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Recently, someone posted a question on the listserv about "Medicaid planning," a euphemism for the subterfuge that some attorneys aggressively market for their clients who wish to become "artificially impoverished" and thus qualify for their state's Medicaid long-term care benefits. In other words, these attorneys help upper middle class individuals divest themselves of their assets (usually a transfer to an irrevocable trust) in order to make them eligible for publicly financed nursing home benefits. This sham is yet another example of how we -- through our fast-food, get-it-now mentality, lack of political courage and fiscal irresponsibility -- will ultimately force our children and grandchildren to choke under a mountain of our debt. Listen to what others are saying: "Medicaid planning to me is shameful. I suspect one of the areas we will investigate is Medicaid planning and will seek to put a stop to it." - Sen. William Cohen (R-ME) "One of America's great financial shell games is played, unseen, in the offices of lawyers and accountants who counsel the elderly. One minute you see a pile of money. Zip, zip, zip, the next minute it's gone." - Jane Bryant Quinn "I am offended by wealthy individuals with the aid of lawyers taking advantage of the Medicaid program for the poor to finance the transmission of wealth to their heirs at federal and state taxpayer expense" - Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) Martin Bayne 46/2