Gov’t Assistance for Nursing Home Stay
Posted on August 2, 2010 by bob in ElderJust
• Medicare •
Medicare is a federal program to provide medical insurance generally to individuals aged 65 and older. Medicare generally covers the first 20 days a person is at a nursing home following a hospital stay.
• Medicaid •
Medicaid is a state-federal partnership that covers major health and long-term care. It primarily covers low income children, the disabled, and nursing home residents. It does not, however, cover all low income or disabled persons. Eligibility is determined by one of the following agencies: the Social Security Administration, the Department of Human Resources, or the Alabama Medicaid Agency.
• Government Assistance •
Medicaid applications for nursing home assistance require a full accounting of all of the assets a person currently has or had in the previous five years. If the person has given away assets or money during the previous five year period, the elderly person will be held responsible to pay that amount of money towards their care at a nursing home.
If the elderly person has assets, they will be required to privately pay the cost of the nursing home until all of the assets of the elderly person have been spent down. There must be proof that the money or asset was used for the benefit of the elderly person and not given away. Check all deeds and accounts, including safe deposit boxes, for ownership or beneficiary status. Don’t forget to list life estates in real property which may have been retained by the person.
Medicaid may take a lien on the real property of an elderly person if: (1) they are a patient in a skilled nursing facility, an intermediate care facility, or an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded; (2) they cannot reasonably be expected to be discharged and return home within 90 days; and (3) they would otherwise meet the Medicaid eligibility requirements.
Locate all income sources that the elderly person receives, including survivor benefits or veterans benefits for the widows of veterans. Check for other income sources that may have been forgotten.
If the elderly person has income which exceeds the nursing home limit, a Qualifying Income Trust will have to be set up for the elderly person. This essentially takes all of the income which the person receives on a monthly basis and places it in an account.
This account and all of the income which it receives is then paid to the nursing home. Medicaid steps in to pay the rest of the nursing home bill. The Qualifying Income Trust allows people who would be ineligible for Medicaid to become eligible for Medicaid assistance by factoring in the amount of their income.
Montgomery Attorney Jay Ott specializes in the practice of Elder Law/Elder Care,
focusing on assisting older individuals and those with disabilities to preserve their dignity,
protect their assets, and make good decisions despite increasingly complicated laws.
Contact at 334-834-8100, or e-mail jayott@lawyer.com.
