Almost 90 million American rely on Medicaid for health care benefits. In fact, Medicaid pays for more health care than any company in the United States. So, you may immediately think of Medicaid when you can’t pay for your medical care. You may be wondering, “How do I apply for Medicaid?” This article may provide an answer to this important question.
Choosing the Right Program
Medicaid does not just offer one benefit or one program. Alabama Medicaid offers several benefits, including:
Medicaid for Children
Medicaid for Parents and Caretaker Relatives
Medicaid for Pregnant Women
Medicaid for the Elderly and Disabled
Medicaid in the Nursing Home
As you can see, Medicaid has programs to cover Americans from the cradle to the grave. Also, many individual programs consist of more than one element. For example, Medicaid for the Elderly and Disabled (E&D) also offers Home and Community-Based Waivers and SSI-Related Programs.
Once you choose the programs you need, it’s time to apply.
Completing the Paperwork
The Alabama Medicaid website contains several applications and additional forms. Certain programs require or allow online applications. Choose the forms that you need for the program you want.
Another form – Tips for Applying for Institutional (Nursing Home) Medicaid – offers a list of documents needed. The form also offers tips for making the process a little easier.
The most important thing to remember is that your application must be complete, with all supporting documents.
Submitting the Application
The final step is getting your application to the right place:
Apply online if you are pregnant, applying for a child, or applying for Plan First Family Planning. You may also mail an application to P. O. Box 5624, Montgomery, AL 36103-5624.
Use a paper application to apply for nursing home care, home and community-based waiver program, or help paying for Medicare. You may also contact the district office or Customer Service Center for your county.
“How Do I Apply for Medicaid?” With Help from Someone Who Understands
Applying for Medicaid is time consuming, frustrating, and difficult. You can ease the process a little by finding an experienced Alabama Medicaid attorney.
The attorneys at Miller Estate and Elder Law have years of experience working within the Medicaid system. They help clients like you with Medicaid applications as well as advanced Medicaid planning.
Schedule a consultation with one of the attorneys at Miller Estate and Elder Law. Our phone number is 256-472-1900. We are located at 818 Leighton Avenue in Anniston, but we serve clients in communities like Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Irondale, and Calera.
Also, take a look at some of the free guides offered on our website.
Sometimes the more answers we get, the more questions we have. The same may be true when it comes to Medicaid. Someone who needs help paying for medical care or a nursing home may be relieved to learn that Medicaid offers this type of benefits. Then they learn that the application process is difficult. You have to qualify for Medicaid benefits, and some of the requirements are hard to understand. For example, you may want to learn more about the Medicaid income limit. That’s what we will explore in this blog.
First, what are the basic Medicaid qualifications?
Medicaid offers several programs, each with its own qualifications. For example, Medicaid for Pregnant Women and Medicaid in the Nursing Home target very different groups. That said, Medicaid generally is intended for people with low incomes. Applicants who exceed the Medicaid income limit usually will not qualify for benefits.
What is the current Medicaid income limit?
It varies. The income limit for people who qualify through Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is $791 per month / $1,177 for couples.
However, the Medicaid in the Nursing Home program income limit is $2,313 per month for one person. This limit also applies to:
Elderly and Disabled Waiver,
Independent Living Waiver,
Persons with Intellectual Disabilities Waiver, and
Technology-Assisted Waiver for Adults.
Effective February 2019, Medicaid uses the Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) method of determining income for some programs. For example, the Plan First and Pregnant Women & Children programs calculate income after deductions based on family size:
Family of 1 = $1,520
Family of 2 = $2,058
Family of 3 = $2,596
Family of 4 = $3,133
You may be wondering if Medicaid counts all your income when determining if you are qualified for benefits.
What does Medicaid consider to be income?
Generally, Medicaid counts all the following income toward your Medicaid income limit:
Federal taxable wages;
Self-employment income;
Unemployment compensation;
Social Security benefits, including Social Security Disability Income (SSDI);
Retirement or pension income;
Alimony or spousal support for divorces finalized before January 1, 2019;
Capital gains;
Investment income;
Rental and royalty income; and
Untaxed foreign income.
Income that is not counted toward the limit includes:
Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
Veterans’ disability payments,
Workers’ Compensation,
Proceeds from loans, including student loans; and
Child support.
I’m just over Medicaid income limit. Is there anything I can do?
Possibly. Just talk to an experienced Alabama Medicaid lawyer about Medicaid planning and spend-down strategies.
The attorneys at Miller Estate and Elder Law assist their clients with Medicaid and incapacity planning, as well as general estate planning. Contact Bill Miller at 256-251-2137 to schedule an appointment. Though our office is now located at 818 Leighton Avenue in Anniston, we serve clients in Gadsden, Hoover, Talladega, Vestavia Hills, and surrounding areas.
Also, download a copy of our free e-book, Medicaid Planning in Alabama: What You Need to Know, by clicking here.
When we were younger, our parents took care of us and helped us plan for the future. At some point, most of us may have to do the same for our parents and help them plan for the future. Do you know if your parents have an estate plan? It is not only important to know the answer to this question, but to understand the details associated with the answer. Estate planning plays a crucial role in planning for the future.
Today, let us take a moment to discuss six questions to ask your aging parents to help them plan for the future.
1. Do they have a health care surrogate in place? This is one of the most important questions to ask as you want to ensure that they may be taken care of should they become seriously ill and/or incapacitated.
2. Have your parents chosen a trusted individual to take on the health care surrogate role? Selecting a health care surrogate is a decision that should not be taken lightly because this person will be making the decisions on behalf of your parent should he or she become critically ill. Try to ensure the person that they have chosen is responsible and, of course, of sound mind.
3. Where are the original estate planning documents kept? If the time arrives when your parent dies or becomes incapacitated, do you know where the original estate planning documents are kept? The original will is necessary to commence probate. In fact, if you do not have the original it may be very difficult to probate the estate according to the terms of the missing will.
4. Are your parents’ estate planning documents up-to-date? An estate plan is one of the ways that people ensure their legacy will go on and that the assets that they have chosen for their family can be accessed upon their death. Estate plans should be up to date to reflect current living circumstances and major life events. You can talk to your parents about how they can update their estate plan. An estate plan is a great way to help your parents think ahead, but to be most effective it should be up to date.
5. If your parents have a trust, is it properly funded?If not, it could mean a long and expensive probate before you can have access to their assets. To understand it a little better remember, funding a trust means taking assets that are titled in the individual trust settlor’s name and retitling them into the name of the trust.
6. Is your parent working with an attorney they trust? Having a comprehensive and properly drafted estate plan in place can be crucial to securing the future you want for yourself and your loved ones. Having the right estate planning attorney on your side, who understands your unique situation and can advise you appropriately, can be absolutely critical to proper estate planning.
Our firm is committed to representing your best interests and that of your family. We do this by drafting estate plans that have been crafted to meet your unique needs. For help creating your estate plan or answering any related questions, we are here for you. Contact our office today to schedule a meeting.
Martha W.’s family knew she needed help, and she needed it now. She suffered from several serious medical conditions. As a result, she found it increasingly difficult to carry on with her activities of daily living, like cooking or getting dressed. Martha’s family had never looked into government assistance programs and became confused when they finally did. For example, what’s the difference between Medicare and Medicaid? Let’s look at some of the important benefits offered by each program.
First, the Basics
Both are programs offered and managed by the federal government. Also, both help with medical care.
Medicare is essentially a government health insurance policy that is available to a certain group of qualifying individuals. Workers pay taxes to cover future Medicare costs for themselves and their family members.
Medicaid is more of a public assistance program funded by public tax funds that cover healthcare expenses.
Qualifying for Medicare and Medicaid
The eligibility requirements for these programs are very different. For example, Medicare is generally available for people:
One important difference between the programs is that Medicare eligibility is not income-based, while Medicaid is. Additionally, both Medicare and Medicaid offer benefits with different requirements.
Benefits Provided by Medicare and Medicaid
Both offer more than one program. In fact, Medicaid programs can vary from state to state. We’ll just look at the programs offered by Alabama Medicaid.
Medicare:
Part A (hospital insurance) is premium-free for most people who paid Medicare taxes.
Part B (medical insurance) covers some doctors’ services, outpatient care, medical supplies, and preventive services.
Part D (prescription drug coverage) pays for some prescription drugs.
Medicaid:
Medicaid for Children
Medicaid for Parents and Caretaker Relatives
Medicaid for Pregnant Women
Medicaid for the Elderly and Disabled
Medicaid in the Nursing Home
Breast and Cervical Cancer Program
Plan First Family Planning Program
Help Paying for Medicare Costs
People can apply for either program, depending on their needs.
The Application Process
Applying for Medicare is fairly easy. Just complete an online application. There’s no need to submit documentation.
Contact Bill Miller at 256-251-2137 to schedule an appointment. The attorneys at Miller Estate and Elder Law can explain the difference between Medicare and Medicaid and help your Medicaid application. Even better, we can help you with Medicaid planning to increase your chance of getting Medicaid and keeping as much property as possible. Though our office is located at 818 Leighton Avenue in Anniston, we serve clients in Gadsden, Hoover, Talladega, Vestavia Hills, and surrounding areas.
In determing how to pay for long term nursing home care, the first way, and by far the best way, is with long-term care insurance. There are different kinds of long-term care insurance policies out there. Unfortunately, most people do not have long-term care insurance, and they wait too long to get it. By the time they apply for it, they are either too sick, or it is no longer affordable. If you can get a long-term care policy, I would encourage you to do so because it is the best way to pay for care.
Medicaid
The second way to pay for long-term care is through the Medicaid program. The Medicaid program is a federal program that is administered by the states, but it has very strict requirements in order to qualify. An individual cannot have more than $2,000 in non-exempt assets in order to qualify. Most people have way more than $2,000 in assets. If you are married, the rules are a little different, but Medicaid can still be difficult to qualify for.
Out of Pocket
The third way to pay, and what most people are doing, is out of pocket. Right now, nursing home costs in this area are around $7,000 a month. Within 10 years, they will probably be $10,000 a month. Every month, these long-term care costs are due and are eating away at your nest egg at the rate of about $10,000. If you don’t have long-term care insurance and you don’t qualify for Medicaid, then you are going to have to pay out of pocket.
I hope this answers the question about how to pay for long-term care. Our clients are encouraged when told how to minimize out-of-pocket expenses and get qualified for Medicaid more quickly if they don’t have long-term care insurance.
