Chapter 12

The State Health Care System Backup: Medicaid

IN THIS CHAPTER

check Taking a look at Medicaid and its eligibility requirements

check Surveying some strategies to qualify for Medicaid nursing home coverage

check Qualifying for both Medicaid and Medicare

check Understanding why you may not want to qualify for Medicaid

If you ever get to a point in your life where you may need a number of years’ worth of nursing home care, you may wonder exactly how you’ll pay for the costly expense. Some people are wealthy enough to pay out of pocket, while others may be able to rely on purchased long-term care insurance (see Chapter 9). However some folks don’t have those resources available.

You may be able to rely on Medicaid (www.cms.hhs.gov) to help pay these expenses. Medicaid is the only government program that pays for a significant amount of nursing home care. Yet Medicaid has some major restrictions; eligibility is limited, and many people don’t meet the requirements.

In this chapter, we discuss the qualifications for Medicaid coverage of long-term care. We also explore strategies you can use to become ...

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