Imagine your Mom has recently been diagnosed with Dementia. Being a loving child, you step up to help in whatever way you can. But as the days pass, and you observe the progress of the disease, you recognize you need extra help caring for Mom – a lot of extra help. Maybe she suffers a fall, or is unable to manage her finances, or isn’t taking her medications according to the prescribed instructions. Mom needs more round-the-clock care. However, you do a little research, and you learn that long-term care facilities are expensive! In 2019, the average per month cost of a private nursing home room in Virginia is $8,517, and the cost is even higher for facilities located in Northern Virginia. How is Mom going to pay for that? Mom has limited savings, and she spent her whole life paying for that house, you don’t want to just sell the family home. So, what can you do?
Medicaid
For many Americans, Medicaid is the only option. Medicaid is a program funded by the state and the federal government that provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities. As of February 2019, 65.5 million Americans are insured via Medicaid. What’s more, Medicaid will cover long-term care expenses for qualifying adults. But that’s the catch. Qualifying for Medicaid is not straightforward.
How Speedwell Law Can Help
Medicaid is a confusing and complex area of law. To qualify for Medicaid, one needs to have intimate knowledge of the rules, specifically, the asset limit rules, income limit rules, asset transfer rules, spousal protection rules, and penalty period rules. To further complicate matters, the Medicaid manual changes every year, which means you can’t rely on the advice of others who do not practice in this area of law.
As a result, it is imperative to hire an experienced Elder Law attorney to help you navigate the intersection of Medicaid, health care, and caring for your family. At Speedwell Law, Guy A. Bowe, Esq., manages every aspect of the application process, from start to finish, to ensure that Mom gets the care she needs, while also preserving her dignity by honoring her legacy and choices. Preserving dignity is our top priority at Speedwell Law, and Guy is just the guy to help you achieve that.
What should I bring to our first meeting?
- Completed Speedwell Law intake form
- Original or copies of your executed estate planning documents (ex: Trust, Will, Power of Attorney, and Advanced Medical Directive)
- All financial institution statements for the past 6 months (ex: bank, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts)
- All family decision makers should be present at our initial meeting (ex: spouse, children, power of attorney)
What should I expect from Speedwell Law?
After the first meeting, Guy will review all the information you provided and develop a tailored Action Plan to qualify you or your loved one for Medicaid.
At the second meeting, Guy will review the Action Plan in detail with you. The Action Plan will outline all potential Asset Protection strategies available to you or your loved one to qualify for Medicaid. Asset Protection involves either “spending down” or rearranging assets to meet the Medicaid asset limits, while also ensuring you or your loved one gets the best possible care and maintaining the highest quality of life possible. Once an Action Plan is decided, Guy will submit the Medicaid Application and handle all correspondence with the Medicaid Office.
When should you start planning for long-term care?
Both long-term care and long-term care insurance are expensive; therefore, most individuals should start thinking about long-term care planning as soon as they start to need assistance with “Activities of Day Living” (ex: bathing, showering, personal hygiene, grooming, dressing, toilet hygiene, functional mobility, and self-feeding) OR “Instrumental Activities of Daily Living” (ex: cleaning and maintaining the home, managing money, preparing meals, shopping for groceries and other necessities, taking prescribed medication).
Healthy and independent individuals should have a Power of Attorney and Medical Power of Attorney prepared by a knowledgeable elder law or estate planning attorney.
Contact us today to learn more about Medicaid and Long-Term Care Planning
If you are interested in learning more about the legal services we provide in the area of Medicaid and Long-Term Care Planning, please feel free to contact Guy Bowe today at Speedwell Law, PLLC at (703) 553-2577 or [email protected]. We look forward to answering your questions and helping you and your family navigate this challenging time.
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1. Nursing Home Costs, https://www.seniorliving.org/nursing-homes/costs/ (last visited May 31, 2019).
2. Medicaid, https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/index.html (last visited May 29, 2019).