Don’t Do It Alone! Estate Planning Attorneys in Florida Will Help You Qualify for Medicaid Long Term Care:

Estate Planning Attorneys in Florida can help you or a loved one avoid the nightmare of trying to obtain Medicaid for long-term care benefits alone. While Medicaid benefits are highly demanding and beneficial, they can be complex. This is due to several issues that Estate Planning Attorneys in Florida can help explain.

Estate Planning Attorneys in Florida Will Help You Qualify for Medicaid Long-Term Care:

The Department of Children and Families determines Medicaid eligibility and approves or denies Medicaid applications, which has recently been backlogged. Estate Planning Attorneys in Florida will tell you that applications have taken too long to approve. The Department of Children and Families seems inadequately staffed to handle the volume of applications.

An additional and related problem is that the Department of Children and Families often denies applications in error or approves them but gets details of the approval wrong, which would negatively affect the applicant. Estate Planning Attorneys in Florida will undoubtedly tell you this as well. It is possible that the high number of incorrect denials and approvals can be attributed to the exceedingly high workload and incompetence of The Department of Children and Families.

Estate Planning Attorneys in Florida will also tell you that Department of Children and Families caseworkers can be challenging to deal with and reluctant to admit their mistakes.

This is where Platinum Benefit Services steps in.  Over 27 years of service, with the aid of appropriate legal counsel, we have won over 14,000 approvals for our clients. We deal with The Department of Children and Families daily, and we know what buttons to push and whose feet to hold to the fire to ensure the job gets done correctly.

We partner with Estate Planning Attorneys in Florida to get the job done right and deliver incredible results for our clients. We guide the family, file the application, and fight with The Department of Children and Families to ensure they do their job correctly. At the same time, Estate Planning Attorneys in Florida focus on the legal work to ensure that your or your loved one’s funds are protected while meeting the eligibility criteria to qualify for long-term care benefits.

Final Word:

No one should be denied the benefits to which they are entitled.  Additionally, obtaining those benefits should not be so difficult and frustrating. Unfortunately, trying alone or with the help of subpar organizations can result in this.  If you want to ensure that you or a loved one receive the best care possible regarding Medicaid qualification, look no further than Platinum Benefit Services.  We work with Estate Planning Attorneys across Florida to get the job done right.

Learn How an Elder Law Attorney’s Medicaid Planning Assistance Can Help You or a Loved One Qualify for Medicaid

An Elder Law Attorney’s Medicaid Planning Assistance can help you or a loved one subsidize the cost of long-term care.  The cost of care varies, but on average, a higher-quality assisted living facility costs about $6,000 a month, and a skilled nursing facility costs $10,000-$12,000 a month as of 2024.  An Elder Law Attorney’s Medicaid Planning Assistance will help explain the nuances of this.

How an Elder Law Attorney’s Medicaid Planning Assistance Can Help Qualify for Medicaid:

By employing an Elder Law Attorney’s Medicaid Planning Assistance, you can learn the differences between an assisted living facility and a skilled nursing facility.  At a high level, an assisted living facility, or ALF, offers more apartment-style living where the resident maintains a higher degree of independence but receives assistance with certain activities.  On the other hand, a skilled nursing facility, or SNF, provides comprehensive care in a more institutionalized, hospital-like setting.

Let’s examine the differences between how Medicaid pays for an assisted living facility and a skilled nursing facility.  It is important to note that not all assisted living facilities are contracted with Medicaid, so it is crucial to find one that is.  For those who are not, Medicaid will generally pay $1,400-$1,600 monthly toward the cost.  That means that the resident is responsible for the remainder.  For example, if the assisted living facility costs $6,000 and Medicaid pays $1,600, the resident is responsible for the remaining $4,400 monthly.  Again, an Elder Law Attorney’s Medicaid Planning Assistance can help you understand the nuances.

Medicaid works differently with skilled nursing facilities.  Medicaid is contracted with all skilled nursing facilities and will pay everything above the patient's responsibility, meaning the amount the patient owes every month.  The patient's responsibility is determined by subtracting the patient’s personal needs allowance of $160 as of 2024, deducting health insurance premiums if applicable, and, in some cases, deducting additional income that can potentially be protected from their gross monthly income.  The resulting amount is owed to the nursing home.  Medicaid will pay the amount above that.  For example, if a skilled nursing facility costs $12,000 a month, and the patient’s gross income is $2,000-allowable deductions of $200 a month, they must pay the facility $1,800 a month.  Medicaid will cover the remaining $10,200. An Elder Law Attorney’s Medicaid Planning Assistance can help walk you through this.

There are advantages and disadvantages when determining if an assisted living or skilled nursing facility is the best option, which an Elder Law Attorney’s Medicaid Planning Assistance will help walk-through.

Whatever you and an Elder Law Attorney’s Medicaid Planning Assistance determine is the best solution, Medicaid benefits for long-term care can help offset the cost substantially.

Over To You:

Platinum Benefit Services has helped our clients, in conjunction with an Elder Law Attorney’s Medicaid Planning Assistance, obtain Medicaid benefits for over 27 years.  We have won over 14,000 approvals for our clients.  If you want to guarantee you or a loved one is in the best hands, contact Platinum Benefit Services today!

Assisted Living Benefits for Veterans Can Be a Long-term Care Game Changer

As we age, the need for additional care often arises. Assisted Living Benefits for Veterans can help cover a substantial portion of the monthly fee for assisted living facilities.  It is important to note that not all assisted living facilities accept Medicaid, so it is crucial to find a facility that does.  This article will discuss two payment sources.  The first is Medicaid, which will generally pay $1,400-$1,600 a month toward an assisted living facility with which it is contracted.

How Assisted Living Benefits for Veterans Can Help Offset the Cost of Care in Assisted Living Facilities?

Assisted Living benefits for Veterans pay a number of different monthly amounts, based on the veteran or spouse’s situation. We will explore this in further detail.

The basic requirements to be eligible for Assisted living benefits for Veterans are that the individual must be at least 65, be a wartime veteran, and need or currently be receiving care.  However, individuals who have 100% VA disability are not eligible for Assisted Living Benefits for Veterans.

What is considered wartime when it comes to Assisted Living Benefits for Veterans?  World War II is defined as December 7, 1941-December 31,1946.  The Korean War is considered from June 27, 1950-January 31, 1955.  The Vietnam War is considered February 28, 1961-May 7, 1975 for veterans who served near or in Vietnam, and for all others it is considered August 5, 1964-May 7, 1975.  The Gulf Was is considered August 2,1990-present.

The amount of Assisted Living benefits for Veterans varies.  Two married veterans can receive $3,649 a month, while the surviving spouse of a veteran can receive $1,478 a month.  A veteran who has no spouse or children who are dependent can receive $2,300 a month, and a married couple where the veteran requires care can receive $2,727 a month.  If the veteran is healthy but the spouse requires care, the veteran qualifies for an Income Improvement Pension worth $1,750 a month.

To put it into perspective how helpful Assisted Living Benefits for Veterans can be, let’s talk about the monthly cost of an assisted living facility. A reputable, higher-end facility currently costs about $6,000 a month.  If you are a single veteran and receive $2,300 a month in Assisted Living benefits for Veterans, nearly 40% of your monthly bill is covered.  If you also receive Medicaid benefits of $1,600 a month, that jumps to 65% of your monthly bill covered.  That is a substantial amount of the monthly bill being covered, which will help you rest easier.

Final Word:

Platinum Benefit Services specializes in obtaining Medicaid benefits for our clients.  Over 27 years of service we have obtained over 14,000 approvals for our clients.  We work with an accredited VA expert who can help you get the Assisted Living Benefits for Veterans to which you are entitled.  Contact Platinum today to get all the help you need in obtaining Medicaid benefits and Assisted Living Benefits for Veterans.

Learn the Requirements for Medicaid for Nursing Home Care

Medicaid for Nursing Home Care can easily become overwhelming!  The Department of Children and Families is the agency that approves or denies applications, and they have stringent rules for Medicaid for Nursing Home Care.

Requirements for Medicaid for Nursing Home Care:

The monthly income threshold for Medicaid for Nursing Home Care is currently$2,829.  Income that is more than this amount has to be dealt with so that the applicant can meet the requirement. The Department of Children and Families counts income from any source.  Common examples of income sources are retirement pension income, social security income, VA benefits, investment account distributions, etc.  In the instance that a potential applicant’s income goes above $2,829 a month, a well-known and effective way of handling the extra income is to use a Qualified Income Trust.

The QIT has to be funded each month with the applicant’s extra income plus an advised cushion of up to a few hundred dollars.  This artificially decreases the applicant’s income to comply with the rules for Medicaid for Nursing Home Care.

The rationale for putting just the extra monthly income plus a cushion into the QIT is because when the applicant dies, the remaining money in there goes to the state.  For this reason, it is not advised to put the entirety of an applicant’s monthly income into a QIT.  It is crucial to understand that the QIT has to be funded each month with that month’s income.  When done properly, a QIT is an effective way to handle extra income so that the applicant can achieve Medicaid for Nursing Home Care.

DCF hasrules for countable assets for an applicant for Medicaid for Nursing Home Eligibility.  The countable asset limit is currently $2,000.  For married couples the rules are a bit different.  For an individual applicant that is married, the limit is $2,000 for the applicant and $154,140 for the community spouse.  

While a discussion for another time, this allows more options for asset protection strategies. “Countable” means that the assets count when deciding Medicaid for Nursing Home Care eligibility.  The aim of asset protection is to reconfigure these assets in order for them to be considered “non-countable” or “exempt” assets.  Non-countable assets do not count against the eligibility limit but can be collected from the state when the applicant dies.  Because of this, the best thing is to restructure countable assets to make them “exempt”, meaning they are not considered when determining Medicaid for Nursing Home Care eligibility and they are protected from collection when the applicant passes.

Over To You:

Does this sound terrible?  We are confident the answer is yes!  Thankfully, help is just around the corner. Platinum Benefit Services is here to assist you in obtaining Medicaid for Nursing Home Care!  In 27 years we have obtained more than 14,000 Medicaid approvals for our clients in conjunction with appropriate legal counsel.  We promise you that nobody is going to work more to ensure that you or a loved one’s assets are correctly configured to get Medicaid for Nursing Home Care than us.

Learn How an Aid and Attendance Benefit Application Can Help You or a Loved One

If you or a spouse have served in the military, you may be eligible to submit an Aid and Attendance Benefit Application that can help offset the cost of care for an assisted living. The basic requirements to be eligible to submit an Aid and Attendance Benefit Application are being aged 65 or older, being a wartime veteran, and not currently receiving 100% VA disability income.

How an Aid and Attendance Benefit Application Can Help:

To be considered a wartime veteran for an Aid and Attendance Benefit Application, you must have served during specific timeframes.  They are as follows:  World War II (December 7, 1941-December 31, 1956), Korean Conflict (June 27, 1950-January 31, 1955), Vietnam era (February 28, 1961-May 7, 1975, although there are exceptions), and The Gulf War (August 2,1990-present).

Additionally, there are different amounts of benefits available for an Aid and Attendance Benefit Application depending on your situation.  The maximum monthly benefits are as follows: Two married veterans can receive $3,649, a surviving spouse of a veteran can receive $1,478, a veteran with no spouse or dependent children can receive $2,300, a married couple where the veteran requires care can receive $2,727, a healthy veteran with a spouse who requires care can receive $1,750.

These benefits received as the result of having an Aid and Attendance Benefit Application approved can prove invaluable, especially for a veteran or their surviving spouse that needs assisted living care.  Not every assisted living is contracted with Medicaid, but the ones that are generally get $1,400-$1,600 of the monthly bill covered by Medicare.

  

In 2024, the average monthly cost for an assisted living facility in Florida is $3,994. This means that if a veteran or their surviving spouse has been approved for Medicaid benefits and for an Aid and Attendance benefit Application, they can have the majority of their bill paid every month for the assisted living facility.

This is a game changer, as many veterans or their surviving spouses live on limited fixed incomes that may not be enough to cover their cost of care otherwise.  Everyone, especially veterans and their spouses deserve to be cared for as they age without going broke.  By combining an Aid and Attendance Benefit Application with Medicaid benefits, this can be achieved!

Final Word:

Platinum Benefit Services has been obtaining Medicaid approvals for our clients for over 27 years.  In that time, we have won over 14,000 approvals.  We work closely with a VA accredited professional who will help you apply for an Aid and Attendance Benefit Application while we work to secure Medicaid benefits on you or a loved one’s behalf.  We take what we do very seriously and will not stop until you or a loved one receives the care you or they need.  If you would like to pursue Medicaid eligibility and submit an Aid and Attendance Benefit application to obtain VA benefits, contact Platinum today!

Things to Consider When Filing a Medicaid Application for the Elderly

There are many factors that determine whether a Medicaid Application for the Elderly is successful.  The Department of Children and Families is the organization that reviews and either approves or denies Medicaid Applications for the Elderly.

Factors to Consider When Filing a Medicaid Application for the Elderly:

The Department of Children and families (DCF) has income and countable asset limits for applicants.  In 2024, the income limit is $2,829, and the countable asset limit is $2,000 for an individual applicant, $3,000 for a married couple that are both applying, and $2,000 for the applicant and $154,140 for the non-applicant spouse if married.  For many individuals seeking to file a Medicaid Application for the Elderly, this is already enough to cause confusion.

The rules do not stop there. DCF looks at the 5 years (60 months) prior to application to see if any gifting has occurred. DCF looks at money given away, assets sold for less than fair Market Value (FMV), etc. DCF is concerned that a potential applicant will try to dispose of money in order to get below the countable asset limit.  If DCF determines that gifting has occurred, a potential penalty period may ensue that pushes back the date that benefits begin after a Medicaid Application for the Elderly is filed. 

The penalty divisor in 2024 is $10,300.  This is the amount that DCF figures an average skilled nursing facility will cost per month.  If the total gifting over the 5 years prior to application is equal to or greater than $10,300 an ineligibility period occurs.  The formula for calculating this ineligibility period is

(aggregate gifting/$10,300=months of ineligibility). There are no partial months of ineligibility, so it is always rounded down.  This can certainly cause problems in regard to a Medicaid Application, because situations do happen where the gifting is enough to cause at least a month of ineligibility.

Fortunately, steps can be taken to correct the gifting so that it does not cause an issue for a Medicaid Application for the Elderly.  Beyond the basic approach of returning the gifted amount, the other strategies to correct gifting are not widely known, so it is advisable to speak to an expert when trying to correct gifting so that it does not interfere with a Medicaid Application for the Elderly.

When an individual or couple that wishes to submit a Medicaid Application for the Elderly is over the countable asset limit, there are many protection strategies that can be used to convert the assets from the countable category to the non-countable/exempt category for qualification purposes.

Steps can also be taken to restructure income so that it meets the qualification criteria for a Medicaid Application for the Elderly.

Over to You:

Platinum Benefit Services has been obtaining Medicaid Application for the Elderly approvals for over 27 years and has obtained over 14,000 approvals.  Over that time, we have gained unmatched expertise in the field which translates to unmatched results for you or a loved one.  If you want to know you are in the best hands, contact us today!