How to Pay for Nursing Home Care
Today's Florida Times Union has a follow up story about the issues and the process of selecting a skilled nursing home for an elderly relative. It's a follow up to last weekend's news of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration seeking to close a Jacksonville nursing home because its residents were not properly supervised and some were abusing others. The thrust of the article is how to ensure that you get the most appropriate environment for your loved one who now needs skilled nursing care. For additional information on selecting a nursing home contact ElderSource (www.myeldersource.org) an organization that offers advice on how to navigate the world of Medicare, Medicaid and other health insurance.
My experience with clients who are actually facing the spectre of a skilled nursing facility for their parent, spouse, or other loved one, is that while the most appropriate nursing home is the most important decision, figuring out how to pay for the skilled nursing home is the most difficult task.
As we have previously explained, there are three ways to pay for long term care in a skilled nursing facility:
1. Use of personal assets and income
2. Long Term Care Insurance
3. Medicaid
The first step in determining how to pay for skilled nursing home care is an evaluation of the resident's, or prospective resident's, financial circumstances. A careful analysis of the person's income and assets will show how long the individual can expect to use their own resources for the cost of the skilled nursing facility. It will also identify any long term care insurance that is available to provide financial support for the nursing home cost.
If the long term care insurance qualifies for participation in the Florida Long Term Care Partnership , then Florida law allows for the resident to set aside assets equal to the total amount of benefits that are provided by the long term care policy, and preserve those assets for other family members. This can be a significant asset preservation measure.
The next step is to prepare a Medicaid spenddown plan. A spenddown plan identifies which assets are not countable for Medicaid eligibility purposes, and which assets must be "spent down" in order to qualify for Medicaid benefits. A properly considered Medicaid spenddown plan can help preserve significant assets to provide for the financial support and well-being of the resident or other family members. This can be particularly important when one spouse is confined to a skilled nursing facility and the other spouse remains at home.
If you have a close friend or relative who may need skilled nursing care in the immediate, or distant future, encourage them to seek the assistance of an experienced Florida elder law attorney.
My experience with clients who are actually facing the spectre of a skilled nursing facility for their parent, spouse, or other loved one, is that while the most appropriate nursing home is the most important decision, figuring out how to pay for the skilled nursing home is the most difficult task.
As we have previously explained, there are three ways to pay for long term care in a skilled nursing facility:
1. Use of personal assets and income
2. Long Term Care Insurance
3. Medicaid
The first step in determining how to pay for skilled nursing home care is an evaluation of the resident's, or prospective resident's, financial circumstances. A careful analysis of the person's income and assets will show how long the individual can expect to use their own resources for the cost of the skilled nursing facility. It will also identify any long term care insurance that is available to provide financial support for the nursing home cost.
If the long term care insurance qualifies for participation in the Florida Long Term Care Partnership , then Florida law allows for the resident to set aside assets equal to the total amount of benefits that are provided by the long term care policy, and preserve those assets for other family members. This can be a significant asset preservation measure.
The next step is to prepare a Medicaid spenddown plan. A spenddown plan identifies which assets are not countable for Medicaid eligibility purposes, and which assets must be "spent down" in order to qualify for Medicaid benefits. A properly considered Medicaid spenddown plan can help preserve significant assets to provide for the financial support and well-being of the resident or other family members. This can be particularly important when one spouse is confined to a skilled nursing facility and the other spouse remains at home.
If you have a close friend or relative who may need skilled nursing care in the immediate, or distant future, encourage them to seek the assistance of an experienced Florida elder law attorney.
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7/24/2010 4:02 PM
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