How to Keep Nursing Home Care From Draining Your Bank Account

How Medicaid Long-Term Care Benefits Can Help You Protect Your Financial Security

When a person reaches an advanced age, they and their family may face significant financial concerns as they determine how to address the costs of providing the necessary care. It may be necessary for a person to live in a nursing home or assisted living facility, but the costs involved can be much higher than many people may expect.

On average, the annual costs of nursing home care exceed $100,000. Even if a person has built up significant savings over their lifetime, these can be quickly depleted, leaving them struggling to cover the costs of a nursing home while addressing other needs.

Fortunately, there is a solution available that seniors can use to pay for nursing home care. Medicaid, a government assistance program, can provide benefits that will cover long-term care, reducing or eliminating the financial burden on elderly people and their families. However, there are specific requirements that must be met before a person can qualify for Medicaid long-term care benefits.

To avoid paying too much for a nursing home while preserving the assets a person owns and making sure they can maintain financial stability, it is important to take the correct steps to maintain eligibility for Medicaid benefits. At The Louisiana Medicaid Law Firm, our Certified Medicaid Planner can provide guidance on what steps to take to receive help paying for a nursing home or address denials of Medicaid benefits.

Qualifying for Medicaid Long-Term Care

Before a person can qualify for Medicaid long-term care benefits, they will typically need to demonstrate that they have a medical need for assistance. A medical assessment will be performed to determine whether they can perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) with or without assistance. The assessment will look at whether there are any issues that may affect a person's ability to engage in activities such as preparing meals, bathing, and getting dressed and undressed. When help is needed to handle these daily tasks, a person will be more likely to qualify for Medicaid long-term care benefits.

The other issue that will affect eligibility for Medicaid nursing home benefits is related to a person's financial resources. A person will typically only qualify for Medicaid if the monthly income they currently earn is lower than the monthly costs of nursing home care. The value of the assets a person owns must also be below a certain threshold. The "countable assets" that a person owns can typically be worth no more than $2,000. If assets exceed this threshold, a person may be ineligible for Medicaid long-term care benefits.

Understanding what assets are considered countable assets and what assets are exempt from consideration is not always easy. There are also complex factors related to the income earned by a person's spouse, the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA) that a spouse will require, and spousal impoverishment rules that can affect calculations. Our Certified Medicaid Planner can provide guidance on Medicaid income limits, Medicaid asset rules, and other issues that may affect qualifications for Medicaid long-term care.

Strategies for Medicaid Eligibility

For people who want to ensure that they will be able to use Medicaid benefits to pay for a nursing home, it may be necessary to reduce the total value of the assets they own. This may be known as "spenddown" or "depletion," but it must be done correctly to preserve eligibility for Medicaid. It can be easy to make mistakes, including divestments in which assets are sold or transferred out of an estate for less than their fair market value. Improper transfers can make a person ineligible for Medicaid, so it is important to ensure that the proper steps are taken to avoid or correct these issues.

Our Medicaid planning attorney can provide guidance on the steps that can be taken to maintain Medicaid eligibility. He can help determine whether making certain types of purchases, paying for services, or transferring assets into Medicaid-compliant trusts or annuities can protect assets against being used to pay for a nursing home. The proper Medicaid planning strategies can help a person and family save a great deal of money while avoiding financial problems later on.

Avoiding or Contesting Estate Recovery

In some cases, Medicaid may take steps to recover the costs paid for a person's nursing home care. Claims may be filed against a person's estate, which could result in a significant loss of assets for a person's heirs. If Medicaid wants repayment or tries to take a person's house after their death, steps may be taken to address this issue and prevent the loss of money or other assets. Our attorney can provide representation in cases involving Medicaid estate recovery, working to ensure that these issues can be resolved correctly.

Contact Our Louisiana Medicaid Long-Term Care Planning Attorney

Our lawyer can provide comprehensive legal help with issues related to Medicaid and nursing home costs. He can help families take steps to lower nursing home costs, protect parents' money and assets, and appeal Medicaid decisions such as the denial of benefits or the attempt to recover assets from an estate. To get help with these issues and make sure your family will be able to avoid financial difficulties in the future, contact our Louisiana Medicaid planning lawyer today at 504-447-6000 and arrange a consultation.