Admission Agreements: Time to Update

A well-drafted Admission Agreement is the best tool not only to help protect your facility but to educate and inform your residents and their family members as to their obligations. Your Admission Agreement can help “manage expectations” on such issues as the daily rate, co-pays, payment of NAMI and Medicaid obligations, including when to file and who will file (the family or the facility). The agreement should detail the responsibility of the resident’s financial agent and should include the direct deposit or automatic transfer of NAMI.

Each year, the Admission Agreement should be updated with the current figures released by the Department of Health for the Medicare co-pay amount and the Medicaid resource and income limits as well as the home equity limit. You should also be sure your Agreement contains authorizations to attend a Fair Hearing, pursue an Undue Hardship Waiver and authorization to collect financial records on behalf of the resident for Medicaid filing purposes. This allows the facility to be in the driver’s seat; if things go wrong and the resident’s family fails to communicate or cooperate, the facility can take charge and limit its exposure.

You may also want your Admission Agreement to permit electronic signatures such that scanned copies of the Agreement have the same force and effect as original signatures, allowing you to maintain scanned copies only.

Contact us to update your Admission Agreement by calling 631.390.5000 or email elder@conalaw.com.

Cona Elder Law Case Victory

Collections/Lien on Real Property

Facts: Nursing home resident had a balance due of over $122,000, which balance was growing at the rate of approximately $12,000/month. The resident had no payment source but owned a home in the community. The family advised that they would be selling the home but refused to provide any information regarding the sale and would not guarantee payment to the facility upon the sale of the house. Cona Elder Law obtained a judgment and secured a lien against the resident’s house, ensuring that the house could not be sold without the facility being paid.

Result: $156,000 payment to the facility without the need for Court intervention. Cona Elder Law attended the closing and collected a check for the full balance due.

Cona Elder Law attorney: This case was successfully handled by Roseanne Beovich, Esq. and Kyle Stefurak, Esq.