Paying for Alzheimer’s: Medicare, Medicaid, and Long-Term Care

Paying for Alzheimer’s: Medicare, Medicaid, and Long-Term Care
February 26, 2015 jersey Alzheimer's 0 Comments

Few diagnoses are more devastating than Alzheimer’s, both in terms of its health toll and its extraordinary financial imposition on families.

Paying for long-term care isn’t easy, especially if you or your parents haven’t already been saving for years. Even well in advance, finding the extra money to set aside for a long-term care fund can be tough.

There is hope, though.

A new article over at USA Today’s News-Press.com makes that very point. Yes, it is a challenge. Yes, it is expensive. But resources and assistance are available. Paying for long-term care is possible, even if you aren’t wealthy.

“It’s a myth that you have to spend all your money and sell your home to qualify for government assistance,” the News-Press piece says. “Attorneys can work with families to set aside certain funds and make sure a healthy spouse does not live in poverty.”

Medicaid and the VA (Veterans Administration) provide financial assistance for in-home care, as well as assisted living and long-term nursing. Medicare, meanwhile, will pay for temporary skilled-nursing care (if medically necessary).

Applying for that assistance isn’t easy either, though. The requirements are cumbersome, and inexperienced applicants can make mistakes in one process that might work against them in others.

As New Jersey Medicaid attorneys, we at Medina Law Group offer both crisis planning and pre-crisis planning to help people fund their long-term care. We help seniors to qualify and apply for government assistance in a way that will protect their assets while alleviating some of the financial burden of long-term care.

Dementia is a frightening disease, but it does not have to invite financial ruin. There are avenues for help. It is our belief that people who’ve worked hard to earn and save money their whole lives should not have to lose those assets and turn entirely to their loved ones just because of a medical diagnosis.

There is a right way to approach government assistance. If you are interested in either applying now or planning for long-term care in the future, our office can help. Give us a call today.

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