Coastal Senior is a monthly periodical covering the South Carolina and Georgia low country. Bob Mason is its legal columnist.
For many people, Medicaid may be the only financing option for nursing home level of care. Medicare has limited benefits. Most people do not own long term care insurance. And for most, private paying $6,000 a month is not an option.
Qualifying for Medicaid is another matter. It can be difficult . . . or it can be easy. Here is the easy answer along with some free legal advice. Fix up the house, buy a new car and simply spend the rest down on the spouse’s nursing home care. When everything has been spent down, go apply for Medicaid.
Is that the smartest approach? No. But the advice was “free”! Also, the nursing home and the Medicaid people in Atlanta will love you.
The better way just may be a bit more difficult. While every case is different, many strategies can save a tremendous amount of money, not to mention aggravation and worry.
The answers do not come easily. As the United States Supreme Court observed in the Schweiker v. Gray Panthers case, the “Byzantine construction” of the Social Security Act (of which Medicaid is a part) makes the rules and regulations “almost unintelligible to the uninitiated”.
You’ll need a guide with the knowledge and experienced to shepherd you through the process.
In addition to a thorough understanding of the nuances of the Medicaid rules, many of the successful strategies require an advanced understanding of trust law, taxation, real property law and the interconnections among Medicaid and other programs (VA benefits, for example).
Is it necessary to hire an attorney to complete a Medicaid application? No, not if the “easy” answer mentioned above will suffice.
Will people advise that it is not necessary to hire an attorney? You bet! Occasionally it is someone with a local Department of Family and Children’s Service office. More often it is a nursing home.
The problem with that sort of advice is both parties have a vested interest in keeping someone on “private pay” as long as possible. It is not in their interest to move someone to Medicaid.
Further, many, if not most, nursing home business office staff who offer to complete (sometimes they’ll insist on completing) a Medicaid application do not have more than a basic understanding of the complex rules and advantageous strategies available.
Also, neither has the knowledge, skills and ability, much less a law license, required to draft trusts, devise appropriate estate plans and stand by to advocate for you (in court if necessary) should the need arise.
Finally, if a lawyer is “the way to go” keep in mind that lawyers, like doctors, are not all the same. A great attorney in one area of the law may not have any idea of what to do with Medicaid rules that are “unintelligible to the uninitiated”. Ask for references, ask how many similar cases have been handled, ask for credentials and certifications and satisfy yourself they know what they’re talking about and are ready to get on your side.
