Applying for Medicaid (i.e., Medical Assistance) can be like walking into a minefield. There are a number of ways that a Medicaid application can go wrong—and the consequences can be absolutely devastating. Here are some examples of common problems we see. 1. Nursing Home Mistakes Sometimes a nursing home files the Medicaid application but doesn’t…
What Is Medicaid? Medicaid is the name of the federal program that helps people with medical costs. In Maryland, the program is called Medical Assistance. In the context of elder law, Medical Assistance is the program that covers skilled nursing care. There are three levels of care for most seniors: 1) independent living; 2) assisted…
COVID-19 has brought a lot of anxiety regarding long-term care facilities. However, we understand that even in a pandemic, there are seniors who need to be cared for in a nursing home. With nursing home costs ranging from $9,000 to $12,000 a month, applying for medical assistance (i.e., Medicaid) is a practical reality for most…
Medicaid Cost Cutting One of the various changes proposed by candidate Trump was the idea of shifting Medicaid responsibility from the Federal Government to the States. The rational proposed by Trump was that such a move would “maximize flexibility to states via block grants so that local leaders can design innovative Medicaid programs that will…
Medicaid Medical Assistance Rules About Countable Assets Medicaid Medical Assistance rules clearly indicate that: Income is converted at the beginning of the next month to a countable asset. Applicants can have no more than $2,500 in countable assets. Applicants whose incomes are deposited at the beginning or middle of the month usually have no issues with…
Filing for Medicaid Filing for Medicaid (called Medical Assistance in Maryland) is a very paper intensive process. Often times it is the children of the parent who ends up trying to gather the mountain of information needed for the application process. Given the five year look back requirement, the burden is often high on that family…