- Protection from Financial Elder Abuse (37)
- How to Deal With Aging Parents (35)
- The Upside to Elderly Home Care (33)
- Average Nursing Home Costs (20)
- internet marketing nottingham: All over I think nursing home care is a HUGE cost and the sad part is, people are hardly prepared to deal with this unti...
- CaregiversUSA: Caregivers of aging parents may also consider outside services such as adult day care (http://www.activeday.com) to help...
- medicare nursing homes: This was a well written, informative article. I am very involved in elder care issues–no longer my own as both of my p...
- medicare nursing homes: I read your blogs these are very enjoyable and the task is very difficult so good luck....
- medicare nursing homes: Thanks for sharing it and the statements given by you are very useful. Good job keep it up....
- medicare nursing homes: A good first step for many, especially those seniors that don't have family nearby to help, is to seek the advice of a g...
- medicare nursing homes: Thank you so much for helping people who are on part D medical. This should make it easier to lower the payments. So man...
- medicare nursing homes: Dealing with parents or anyone older than you with money advice or any advice in general can be tough. They have differe...
Make a Smooth Senior Care Transition to Medicaid
- 3 Comments
- Posted on Jun. 18th, 2009
Your careful planning can make for a smooth transition from your parents paying their care costs to using Medicaid. Medicaid begins paying long term care costs when your parent has “spent down” his own money to the Medicaid asset caps.
It can be hard to face that money is running out. Caregiving is so time consuming that families can feel that they are too busy to be strategic in the Medicaid process.
Five critical financial tasks when qualifying for Medicaid
- Create a budget and monitor the rate that your parent’s funds are being spent.
- Build alternative budgets that reflect possible changes in your parent’s elder care needs.
- Find a trustworthy Medicaid advisor who can guide you and your parent through preserving their estate.
- If your parent needs long term care in a facility, set aside funds for admission to a Medicaid nursing home as a private pay patient.
- Well before it’s time to apply for Medicaid, get an application and being gathering all the paperwork that will be needed later.
Not everyone knows that you can or should plan your transition to Medicaid. The elder law attorney of one of my clients told her “come back when your mom’s money has been spent down to $2000 and we’ll file the paperwork.” Luckily my client did not follow her attorney’s advice.
Not being strategic puts you and your parent in limbo when your parent is out of money and yet all the paperwork for Medicaid services has not yet come through. I watched as another client incurred a large debt for home care while searching for an acceptable Medicaid qualified nursing home for her mother. Almost all the nursing homes we contacted had waiting lists.
Once your parent needs long term care, start planning for a possible day when your parent will need Medicaid. On your own or with the help of your parent’s financial advisor, draw up a budget that reflects your parent’s current expenses. Create other scenarios for your parent including increased home care services, living in a senior care community and living in a nursing home. How long will your parent’s funds last before they spend down to the Medicaid limits?
If your parent wants to preserve part of his estate for his heirs, you’ll need to work with an advisor. They can guide you through appropriate ways to shield your parent’s assets during the process of qualifying for Medicaid and from asset recovery after their death.
Unless your parent is already of very limited means, you should seek some expert advice well before the time that their senior care needs use up all their money. Being strategic can mean a smooth transition to Medicaid services.
Have you helped your parent transition to Medicaid? Share your experiences with us.
Stay up to date on our latest posts. Add the EldercareABC Blog RSS Feed
to your desktop.
- 3 Comments... Add your opinion!







A Medicaid adviser sounds like a pretty important person to have. Any suggestions about how to get one (are they provided by the government? What agency?)
reply to this commentMedicaid advisers are usually attorneys or other professionals who specialize in guiding families through qualifying for Medicaid. There can be a financial planning or estate planning component to the process if your parent has assets. I’ll be exploring how to find a qualified adviser in an upcoming post.
reply to this comment[...] Make a Smooth Senior Care Transition to Medicaid | Elder Care ABCThe elder law attorney of one of my clients told her “come back when your mom’s money has been spent down to $2000 and we’ll file the paperwork.” Luckily my client did not follow her attorney’s advice. Not being strategic puts you and your parent in limbo when your parent is out of …. How to Deal With Aging Parents | Elder Care ABC […]… Jenna: Pretty good post. I just came across your site and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed reading your posts. In any c. … [...]