Medicaid benefits provide important coverage to people who need medical care and nursing care. Unlike some types of benefits, you do not get a cash stipend with Medicaid, nor do you ever actually see the Medicaid money you receive directly. Instead, Medicaid will pay a nursing home or a care provider for the treatment or services that are provided to the Medicaid beneficiary. Medicaid negotiates payment rates with providers and pays those providers who offer covered services. 
Medicaid can provide coverage for many things that no other insurer pays for, and it can also provide coverage for care without the high deductibles, co-pays, and other co-insurance costs that you may experience with other insurance. If you have limited income and few resources, you should strongly consider trying to qualify for Medicaid coverage. If you do not want to lose your life savings because of the high cost of nursing home care, you should also consider trying to take steps to make sure you can qualify for Medicaid, even if you have assets.
Mark S. Eghrari & Associates PLLC provides assistance to those who are seeking Medicaid coverage and offers help making certain that you can get Medicaid benefits if you need them. Contact a Long Island Medicaid planning lawyer today to find out more about Medicaid benefits available to you and about how to ensure you can receive those benefits.
How Much are Medicaid Benefits?
Medicaid.gov explains some of the many benefits that Medicaid provides to those who qualify for this government insurance program. Medicaid covers things like inpatient and outpatient hospital care; home health services; lab testing; X-rays; family planning; midwife services; services at freestanding birth centers; physician services; tobacco cessation counseling for pregnant women; and even transportation to medical care.
If you are in need of a covered medical service, you can obtain Medicaid benefits by finding a provider in your area which accepts Medicaid coverage. Because Medicaid has lower reimbursement rates for caregivers than other kinds of insurance coverage do, it may be difficult to find providers in certain fields of medicine.
However, if you are using Medicaid to pay for nursing home care, you should find a substantial number of homes that take Medicaid. Medicaid is one of the primary sources of payment in many nursing homes throughout the United States because most insurers and insurance programs, including Medicare, are not going to cover nursing home care. Either Medicaid will have to pay or patients will pay privately unless a patient happens to need specific limited types of care that Medicare or other private insurers cover.
Medicaid can also help you to cover costs that you incur in other medical insurance programs you are covered by. For example, if you are a senior who is covered by Medicare, you could get Medicaid to help you pay for the costs of premiums and co-insurance if you have a limited income and you struggle financially.
Why it is Important to Get Medicaid Benefits?
It is essential to make certain you will be able to get Medicaid benefits if you are worried about having to go into a nursing home at any point in your future. Nursing home care costs thousands of dollars on a monthly basis if you must pay privately. You will likely have to pay privately if you have too much income or too many resources to qualify for Medicaid.
For far too many seniors, it is their resources that prevent them from getting Medicaid coverage. If you have worked hard over your lifetime, you likely have savings and assets. Unfortunately, Medicaid’s allowable resource limit before you are disqualified from coverage is very low, so your savings and assets are likely going to stop you from getting covered.
You can work with a Medicaid planning lawyer to structure the ownership of your property so it does not count as Medicaid resources if you want to make certain that this does not happen to you. However, because of Medicaid rules that require a look at your financial transactions in the five years prior to applying for Medicaid coverage, you must make your Medicaid plan early in order to get nursing home care benefits right away. If you made asset transfers (which are often a key part of Medicaid planning) in the five years before trying to get coverage, you’ll be temporarily disqualified from Medicaid.
Getting Help from A Long Island Medicaid Planning Lawyer
Mark S. Eghrari & Associates PLLC can help you to make sure you understand Medicaid benefits and can qualify for Medicaid if you need coverage. Give us a call at (631) 265-0599 or contact us online to speak with a member of our legal team to find out more about how a Long Island Medicaid planning lawyer can help you.
Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney
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