Qualify for Medicaid
Qualify for Medicaid
This option is on everyone’s mind. In fact, when you ask around about paying for elder care, this option is likely spit back at as the solution. Medicaid is society’s safety net for providing long-term care services when we’ve outlived our financial resources (which is happening to more and more people today). Where many families find themselves in this situation – It is entirely possible to be flat broke, needing care, and still be ineligible according to the Medicaid rules. Therefore, you need sound information to guide you through strategic steps for allowable spending on things helpful to you, or your family, without penalty, and the efficient timing of eligibility.
Medicaid rules permit certain expenditures, and these you need to know, whether you exercise them or not. Any dollar you can spend to benefit your family rather than offset a government entitlement (“spend down”) is worth saving. For example, provision is made for funeral/burial expenses by the family without penalty, but unless the correct procedures are followed, this entitlement can easily be lost, reduced, cause eligibility delays, or even denied outright during a critical period.
Getting Started:
The professional help needed to implement this strategy is an attorney who works currently in Medicaid eligibility planning. These are often Elder Law Attorneys. You can look for one online near you, or use this database from the Life Care Planning Law Firm Association to find an attorney in your state.
There are Medicaid advisors you may find within organizations selling insurance policies, or even working within your community. They are effective in preparing the application. However, the real work involves arrangements made before applying. Therefore, we strongly advise seeking the help of an attorney to prepare for the planning stage.
The rules are strict and unforgiving, which is why competent legal services are a must. Another strong objective is to use every dollar legally possible for the family’s use rather than spent paying the nursing home what the government will pay.
Some Insights:
Here’s the real truth. Based on the longevity of our aging citizens today, nearly everyone will run out of money at some point in their aging journey. You’ll be applying for Medicaid eventually. It’s smart then to seek help in PLANNING for the application process so you can pick the best timing and plan the best path towards that point.
The consequence of not planning? The rules are strict and unforgiving. Every dollar you spend could be in direct contrast to their rules, meaning denial of the benefit when you need it most. Even a single month’s delay in achieving Medicaid eligibility means another month of home health or assisted living costs which can be in the thousands of dollars, paid by the family. Rather, we’d love to see families using every dollar legally possible for the family’s use rather than spending on care that the government will pay for.