Medicaid Applications
When the time comes for a loved one to enter a nursing home, the family can experience sticker shock with monthly fees of $8,000 to $12,000 per month. Even a big savings account can deplete quickly, leaving nothing for the family or the healthy spouse.
Nevada offers long term care benefits to those who can qualify financially. There are strategies we can use to save some of this money and get qualified for nursing home benefits, without impoverishing the healthy spouse or sending tens of thousands to the nursing home.
What to Expect
Medicaid planning has three parts:
1. Pre-planning.
The best time to prepare is five years in advance of needing nursing home benefits. This usually involves setting up a trust. However, for families that do not have this kind of time, we move to the second step immediately.
2. Strategy Assessment.
Using information and precise financial figures you give us, we evaluate ways to spend and move money that will not cause Medicaid to impose a penalty, but will also help your loved one get financially qualified for long term care benefits as quickly as possible.
3. Applying for Benefits.
Once we establish the plan, we will help you transfer the funds and apply for long term care benefits for your family member.
FAQs
Can we just take my loved one’s name off her house and bank account to qualify for Medicaid?
If you move assets from the nursing home patient to other family members (even a spouse in some cases), Medicaid will penalize the nursing home patient. For every $8,000 given away in the last five years, Medicaid will not pay for one month of nursing home care that they would otherwise be entitled to. Giving away assets is not a good idea.
How long does it take to apply for Medicaid benefits?
The process usually takes about 60 to 90 days once we submit the application. Medicaid will pay for up to three months of care while the application is pending, and nursing homes can evict patients during this time for non-payment.
Can I find instructions for Medicaid planning online and do it myself?
Most of the information online is generic and may not apply in Nevada. Although Medicaid is funded by the US government, it is applied by the states in different ways. What may work in one state will not work in another, and most articles we have seen online are trying to generate websites by using related keywords and answering questions generally, but cannot be relied on for legal advice specific to Nevada.
FEES
We offer Medicaid services on an hourly and flat fee basis, depending on what is needed. Usually, strategy planning is a flat fee of $1,000 to $1,500 depending on the complexity of the plan.
Application filing is hourly at $300 per hour, and ranges from $750 to $1,500 total depending on the legal arguments required by the Medicaid office once the application is submitted.