A Step-by-Step Guide to Qualifying for Medicaid Senior Benefits
Applying for Medicaid can be a troublesome and tedious cycle. Each state has its own criteria and paperwork. If you are a senior citizen or a person with a disability, you may have an especially difficult time, because income thresholds for your household size and other factors can influence whether your state’s Medicaid agency approves your claim. For senior citizens, Medicaid benefits might help provide for home care services or help to pay down Medicare premiums and expenses.
Generally, senior citizens and people with disabilities qualify for Medicaid under special “medically needy” provisions that require complex criteria like “spending down” the amount of income above the cap for receiving Medicaid. This less-than-straightforward provision leads to confusion and many denied claims. Medicaid planning can help you to arrange your finances and prepare an application that will get approved.
Step One: Join a Medicaid Pooled Trust
The “spend down” requirement to receive Medicaid requires you to pay monthly income above a certain threshold to Medicaid to receive benefits. You may have experienced the stress of meeting this threshold and trying to receive home care benefits while simultaneously having to give up any extra income that would help defray your continued healthcare costs.
When you join a Supplemental Needs Pooled Trust, also known as a Medicaid trust, you get to keep your money in a separate account and use it toward your healthcare expenses. The trust can make payments to medical providers and for other medical needs directly, leaving you eligible for Medicaid and able to cover those additional costs.
A decent Medicaid Pooled Trust program will assist you with following how much extra pay over the Medicaid limit requirements to go into your trust every month. They will likewise work with you to involve the trust to make installments for your medical care needs. These trusts permit numerous senior residents and individuals with handicaps to remain in their homes and money their medical care, and they can help you, as well.
Step Two: Apply for Medicaid with the Help of Medicaid Planning
When you have your funds set up to get the most ideal result from applying for Medicaid, now is the right time to finish up an application. Firms that have some expertise in Medicaid arranging can direct you through the cycle and guarantee that you’re finishing up the administrative work accurately and with an eye toward the best opportunities for qualification.
Step Three: Prepare Your Paperwork
Your state Medicaid organization will require a ton of desk work. At the very least, you’ll require evidence of citizenship or residency, birth date, and clinical data from your PCP. Medicaid arranging can direct you through this step and how to request the desk work that you’ll have to apply.
Step Four: Receive Benefits
With all your ducks in a row, you’re much more likely to receive approval on the first attempt, and Medicaid planning can help you get to that stage with less stress and better outcomes. If the first attempt results in a denial for some reason, these firms can also help you review your paperwork and try again until you have the care you need.
