How Can A Medicaid Lawyer Assist In Planning For Long-Term Care?
By Sumona As we inevitably get older, we must plan for long-term care to fulfill our evolving healthcare needs in old age. Nearly half of all individuals over the age of 65 years require some form of long-term care, be it nursing home care, at-home care, or a combination of the two.
However, long-term care is an expensive process that requires extensive financial and non-financial resources, and sometimes the elderly might have to rely on financial assistance programs to take care of their medical needs.
Medicaid is one such federal and state program that provides medical coverage to the elderly. If you or your loved one require assistance in planning your long-term care, you can rely on an experienced
Medicaid lawyer at Pierro, Connor & Strauss, LLC to tackle any financial challenges that might arise in the future. Keep reading as we take a closer look at Medicaid and how having a lawyer can be of value.
About Medicaid
Medicaid is a government program that operates at the federal and state levels and aims to provide medical coverage to the elderly segment of the population, differently-abled individuals, and those with visual impairment or legal blindness.
The coverage also extends to long-term nursing care for eligible citizens and those who meet the financial requirements of the program. Although Medicaid is a good medical insurance initiative, it requires extensive planning for access.
Nursing care can be next to impossible to afford for a regular working American and having the assistance of a government-funded program can be highly valuable in the long-term medical care of your loved one.
How Can a Lawyer Help?
A Medicaid lawyer can help plan for your loved one’s long-term care through Medicaid in the following ways:
1. Determining Eligibility
Although Medicaid is a federal program, it is enforced by the states, and the evolving state legislature can impact the eligibility criteria. Seeing as the requirements for eligibility might change at any time. This leaves people in uncertainty regarding their healthcare future.
This makes having an attorney even more valuable. Your lawyer can help you stay updated regarding the eligibility criteria for Medicaid and guide you through your application. They will make sure that you don’t miss any important details or get left behind by a changing system.
2. Creating a Medicaid Plan
Your lawyer can help create a Medicaid plan to protect your financial assets and establish a trust. This is important for any future endeavors when creating a Medicaid plan. It provides financial protection and valuable tax benefits that can help you through the process of accessing Medicaid benefits.
This is great as you can complete this process without having to spend extra resources like time, energy, and money. Sometimes it is a lot of work to keep up with this system and all the forms that come with it. Creating this plan saves you all this stress in the long run.
3. Appealing Against Denials
If your Medicaid application gets denied, your attorney can help you appeal the decision and ensure the approval of your subsequent application. With adequate planning, your lawyer can avoid any errors to boost the chances of approval the first time you apply for Medicaid.
It may seem like a big deal at first but your legal professional will do everything in their power to make sure you get the right plan. They understand how the system works and all the little details that you can easily miss. If you are denied, they will figure out the reason why and make sure it won’t happen again.
4. Future Financial Protection
If you receive long-term care through Medicaid, the program might seek compensation through your estate. A skilled attorney can help safeguard your financial assets against said recovery and ensure that your family retains access to your assets after your death.
Sometimes the system can be unfair which is why it is important to have a legal professional on your side. A competent lawyer can ensure that not only you are taken care of, but your family is as well.
Conclusion
Although Medicaid is a good financial assistance program to help those in need, the ever-changing requirements for eligibility make it challenging for people to apply for it. This means people are missing out on the benefits they can receive simply because the system is hard to understand.
Having a skilled lawyer assist you in drafting a viable Medicaid plan can help you tackle any problems that might arise and protect your financial assets. They will make sure you are not missing any details and get all the benefits that you deserve.
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