Medicaid Planning - "You Don't Know What You Don't Know"

If your loved one is facing admission to a nursing home for long-term care and you’re concerned that you won’t have enough money to cover their expenses, there are a few things you should consider. With an average cost of over $5,600 per month for a semi-private nursing home room in Kansas (2019 Genworth Cost of Care Survey), very few of us could afford to private pay for a nursing facility for very long. KanCare is the Kansas Medicaid Program that you will apply to if you need government benefits to assist with payment in Kansas.

Too often, well-intentioned friends, neighbors and non-elder law attorneys or other professionals make recommendations on how to apply for Medicaid benefits to cover nursing home expenses that result in a denial or extended delays in benefits, both of which result in unnecessary expenses to the applicant. To prevent this from happening to you, we’re sharing some things to consider:

1. Consider who is giving you advice. Everyone seems to have advice to give in this situation, because many people have experience with someone going into the nursing home. However, Medicaid rules change frequently and planning is extremely specialized to each individual’s personal needs and their assets. Thus, what worked for your neighbor’s grandmother WILL NOT work exactly the same for your loved one.
2. Seek knowledge from someone who is going to look out for your best interest. This is typically going to be someone that you hire, like an experienced elder law attorney. While most nursing homes offer to file your Medicaid application for free, you should keep in mind that their goal is simply to get you eligible for benefits so that they can continue to receive payment for their services. It isn’t their job, nor do they have the time or the resources, to put an elaborate Medicaid plan in place. Alternatively, an elder law attorney hired by you is there to create a plan that allows you to preserve the maximum amount possible and establish eligibility quickly and efficiently in the most cost-effective manner.
3. Be careful when spending down assets for eligibility and be honest on your application. Recommendations on how to spend down assets in order to qualify for Medicaid benefits from anyone other than a highly trained individual, like an elder law attorney, can result in a prolonged denial of Medicaid benefits. If an individual does become eligible, but it is later determined that they improperly spent down assets that were not reported correctly, they could find themselves facing fraud charges. Elder law is a complicated body of law and without a full understanding of the rules, you can easily and unintentionally make costly mistakes.
4. If you have filed an application and been denied, don’t despair. While it is better to not be in this situation, it doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. Because elder law is not generally well understood by the public, mistakes commonly happen with people who are sincerely trying to help their loved one receive the financial assistance they need for nursing home care. As the phrase goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” As quickly as you are able, you will want to make an appointment with an experienced elder law attorney to discuss whether an appeal is possible.

Now that you are armed with more knowledge, remember to consult with an experienced elder law attorney should you need to file for Medicaid benefits in the future. More than one client has told us after we corrected an inaccurately filed Medicaid application, “I wish I would have just come to see you first!”

If you have questions about Kansas elder law or Medicaid planning, contact Davis & McCann, P.A., Dodge City, Kansas at 620-225-1674. We are members of Wealth Counsel, a national consortium of Estate Planning Attorneys and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). We focus our practice on providing clients with the best legal advice on Estate Planning, Medicaid and Long-term Care Planning, Special Needs Planning, Family Business/Small Business Succession Planning, Probate, Trust Administration, Real Estate, 1031 Exchanges, and related matters.

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