While the majority of Americans will need some kind of long-term care at one point in their lifetimes, many fail to put plans in place to cover the often extreme costs associated with long-term care. Some operate under the mistaken belief that Medicare will cover long-term care costs. This is not accurate. Medicare only provides extremely limited coverage for nursing home care. If you or a loved one needs to stay for a longer period of time or needs to move into a residential facility, then Medicare cannot be relied upon. Medicaid, on the other hand, will cover the cost of long-term care, but it often requires planning in order to qualify for.
What is Medicaid Planning?
Generally speaking, Medicaid planning refers to actions taken by a potential Medicaid applicant prior to the preparation of a Medicaid application. Sometimes, Medicaid planning only refers to getting assistance in filing a Medicaid application along with the proper documentation. Other times, however, Medicaid planning refers to a much more involved, albeit important, process of restructuring a person’s financial resources and assets in anticipation of qualifying for Medicaid benefits further down the road.
Most of the time, when someone refers to Medicaid planning, they are referring to the process of rearranging a person’s financial resources and assets in order to qualify for Medicaid when the need for long-term care arises. You see, Medicaid is an income-based benefits program. If a person has certain financial resources and assets that exceed the qualifying limit, then he or she will not be eligible for Medicaid benefits. Restructuring finances in order to qualify for Medicaid often involves actions such as moving assets into certain trusts types, such as a Miller trust. Assets held in these properly structured trusts will not be counted for Medicaid eligibility purposes.
Planning for Medicaid coverage means that you are taking the steps necessary to help ensure you have a way to cover the cost of long-term care when the need arises. Some people are not even aware that this is something you can and should plan for in advance. In these cases, oftentimes, people enter a long-term care facility and pay out of pocket until their assets deplete to the point where they then end up qualifying for Medicaid benefits. Know that you do not have to lose your life’s savings to long-term care costs! With proper planning, you can restructure your savings so that you keep them safe and still have long-term care coverage.
Estate Planning Attorney
The cost of long-term care seems to be steadily increasing each year from already high levels. Financial resources will quickly be lost to the cost of long-term care without a proper plan in place. The team at Monk Law is here to help you with Medicaid planning and long-term care planning. The sooner you engage in planning, the more options you are likely to have. Contact Monk Law today.