrawals from one particular bank account, they can be tailored almost infinitely. Limited powers of attorney will usually expire once the single transaction has occurred or upon a certain date. These are not suitable for elder law purposes as there are often many different transactions that need to be done either prior to or after the elder becomes incapacitated.General Power of AttorneyThis type of power of attorney provides the agent, or attorney-in-fact, to conduct a broad array of legal acts on behalf of the principal. However, those acts must still be specifically listed in the power of attorney document. In this way, the name "general power of attorney" is a bit of a misnomer. It is usually not useful for elder law and medicaid planning attorney purposes as the types of transactions necessary for medicaid planning will not be included in most general power of attorney forms. In addition, any power of attorney that is not "durable" will become invalid upon the principal becoming incapacitated.Health Care Power of AttorneyAppoint an agent to make health care decisions for you, if you are unable to do so yourself. Healthcare power of attorney is discussed in more detail here.Florida Durable Power of Attorney

Someone we know — not even a friend, really, but he had done us some small favors, repeatedly — had a stroke. It left him unable to care for himself, much less work.My wife offered to act as his POA (“attorney in fact” under a power of attorney) to help straighten out his affairs. Basically she paid his debts as the came due, especially his rent and the cleaning costs because there was just too much stuff for us to properly clean his apartment. [This was after sending two trucks with a total of 850 packing boxes to the UC Riverside library. And yes, it was stuff they wanted.]She also filled out the paperwork to get him on Medi-Cal [California’s version of Medicaid] because he was disabled. Turns out to be incredibly difficult to do this. Until he turned 65. Then all of a sudden he somehow qualified.HIs mail would come to us, and utility and suchlike bills were paid. Medical bills got a stock answer: he has an application for Medi-Cal pending. One doctor’s office wasn’t satisfied with this, and turned it over to a collection agency.Somebody called and talked to my wife. Suggested she should pay his medical bill because she was a family member. NOPE, not a family member. Well, his wife then? Nope. Well, his girlfriend? NOPE.“What are you, then?”(paraphrasing) I’m somebody who has known him for 40 years, and the most competent person he could find to manage his bills. Tell the doctor that he’ll get paid (at Medi-Cal rates) when his application is approved, and that (not-quite-friend) doesn’t have any money.Which is true: if you are on Medi-cal you can only have a certain maximum in liquid funds (checking account, cash, investment, etc.) Back then it was $2,000. And if you have any income, everything over $35 (then) has to be used to pay his medical and nursing home bills.They mumbled a little, but they went away. If they didn’t, I was going to write them the standard “cease contact” letter.