Kansas Senior Press Service News ArticlesKansas Senior Press Service News ArticlesBy A.L. Arietta
Kansas Senior Press Service
I hate winter.
These three words echo off many people at the end of daylight savings time — a time when the bright burst of autumn’s beauty begins to cover the ground in fallen brown leaves. The temperature drops, bringing breezy, cold days. Sometimes overcast skies come along for the ride. Attitudes begin to dampen, faces fall, and the grumbling starts.
I was one of those grumblers. Year after year, winter was a yucky time for me. Then I decided to call upon my belief that “What we love is not intolerable.” In fact, what we love feels good. So I thought, why not try to find things about winter to love!
At first, hunting for the good in winter’s nasty cold felt like the slow chug-chugging of a train. Then I remembered how much I love winter food. I love chili, stew, soup, spaghetti, baked beans with cornbread, and other fun foods we need for fuel.
Second, I love a fireplace whose crackling voice says, “It is peaceful in this room.” Winter clothes are soft; pajamas of flannel and coats of fleece are cozy, warm and comfortable. Having a blanket covering the arms and legs is like a second companion to a single person or a widowed senior. In addition, the smell of cloves and cinnamon can send a heart into rapture, making any dwelling feel like a cottage cabin where Grandma cooked and where quilts, rockers and doilies furnished the room.
Third, and maybe best, is the breathtaking snow-covered trees. The pristine icicles hanging like dewdrops adorning houses. The snow-plowed roads showing a single path down a once-busy four-lane road, forcing us to slow down. The ethereal beauty of a descending snowflake. The softness of a recliner when feet can finally rest for the day. The racket of snowplows scraping the street, reminding us that taxes take care of our community. The bold December colors of bright red and green or, later this month, red-pink-and-white, that brighten our faces when we walk into a store.
I can smile at the New Year’s song reminding us that old friends are not to be forgotten. And how about celebrated special days declaring that presidents are to be honored, all nationalities of people are to be freed, sweethearts are loved, Irish good luck is in a green clover, and rodents declare a forecast by seeing their shadows.
Waking up for work in pure darkness was a downer. But for less than $10, I placed a timer on the living room lamp and, voilà! I arise to a well-lit room. What a privilege, compared to my ancestors of the 1700s, who woke to stoke the fire, put logs in the wood-burning stove, and race to the outhouse. Now I only “rough it” when I choose to camp for the novelty of it. (Did I mention counting my blessings as another joyful bonus of wintertime?)
Is winter harsher, and does it take more work? Yes. But if we keep an eye on its beauty, warmth, good foods and the promised resurgence of spring, winter is a time to cherish. As I count the good of winter, I find myself in higher math.
A.L. Arietta, of Rogersville, Mo., is a retired office manager, retired nondenominational minister and nonfiction writer. She is a proud grandmother.
By Alexandra R. English
Kansas Senior Press Service
Some seniors are getting to the stage in life when they are thinking about long-term care. If you are among them, you may wonder how you are going to pay for it. If you are eligible, Medicaid can help.
Medicaid is a nationwide program for persons with a disability and persons with limited financial resources, and it can help senior adults who cannot afford long-term care. While Medicaid is partially federally funded, each state administers its own program. In Kansas, the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, or SRS, administers Medicaid.
To be eligible for Medicaid, you must be “categorically needy” or 65 or older and meet criteria for income and available resources. In Kansas, a senior applying for Medicaid must have monthly income lower than the monthly cost of the nursing home. Enough income may be kept to pay for private health insurance. In addition, seniors may keep $60 of their income per month for personal needs such as clothing, telephone and cable services, sundries, and gifts. Medicaid pays the remaining long-term care costs.
For Medicaid in Kansas, a long-term care applicant may not have more than $2,000 in available resources. Some resources, such as a car, wedding ring or home, are exempt. For a home to remain exempt, however, the applicant must intend to return there.
If the applicant has more than $2,000 in available resources, he or she must spend down the excess over $2,000. An applicant is allowed to spend down the money in numerous ways, including paying for medical care, making home improvements or purchasing a car.
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 made some major changes to Medicaid law. The biggest change is the extension of the “look-back period” from three years to five years. The look-back period is the amount of time SRS looks back, from the date of application, to determine whether any transfers or gifts were made during that period. If so, a transfer penalty will be assessed and you will be ineligible to receive Medicaid for a certain period of time, depending on the size of the transfer.
SRS considers a transfer to be any gift of money or of an asset for less than fair market value. Examples include giving your home to your children, giving someone a lump sum of money, or adding the name of someone other than your spouse to your bank account. Transfers between spouses are not subject to the transfer penalty.
The formula for determining your transfer penalty is to divide the value of the gift by the average daily cost of care, which is currently $137.65. For example, suppose that three years ago you gave your niece $12,000 so she could pay off her credit card debt. Divide that $12,000 (the transfer) by $137.65 (the average daily cost of care). The result is that you are assessed an 87-day transfer penalty, during which time you are not eligible to receive Medicaid. Because you have already applied for Medicaid and spent down your money, this leaves you with no way to pay for nursing home care for those 87 days. This is why the recent changes to Medicaid law have become quite a hardship for many people.
There is no way around this law. The lesson is to be very cautious about making any gifts or transfers if you believe you may go into a nursing home during the next five years. Very few exceptions are made to the transfer penalty, so most people must hope that their families will help pay for their care during that time. An exception to the transfer rule occurs when the state determines that denial of Medicaid would create an undue hardship.
Special rules do apply when one spouse must go into long-term care, however. A “division of assets” is done so the spouse remaining in the home can keep up to half of the couple’s assets to support himself or herself. Certain income and resource limits apply. For more information on division of assets, visit www.srskansas.org/services/DivisionofAssets.htm or call your local SRS office.
Timing is everything in applying for Medicaid. For you to receive Medicaid, the following events must coincide:
The new, stricter, Medicaid laws have been enacted to help eliminate misuse of the Medicaid system and to ensure that only low-income individuals are its recipients. Accordingly, it is now much more difficult to obtain Medicaid assistance. If you have questions about Medicaid eligibility, please contact your local SRS office for assistance.
Alexandra English is an elder law attorney with Kansas Legal Services, Inc.
By Theresa Hicks
Kansas Senior Press Service
The tax season is upon us again, and tax time can be a stressful time. But if you qualify for any of the following refunds, you won’t want to miss the opportunity to get some money from the state of Kansas.
Homestead Property Tax Refund
This refund legislation was enacted in 1970, when Kansas became the sixth state to pass a “circuit breaker” style of property tax relief in which the benefit depends on income or other criteria as well as the amount of property taxes paid.
The Homestead Refund is a rebate program for both homeowners and renters who have lived the entire year in Kansas. The refund is based on the property tax paid on the home (if you own) or the amount of monthly rent paid to a landlord (if you rent). If you own your home, the refund is a percentage of your general property tax; if you rent, 20 percent of the rent paid for occupancy is used for the property tax amount. The maximum refund for 2008 is $700.
To qualify, a Kansas resident must have resided in Kansas the entire year and have a total household income of less than $29,100. One of the following requirements must also be met:
Safe Senior Property Tax Refund
This year, the Kansas Department of Revenue has added Safe Senior, a property tax refund program administered under the provisions of the Kansas Homestead Act. Safe Senior is also referred to as “Kansas Property Tax Relief for Low-Income Seniors.”
The Safe Senior Refund is for Kansas residents who were 65 or older during all of 2008 (born before Jan. 1, 1943), who owned a home in Kansas, and who had a total household income of $16,800 or less in 2008. The refund amount is 45 percent of the 2008 general property tax that was paid or will be paid on the residence in which the claimant lived in 2008. The 2008 property tax consists of the total of the first half, due Dec. 20, 2008, and the second half, due May 10, 2009.
It is recommended that you fill out the worksheet for both the Homestead Refund and the Safe Senior Refund to see which is the greater amount. Worksheets for filing both the Homestead and Safe Senior refunds are found in the 2008 Homestead Tax booklet, published by the state of Kansas.
Food Sales Tax Refund
You may claim the Food Sales Tax Refund on line 25 of your Individual Kansas Tax Income booklet. Even if you don’t have taxable income and normally don’t file a state tax form, you may pick up the book and fill out line 25 to receive the Food Sales Tax Refund. The household income limit for 2008 is $30,300, and you must meet one of the following criteria:
If your qualifying income is $15,150 or less, your Food Sales Tax Refund is $80 for each dependent in your household. If your income is between $15,150 and $30,300, your food sales tax refund is $39 for each dependent in your household.
Telephone assistance
Theresa Hicks is a case manager-sign language interpreter with the Accessibility Program of JohnsonCounty Human Services & Aging.
These articles are also available electronically at the Center on Aging Website: http://www2.kumc.edu/coa/Senior_Press_Article/Topic_Index.htm