Thanks to certain laws - YOU may be stuck with your parents' rest home bill

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
11/16/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

'Filial support' laws may leave children of ailing parents with hefty bill

Everyone with elderly parents visualizes the day their parents become ill and need extended care - from a lengthy hospital stay to 24/7 nursing home care. Parental support laws, of "filial support" may leave the children of these patients with a hefty bill - in the event they should pass away.

Many children of elderly parents fear being stuck with an astronomical bill should their parents need long-term health care of 24/7 nursing.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The law currently on the books in 29 states and Puerto Rico allow long-term care providers to pursue payment from a parent's adult children.

A professor of law at the Dickinson School of Law at Penn State University, Katherine Pearson has found that long-term care providers are taking advantage of such laws in at least two states: Pennsylvania and South Dakota.

Pearson cites one high-profile case in Pennsylvania involving expenses incurred by car accident victim Maryann Pittas. Pittas was a patient in an Allentown nursing home for about six months before relocating to Greece to live with her relatives. In the meantime, Pittas' son got stuck with the bill for nearly $93,000.

The superior court ruled in favor of the nursing home in May of the year, based on the son's ability to pay.

"By holding the son liable for a lump sum of close to $93,000 in the Pittas case, the superior court appears to confirm a significant tool for certain creditors of individuals who are unable to pay their debts personally, permitting the filial support statute to be applied retroactively to substantial accrued debt, without requiring evidence of fault on the part of the targeted family member," according to Pearson's study.

According to Pearson's research, parental support laws date back to colonial times and even earlier. Such laws were established to make sure family members relied on one another rather than turning to public resources for help.

As many as 45 states at one time had these laws, but many states repealed them as Medicaid began to take on a greater role in providing relief to the poor.

However, new restrictions have been placed on Medicaid, which traditionally has paid a large percentage of long-term care costs in the United States. For example, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 increases penalties on people who transfer assets for less than market value prior to applying for Medicaid.

These cases are not everyday. President-elect of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, or NAELA Howard Krooks, who is an attorney with Elder Law Associates PA in Boca Raton, Florida wishes to put some minds at ease.

"Filial responsibility laws traditionally have rarely been enforced," Krooks says.

� 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM

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Keywords: Medicare, filial support, medical bills, nursing homes, elderly

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1 - 2 of 2 Comments

Augustine
6 months ago
Personally I believe that the children of adult parents should either move into the home of their parent or have their parent live with them if the parent needs special assistance and requires some form of care due to age related illnesses, I realize that many people with parents who have become forgetful and should not be alone just don't want to be bothered with the responsibilty of assisting their parent. We owe our lives to our parents for the simple fact we are to honor thy mother and thy father. I am against putting a parent into a nursing home or facility because any adult child of a parent who needs help should take care of their parents and provide in home caregiving when needed.Fuirthermore it is not wise to undersell their parents home so as to qualify for medicaid. It is always possible that some nursing home or facility might in fact send bills to the adult child especially if medicaid is reduced, and if there is an appointed professional guardian through the state one needs to be very watchful about their parents care and realize that the court appointed guardian has legal rights to sue and to collect money for the care of the person they are guardian for. States do vary in this law and I have been studying several states regarding the issues of Elder Care and Elder Law and if a person has a parent in a facility or nursing home as result of a family member who put the parent there, then the person who objects to their parent being in the nursing home must make it known to the court they object and would be willing to take care of their parent. This would also make the guardian aware that there is a family member objecting to the nursing home care, and so I say let the family member pay the bill if in fact the nursing home decides to finally bill a family member. I have had to deal with the issue of parent in a nursing home and I can promise you that I have done nothing but write endless objections to the court and still trying to rescue my parent and have them released into my care. I can also tell you that if you have a parent in a nursing home and decide you want to take the parent out and into your home, you better have a signed release form from the nursing home or facility. There are laws in certain states that specifically state that no one is required to stay in a nursing home or facility against their will. Also laws that state no one is required to have a guardian. This means that if you have a parent who has memory problems and is in a facility or nursing home and you realize the parent is not happy there and that the parent would do better in their own familiar surroundings and finish their life out with their loved ones, you need to make sure you have it in writing a release from the facility or nursing home that you can take them. If you just try and take your parent out of one of these kinds of places, the facility can and will call the police on you and you won't get far with your parent. It is a known fact that when the elderly are put into a facility or nursing home their life span is shortened and they deterioate. The become depressed and unloved and confused. It is a very sad life for the elderly who are put into a facility or nursing home and spend their final years there where they will die. I even know of a facility on the west coast where I witnessed a dead resident of this facility being wheeled out in a black body bag on a gurney and put into an unmarked van. It was very sorrowful to witness this and I prayed for the person even though I had no idea who the person was. But while my adult parent is a resident there you can be sure I am still fighting to get my parent out of that place and with me, and it is a very difficult task to do but I won't give up on my parent. I am not the one who put my parent into that place and so I have had to write a pile of objections and motions to the court. You can do it also even without an attorney and you can study law for the state you are in and know what the state says about patient rights and what your rights are. If you only knew what goes on in most nursing homes and facilities you never would want your parent there. I know for a fact that the staff where my parent is lies and lies in more ways than one and it is a huge concern. I also know that there are nursing homes in my area that have been closed down and there is more encouragement for adult children to take care of their elderly parents instead of putting them into a nursing home or facility. It might not be easy but then through Faith in Jesus Christ and with the Love of God you can do it. "All things are possible through Christ Jesus! "
KarlVDH
6 months ago
So... who SHOULD be paying for our parents' health care in later life?

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