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What do you mean my health insurance does not pay for nursing home care?

There are 3 major ways on how people pay for nursing home care in Rhode Island:

First is by accessing and using an earlier purchased long-term-care insurance policy. Unfortunately, very few people have them as they are for many people cost prohibitive.

The second way is by private pay, which means you write a check directly to the nursing home from your life savings to pay for the room and board to live there. Per the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, the average cost per month for skilled nursing home care in Rhode Island is $9,113.

The third way to pay for nursing care is to qualify for Medicaid coverage under the Medicaid program. By qualifying for Medicaid, an individual will not be required to spend their life savings on skilled nursing care.

Unfortunately, medical insurance does not pay for long term care. Most plans will only pay a portion of the first 100 days of skilled care. After the 100 days is used, individuals will need be responsible for paying for their own room and board – their medical insurance will continue to pay for doctor visits and prescriptions, but individuals will need to pay for the bed, meals and roof over their head in nursing home.

How do I qualify for Medicaid?

Qualifying for Medicaid is like filing a very complicated tax return over a series of years. For a person to take advantage of the tax rules the taxpayer needs to make decisions as to their assets and income, perhaps transferring assets or claiming some while using others. So too is it with qualifying for Medicaid. As a CPA helps with a Tax Return, and Elder Law Attorney helps with understanding and advising as to what needs to be done to qualify for Medicaid. It is a lengthy process that for it to be optimized requires 5 years!

Want to learn how to qualify for Medicaid? Contact our office and schedule a no-cost meeting!