Medicaid’s basic philosophy is that people should pay for their nursing home care before the taxpayers do.

On the surface, this seems eminently logical. However, looking deeper, one finds that if you have never worked, never paid taxes and spent a lifetime on public assistance, you qualify for Medicaid immediately. But if you have worked your entire life, supported the Medicaid system through your taxes, lived frugally, saved money and played by the rules, Medicaid expects you to spend your savings and not leave your family an inheritance.

If you need Medicaid coverage, Kentucky ElderLaw, PLLC, can help you protect your finances to preserve a legacy for your family. We help people get the Medicaid application submitted and approved.

Medicaid requires resources (assets) over the allowed amount to be spent down. These resources may only be spent on the nursing home resident or the spouse.

Medicaid cannot tell people what they may spend on themselves, but does not allow people to spend their money on others or give assets to others and then receive Medicaid benefits.

One factor that may affect how much someone spends on nursing home care is the Medicaid five-year lookback period.

If an individual gave money or assets away in the five-year period leading up to entering nursing home care, Medicaid may penalize them. Medicaid may refuse to pay for a certain number of days of nursing home care based on how much money was given away.

It is advisable to speak to an attorney if the Medicaid five-year lookback period applies to you. There may be options available to help mitigate the impact of this rule.

Many people have listened to advice from well-meaning friends, financial advisers, banks, funeral homes, CPAs, social workers in the nursing home, and even non-elder law attorneys who do not go to the Medicaid office, who do not know what the laws really are, and who do not know what can be done to preserve assets.

Much of this information is just plain wrong. We have even had instances where someone has gone to a Medicaid office on his own, has been given completely wrong information from a state Medicaid worker, and has made very expensive mistakes.

The state will acknowledge these errors but will not reimburse you for their errors.

High long-term care costs can swiftly erode an individual’s life savings. At Kentucky ElderLaw, PLLC, you can work with a long-term care planning attorney who can help you explore options to protect those assets.

Medicaid laws can be used in your favor to protect your assets – and you don’t have to try to understand and interpret these laws by yourself.

It is imperative to work with a law firm that understands the complex and ever-changing Medicaid laws, identifying ways they can be used to protect your assets.