C H (Bubba) Schlader
I work with families transitioning into long-term health care from both the legal and the financial perspectives.
The Medicaid planning mission, like tax planning, is to get the tab as low as legally possible. As a catastrophic health condition can be the most financially devastating event in life, planning advice can be your most important financial advice.
Planning avoids the moral hazard of encouraging only the unproductive or the spendthrift members of society, for whom no planning is necessary, to establish benefits eligibility when the need strikes.
Myth: One must become destitute in order to qualify for long-term care benefits from the National Health Care System (Nursing Home Medicaid) or the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Myth Buster: Federal law does not prohibit an individual who otherwise would not qualify for benefits from transferring, repositioning, or converting assets in order to qualify.
For Veterans, the intersection of Medicaid rules and VA rules is very complicated. When both apply it's impossible to plan for one without an eye on the other set of rules. Otherwise you can easily cause a loss of eligibility for benefits under that other set of rules.
Utilizing professionals reduces stress and will save:
Money - Time - Health