Navigating Through Medicaid Mistakes
Navigating Medicare can be confusing, even for those who have spent a lifetime managing their finances and healthcare. Small missteps in enrollment, coverage choices, or understanding benefits can lead to costly gaps in care, unexpected medical bills, or delays in receiving essential services. Being aware of common Medicare mistakes and knowing how to avoid them can save you time, money, and unnecessary stress, ensuring you get the coverage you need when you need it most.
Everyone Makes Mistakes And That’s Okay. At Livens & Reed We Strive To Achieve Perfection.
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The Top Eight Mistakes People Make With Medicaid
1. Thinking it’s too late to plan
It’s almost never too late to take planning steps, even after a senior has moved to a nursing home.
2. Giving away assets to early.
First, it’s your money (or your house, or both). Make sure you take care of yourself first. Don’t put your security at risk by putting it in the hands of your children. Precipitous transfers can cause difficult tax and Medicaid problems as well.
3. Ignoring important safe harbors created by Congress.
Certain transfers are allowable without jeopardizing Medicaid eligibility. These include: transfers to disabled children, caretaker children, certain siblings and into trust for anyone who is disabled and under age 65 (for more, click here); a transfer to a ‘pay-back’ trust if under age 65 (for more, click here); and a transfer to a pooled disability trust at any age.
4. Failing to take advantage of protections for the spouse of a nursing home resident.
These protections include the purchase of an immediate annuity, petitioning for an increased community spouse resource allowance, and in some instances petitioning for an increased income allowance or refusing to cooperate with the nursing home spouse’s Medicaid application.
5. Applying for Medicaid too early.
This can result in a longer ineligibility period in some instances.
6. Applying for Medicaid too late.
This can mean the loss of many months of eligibility.
7. Not getting expert help.
This is a complicated field that most people deal with only once in their lives. Tens of thousands of dollars are at stake. It’s penny wise and pound foolish not to consult with people who make their living guiding clients through the process.
8. Confusion about the difference between lifetime liens on the property and estate recovery.
There are a number of exceptions to lifetime liens on property, but for estate recovery there is only a deferral for a surviving spouse and a hardship waiver.
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Hear From Our Past Clients
Don’t just take our word, see what the people we’ve helped have to say.