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Texas Elder Law
What you don't know about Medicare, Medicaid and long term care insurance can ruin you financially. The national average for the cost of long term care services is approximately $48,000 annually.
Medicare does not pay for long term care. At best, it covers only 100 days
of skilled care. After that, there are three ways to pay for long-term
care:
- Private pay (your accumulated savings);
- Long term care insurance;
- Medicaid - the government's health plan for the aged and disabled.
Unfortunately, most people who enter a nursing home pay privately, spending
down far more of their assets and resources than necessary, and then qualify
for long-term care Medicaid benefits. Approximately 70% of single people
and 50% of married couples (with one spouse requiring long term health care)
become impoverished within one year, and very few seniors have long term
care insurance to pay for a nursing home stay.
Further impoverishing older persons, most states - including Texas - have implemented plans for "Estate Recovery" as well. This means that
qualifying for Medicaid benefits entitles the state to recover property from
the estate of a Medicaid recipient at his or her death.
However, with careful planning, assets and income can be protected. Despite
what you may have been told, you do not have to deplete your life savings to
qualify for assistance to pay long term care expenses. Proper planning can
also greatly reduce or eliminate the risk of losing part of your life
savings to the state's recovery program. Michael Wald has the
specialized knowledge to help you through the always-changing Medicaid rules
and regulations and can develop a personalized long term care plan to
protect income and assets during times of disability - even when you might
think it's too late to plan.
Please don't hesitate if you or a loved one are facing issues of aging or
the high costs of long-term health care expenses. Call Michael Wald at (972) 690-9700 for an assessment of your particular situation or to
discuss your long term care concerns.
Please complete the fields below if you'd like more information about Michael Wald, his areas of expertise and the ways he may be able to serve you.
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