We have all been trained by the internet to expect instant results. Mouse, click, fill in, click again, get the result. Things where people can make money from us by satisfying our desire for instant responses often work that way.
However, things where we are seeking to gain a benefit, recover a loss, or retrieve something lost are often not that way at all. Applying for Medicaid Benefits for the Elderly in a Nursing Home is one such place. The system looks user friendly; it looks like a few clicks and you will be done. What people do not realize is that the “system” is NOT set up to help them, it is set up to DENY THEM.
Moreover, the system is also set up to deceive people into thinking that the only cost of Nursing Home care is the monthly bill and to get them to look past the recovery of every dime that is laid out from the “non-countable assets” belonging to the applicant. Helpful people, like bookkeepers, can assist in filling out an application, and given that homesteads, a car and retirement accounts with required minimum distributions (72 plus) don’t prevent eligibility, everything seems just fine until the patient dies and the relatives get a Medicaid Estate Recovery Letter.
Unless someone is truly destitute, below $2,000 in assets of any type, and well within income limits, there is really no safe, quick, single click way to access Medicaid without the help of an Elder Law Attorney.
This article is written by an attorney at Attorney Donald Wyatt PC. Always consult an attorney before making any legal decisions. To make an appointment today, please click here to contact us.