The average cost of a private room inside a nursing home is just under $100,000. A disease such as heart disease, multiple sclerosis, recovering from a fall, or a catastrophic illness following a hospital stay could easily eliminate all of your assets and savings.
You do not necessarily have to obliterate your personal savings to pay for nursing home care, but you do not automatically qualify for MediCal services. However, you do not always get approved for these benefits and it can be hard to figure out when you’re eligible without an advance plan.
MediCal rules for qualification change often and are very complex. Improperly transferring assets in an effort to try to minimize the size of the overall value of what you own could lead to ineligibility periods as long as five years. Protecting your assets can be extremely important and determining MediCal eligibility by working with a Pasadena elder lawyer is essential. You must demonstrate that you have limited resources available in order to qualify for MediCal. Any recipient will need to know that certain assets are classified as exempt versus nonexempt.
Exempt assets are not considered when determining your eligibility for MediCal payments, but nonexempt assets are counted and must meet resource limits, including community spouse resource allowances, property and asset resource limitations and cash reserves.
There are legal and excellent ways to ensure that you are prepared to qualify for MediCal as quickly as possible, but this strategy should always be overseen by a dedicated elder lawyer in Pasadena.
Working with a legal team very familiar with this process can help to ensure you have considered every aspect of your long-term care plan. Schedule a consultation with our Pasadena estate planning lawyers today. Our California elder lawyers have extensive experience helping applicants qualify when nursing home care is needed.
