Last week I meet with a man who recently moved his father into a nursing home. His father doesn’t have much money and doesn’t have long-term care insurance. His only option for getting the care he needs is through Medicaid. Medicaid is a true godsend for many people, but it requires that a person have next to nothing as far as assets. As you can probably imagine, facilities that accept Medicaid are not very nice. I’ve visited my fair share, and I always leave feeling a little depressed. The man I met with expressed similar feelings. His description of where his dad is: “gross and depressing.”

If you haven’t researched the costs of a nursing care, take a look. It’s sobering. There are 3 ways to pay for long-term care:

Self-pay
Long-term care insurance
Medicaid

So, what’s the point of this post? It’s not to bash Medicaid or facilities that accept Medicaid. It’s a call to action. If you don’t have long-term care insurance, look into it. The sooner the better, because it gets significantly more expensive the older you get. If you don’t know who to talk to about it, contact me and I’ll give you some referrals. The man I met I with was so affected by his dad’s current situation, that he went out and got long-term care insurance for him and his wife. He didn’t want his wife or kids to have to go through what he’s going through with his dad.

Like I always say to my clients, you’re not planning for yourself. You’ll be incapacitated or dead. You do it for your family and friends who will have to take care of you. Make the decision today to get your estate planning affairs in order. Contact me today for your free consultation.

Ask ten different people about the rules for long-term care Medicaid and you'll likely get ten different responses. Even Medicaid workers in the same office have different understandings of the rules. For that reason it's essential to meet with someone who understands what it takes to qualify for long-term care Medicaid. Below, are three myths that I often encounter:

Myth #1: I'll lose my home and my spouse will be forced to move out. Medicaid is a needs-based program. This means that if a person has too many assets, they won't qualify for Medicaid benefits. The applicant's personal residence is exempt from that determination. Additionally, Medicaid will not take someone's home when there is a surviving spouse living in it.

Myth#2: I'll just gift all of my assets to my children to get below the allowable amount of assets. When determining eligibility, Medicaid has what it calls a "look-back" period. They look at all gifts that the applicant made five years prior to the application being submitted. For every $7,000 gifted in the past five years, a one-month penalty is incurred. For example, if the applicant gave away $70,000 during the past five years, that person will not be eligible for Medicaid benefits for 10 months. Giving assets away in order to reach the asset limit is one of the worst things an applicant can do.

Myth #3: I can't qualify for Medicaid benefits until all of my assets are spent down. While it is true that only a certain amount of assets are allowed in order to qualify, there are strategies to speed up the spend down process and preserve a percentage of the assets for the applicants children or other loved ones.

Medicaid rules are complicated. Undertaking the effort to qualify for long-term care benefits without the assistance of someone versed in the rules and knowledgeable of the process will likely lead to mistakes and frustration.

Call me today to discuss how I can help your loved one qualify for long-term care benefits.