Medicare or Medicaid – Who Pays?
Paying for Long-Term Care
Many seniors mistakenly believe that Medicare will pay for long-term care expense. In fact, Medicare will only pay for rehabilitation services and only up to 100 days. The first 20 days following a hospital stay of more than 3 days (excluding day of admission and day of discharge) are paid at 100%. The next 80 days have a co-pay (usually paid by Medicare supplement insurance).
After discharge from rehabilitation, you will be responsible for all long-term care charges. Methods of payment include long-term care insurance, privately paying, VA benefits, and Medicaid. DO NOT ASSUME that you have to spend down to the state mandated level of assets. There are legal and financial instruments that may allow you to retain more of your assets and MOST IMPORTANTLY, provide for the needs of your spouse or a dependent or special needs child. Let us help you retain as much of your estate as possible.
Special Rules for Married Couples
What if your spouse was in the nursing home? How would you meet expenses? How much would you need to meet those needs if your spouse pre-deceases you? There are special rules for married couples that allow for the state to pay for the care of the first one needing it. We can help you understand the rules and regulations that apply to these special situations. When faced with paying for your spouse’s care, let us help you find options designed to help you to preserve and protect your hard-earned nest egg.
Roadmap Financial Consulting can help you connect with tax and legal professionals who will work to help you design a plan to fulfil the rules for qualification and estate distribution upon your death. We are dedicated to helping clients develop a plan that considers even the most unexpected life scenarios.
We work with elder law attorneys and CPAs that can help you understand the rules and regulations that affect eligibility and qualification for these benefits.
