“Medicaid is . . . growing out of control,” said Del. L. Preston Bryant Jr. (R-Lynchburg). “You are seeing well-off folks literally impoverish themselves in order to qualify. That removes available Medicaid funds for those whom Medicaid is truly aimed for.”
Is this true? Does anyone know anything more than an anecdote or two to prove this assertion. Certainly, the rules the House wants to invoke would be impossible for many people to comply with. Six years of immaculate records would be tough for a lot folks — poor and otherwise — to come up with.
I know when my family sought long-term care for our dad, putting my mother in the poorhouse so he could get Medicaid to pay for it wasn’t an option. Not only did we obviously not want my mother to do without, but clearly Medicaid nursing homes were not of the caliber my parents could afford. I wonder how many children are willing to allow their surviving parent to take less than the best care they can give them just so the kids can get their hands on their inheritance a little earlier.
Update: Interestingly, when you type “Medicaid fraud” and Virginia into Google, the first hit is Kilgore’s AG web site.