Adjustments to Medicaid and Power of Attorney have been reviewed in the course of the PBW Zoom assembly

The Professional & Business Women of Polonia (PBW) held their March meeting on March 24th, 2021 through Zoom. Zoom is a cloud-based video communication app that allows you to set up virtual video and audio conferencing meetings on your laptop or desktop computer, or on your iPhone.
PBW member Dawn Myszka discussed the changes to a person’s eligibility for home care from Medicaid. Starting October 1, 2020, there is now a 2.5 year (30 month) look back and penalty for asset transfer by an individual using Medicaid home care services. The look back over 2.5 years will take place slowly step by step in each month from November 2020. The state of NY originally decided to implement this new law on April 1, 2021. Due to the pandemic, this date has now been postponed to July 1, 2021.

Myszka informed members that the Power of Attorney Act would change on June 13, 2021. On December 15, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed amendments to the New York State Power Law. The new law contains several important changes.
The first change is that there are no longer two separate documents (the Power of Attorney Document and the Gift Rider Document). Both documents are now merged into one document.
The second change is that the document must be witnessed when it is signed by the client (the person who appoints its representatives). The witnesses cannot be potential recipients of gifts made under a power of attorney.
The third change is that the gift amount increases from $ 500 per year to $ 5,000 per year. This amount can be changed to any amount under the new power of attorney.
Myszka said it was important to remember that a power of attorney signed by the client before June 12, 2021 (even if signed by the designated agents after that date) is still valid.
She also reminded members that in addition to power of attorney, they should all have a health care professional to make medical decisions and a last will and will to distribute their estate when they die.
Behind the zoom
19 members attended the PBW Zoom meeting.
Zoom isn’t new. It’s just one type of communication app among many. Some others are Skype and Microsoft Teams. In a Zoom meeting, one person hosts and schedules a meeting for other attendees. The host sends the meeting invitation to the attendees’ emails. On the day and time of the meeting, each participant signs in to their email, clicks the zoom link in their invitation, and waits for the host to add them to the meeting.
Once in the meeting, everyone can see the other attendees if they have a camera-enabled computer or iPhone. A participant can also join a Zoom meeting by phone if they do not have a camera-enabled computer. Due to the Covid pandemic, you may have already held a Zoom meeting with loved ones.
Participants do not need a Zoom account to use Zoom. If someone wants to schedule their own meeting with Zoom, they need an account. A Zoom meeting can have a small group of people or a few hundred people.
PBW hopes to have their May meeting in Klocs Grove on Wednesday May 26th. The organization will inform all members in advance.