Practice Areas

Medicaid qualification and Medicaid related asset protection planning

Medicaid Planning
In the estate planning and asset protection context, Medicaid is most often associated with what is often referred to as the Institutional Care Program (ICP), which provides government financial assistance to adults over the age of 65 if certain requirements are met.

Medicare Part A and B Financial Coverage in a Skilled Nursing Facility
Older adults may face issues concerning Medicaid coverage when they discover that Medicare Part A (which covers medically necessary inpatient care, medically necessary home health care, hospice services and limited benefits for skilled nursing home care) and Medicare Part B (which covers outpatient services, services provided by physicians, durable medical equipment, ambulance services, therapy, and related services) do not provide benefits for extended custodial skilled nursing home care.

Extended skilled or custodial nursing home care in this context means the cost of any care in excess of 100 days. Generally, Medicare Part A will pay for limited (not to exceed 100 days of nursing home care) if: (a) the individual resides in a Medicare approved facility, (b) residence in the Medicare approved facility follows a hospital stay of at least three days, (c) the individual enters the nursing home within thirty (30) days of hospitalization, and (d) the individual requires skilled nursing services.

Skilled nursing services are those services requiring talents of highly trained personnel such as registered nurses, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists or related professionals. Even if these requirements are met, Medicare Part A will only pay for 100% of the cost for 20 days. If the individual continues to show improvement, Medicare will pay for part of the cost for an additional 80 days, but the individual will have to pay a co-insurance payment which exceeds $130.00 per day.

Under what circumstances can an older adult qualify for ICP Medicaid benefits?
The basic eligibility for Medicaid ICP coverage are:
- U. S. citizen or resident alien admitted for permanent residence 65 years of age or older, blind or disabled
- A resident of Florida
- Receiving skilled care in a Medicaid certified facility
- Meet the asset test
- Meet the income test
- Provide or file for a Social Security number
- Applicant must assign to the State all rights to collect private health insurance benefits and long term care benefits
- Must apply for all eligibility benefits.

How can a lawyer help you?
A skilled lawyer can assist an elderly disabled person with lawfully meeting the eligibility requirements. A lawyer can also assist you with legally (as opposed to feloniously hiding assets) altering the structure of your assets to meet the asset and income tests listed above.  Contact Matthew A. Linde, P.A. for additional information.

Terms and Conditions for Use of Website:  Matthew A. Linde, P.A. (the "Firm") makes available the information and materials on this website, http://www.probatelitigator.com, and http://www.contractlitigator.com  (the "Materials") for informational purposes only to the user ("You.”).  While the Firm hopes the Materials will be helpful as general information, the Firm does not warrant that the Materials are accurate or complete. Moreover, the Materials are general in nature, and may not apply to your legal issue. Under no circumstance do the Materials constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such.  Furthermore, the Firm accepts clients only in accordance with mutually agreed upon procedures and renders legal advice only after completion of those procedures and when it is legally permissible for the Firm to do so. Any usage of this website and Materials is provided with no warranties or guarantees of any kind. Further, attempting to print a Webpage can distort its meaning because only part of the Webpage will actually print, and links between WebPages is severed by attempting to print a page.  These WebPages are not intended to be printed.  The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask the Firm to send you free written information about the qualifications and experience of the relevant lawyer.   The Firm regularly handles cases in Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, Cape Coral,  Bonita Springs, (Lee County) Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, (Charlotte County) and Naples including Marco Island (Collier County).

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Frequent Questions for Elder law:

• If my husband died with debt, but I, his spouse, did not personally incur the debt, am I liable for the debt?
• I have seen several attorneys state that they practice "elder law."  What does an attorney who practices "elder law" actually do?

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Web Resources for Elder law:

• Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys (AFELA)

  Description: This has some good information concerning general elder law.

• Elder law section of the Florida Bar

  Description:

  This is the Elder law section of the Florida Bar.  There is some good general information here on elder law issues.

• Florida Department of Elder Affairs

  Description: Florida Department of Elder Affairs; this is a good website for the general public and there are lots of helpful links.

• National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

  Description: This is the national website for elder law attorneys.  There is some good general information concerning elder law and many good links. 

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