Long Term Care Planner: Individual
Our Services:
Long Term Care Planning to Protect Your Independence and Preserve Assets.
We understand that life is in transition when the need arises for elder care and disability planning. It can be a very vulnerable time in a person's life, especially if the need for care is immediate and acute. You may feel overwhelmed, or uncertain about what to do next. You certainly don't want to take a wrong step that will put you into more difficulty.
That is why we arrange our legal planning services and options into "steps." For people who need Medicaid eligibility now, or may need eligibility in the future, we advise you on the resources that are available. Avoiding nursing home admission is the highest priority for most people. But procrastination can sometimes stop a person from solving or preventing problems that can lead to the nursing home door. Our services are set up so that you can begin basic planning today, and then continue with other steps as you become comfortable with the first steps that you have taken. Here is are examples of the step by step approach to planning for care and asset protection:
Step 1 Examples
• Review and verify the title and value of your assets, including real estate, stocks, and bank accounts; • Help you maximize the value of assets • Identify all possible sources of payment for at-home, assisted living and/or nursing home care such as Pension & Retirement Plans, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Frail Elder Waiver, Medicare, Private Health Insurance, Social Security Disability; • Guide you to protect and preserve
assets for your family. |
Step 2 Examples
• Explain the process that transitions the patient from Medicare onto Medicaid, and recommend additional steps the could be taken to extend Medicare eligibility; • Gather all the information and exhibits MassHealth needs to approve your application and make you eligible for benefits; • Show you how to spend down or transfer assets, so that you can qualify for benefits as quickly as possible; • Advise you on how to handle the admission to an assisted living or long term care facility. |
Step 3 Examples
• Complete the requirements needed for Medicaid eligibility; • Prepare the Senior Benefits application and all the other Medicaid forms and verification documents needed to coordinate benefits with the nursing home; • File the application with the • Explain the patient pay amount, and the most efficient way to handle ongoing costs.
A note we received from a MassHealth case worker, upon approval of a Medicaid application we filed in 2010. |
With each step that you take in the process of elder care planning, we take time to listen and understand the results that you are looking to achieve. Before taking the first step, we discuss:
• how you want to manage and control assets, if you become incapacitated during your lifetime;
• who will handle health care decisions if you are unable to;
• whether you want to transfer assets during your lifetime;
• what brings you peace of mind, including whether you want to protect assets from creditors and provide for family members.
We answer your questions about what's possible, what's not possible, and the strategies that are available to you:
• how home care can fit with your long term care planning;
• which benefit programs are available to help you pay for home care;
• whether long term care insurance is available to protect you;
• the differences between your private health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid coverage.
An important part of our services is helping family members find resources to prevent the need for a nursing home admission. There are many ways for families to work with physicians, companion services, and support groups, to make life more comfortable for the memory loss patient at home or in assisted living.
Because our clients value the ability to control expenses, and manage their circumstances, we provide these service plans for a flat fee. We accept pay pay for the convenience of out of state family members who consult us on behalf of an elder in our service area.
 |
You Can Avoid Costly Delays and Mistakes.
Call us at (413) 567-5600 if you would like independent advice and counsel on Medicaid coverage for nursing home care.
Click for A Checklist: |
|
Understanding Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements
An arbitration agreement prevents the new resident from suing the facility for negligent care. By signing the Arbitration Agreement, the resident gives up their right to file a case in court if damages are caused by facility. The resident's only remedy is limited to a closed door meeting with an arbitrator, who makes a binding decision. The Boston Herald reports that Congress is questioning this practice. Read Boston Herald Article. While the arbitration agreements do prevent residents from recovering damages in court from the nursing home, these contracts often do not protect employees of the nursing home. The Appeals Court ruled in 2008 that nursing home employees were not covered by an arbitration agreement because it did not have language indicating intent to apply it to the nursing home employees. The Court said nurses named in a wrongful death suit could not be protected by the arbitration clause in an admission contract between the nursing home and the patient. Read the case. |
Should you sign an Arbitration Agreement for a family member? These agreements are often included in the stack of papers patients and residents are asked to sign. Our elder care legal services can include assistance with the assisted living or long term care facility admissions process.