September 18, 2025 Hybrid Dinner Meeting

Hybrid Dinner Meeting

Thursday, September 18, 2025 at 5:00PM

Brightview Canton

125 Turnpike St, Canton, MA 02021

Registration 5:00 - 6:00PM

Dinner 6:00 - 7:00PM

Program: 7:00PM

***This program will be streamed live and recorded.

MassHealth Denied!

How to Appeal, Strategize, and Win When You've Lost at

Fair Hearing

The Fair Hearing decision arrives. You scan the first page . . . and there it is: “Denied.” Is the case over? Absolutely not.  Zealous advocacy demands more. 

Step into the courtroom with our panel of elder law strategists as we dissect a real-life long-term care insurance case, uncover the facts, and map out each move to make after a Fair Hearing denial.

You’ll walk away with:

Whether you’re new to elder law or a seasoned litigator, you’ll leave ready to turn your next denial into a victory.

Presenters

Attorney Nancy Catalini Chew is a graduate of Boston College Law School and was admitted to practice in Massachusetts in 1996, and to New Hampshire in 2019.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography, summa cum laude, from the University of New Hampshire, and she is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Nancy specializes exclusively in estate planning and elder law, and she has been in private practice since 1999.  As an estate planner, Nancy provides particular expertise to clients with minor or disabled children, with taxable estates, and with ownership interests in business entities.  In the field of elder law, Nancy possesses a current and accurate knowledge of a complex area subject to an ever-changing regulatory climate.  She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys – including its Massachusetts Chapter—as well as the Massachusetts Bar Association and the North Middlesex Bar Association. She has also been an accredited attorney with the Veterans Administration.

Nancy is frequently asked to speak at local Councils on Aging, Chambers of Commerce events, facilities for the elderly, and she has been featured on various local access cable television programs, all in an effort to educate the public.
Nancy has served as a board member for various charitable entities and currently acts as Town Moderator in her home town of Ashby, where she currently resides with her husband and their children.

Attorney Timothy R. Loff grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota, moved to the Boston area to attend New England School of Law, and has been here ever since. His office is in Newton. Tim authors chapters of the MCLE Elder and Disability Law in Massachusetts treatise, and the MBA Elder Law Education Guide. Tim presents to consumers on elder legal matters for many local organizations in Massachusetts including the Natick, Newton, Needham, Watertown, Brighton and Waltham Councils on Aging, and to lawyers via the Massachusetts Bar Association Legal Education Institute. His practice focus is on Probate matters, representing individuals and families on Estate and Healthcare planning and issues. Tim is a former a Director of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), and current Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee, and Chair of the Long Term Care Insurance Committee.

Attorney Lisa Neeley is a partner in Rubin and Rudman's Trusts and Estates Department and a member of the Elder Law practice group. She focuses her practice on elder law with an emphasis on Medicaid applications and appeals, estate and special needs planning, probate administration, and guardianship and conservatorship proceedings.

Lisa’s area of expertise is focused in the preparation and filing of complex MassHealth applications and in providing client representation in appeals of applications that have been denied for a variety of legal reasons. Lisa also represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries who challenge MassHealth estate recovery actions. To that end, Lisa has successfully represented clients in appeals regarding benefit eligibility issues before the Office of Medicaid Board of Hearings, the Massachusetts Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Additionally, Lisa has been retained to serve as an expert witness with regard to Medicaid eligibility and trust fiduciary litigation matters.

In addition to her elder law practice, Lisa routinely assists clients of all ages in the preparation of estate and long-term care planning documents, including powers of attorney, health care proxies, wills, and trusts used to accomplish various planning goals. Lisa also advises special needs individuals regarding estate planning documents best suited for the lifetime management of funds, while maintaining eligibility for government benefits. She appears in Probate Court to represent individuals and families in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, estate administration, and fiduciary litigation matters.

Lisa frequently speaks to bar associations, attorneys, and financial professionals regarding long-term care and estate planning topics. She has published several law review articles concerning long-term care planning and Medicaid eligibility topics. Lisa has been quoted in the Boston Globe, Washington Post, Law 360, and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Lisa is an active member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and serves on the organization’s public policy committee and litigation committee. In 2016, Lisa was a recipient of NAELA’s John J. Ford Litigation Advocacy Award in recognition of her dedication and commitment to people as they age and to individuals with special needs. Lisa has been named a Massachusetts “Super Lawyer” by Boston magazine and Law & Politics since 2018. In 2021, Lisa was selected as “Lawyer of the Year” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.