Because laws concerning the availability of benefits for seniors seem to continually change and make situations more and more complicated—consider the effects of The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005—it’s helpful to take a moment from time to time to revisit some of the fundamentals of both Medicaid and Medicare benefit eligibility. To review, Medicaid is an income and asset based program that’s different from Medicare. While Medicaid provides financial assistance for nursing home, prescription costs, and some “at home” assistance, Medicare is different in that it is more like an insurance program. With Medicare, you automatically start receiving is when you turn sixty-five, and it covers skilled care, such as rehab in the nursing home for up to one hundred days. Medicare, however, doesn’t necessarily cover all these rehab needs, and in the event it’s determined that you may not benefit from a rehab treatment program, then you may no longer receive this benefit. As such, individual should avoid thinking of these Medicare benefits as a viable solution for long term care. Instead, Medicare is more like an insurance program if you’re injured.
With regard to Medicaid, you should be sure to speak with a qualified Ohio elder law attorney about how and in what circumstances you may use this benefit. Since many items factor into this equation—ranging from single v married, home, car, life insurance, and pre-arranged funerals, to name a few—you’ll need to arrange a consultation with professional whose well-versed in these matters. For instance, even though you may think your home is an exempt asset for a predetermined number of months, you may not have considered whether or not the income from the home’s sale will cause you to lose Medicaid benefits. Again, because the ins and outs can be rather tricky and because you want to make sure you’ve passed-on your legacy to your loved ones, you’ll benefit the most by contacting a qualified Ohio elder law attorney who has familiarity navigating these programs.
