Vermont Medicaid is a government-provided health insurance program which offers coverage for health care services to the poor as well as to certain eligible seniors. In Vermont, Medicaid is actually referred to as “Green Mountain Care.” Coverage for health services through Green Mountain Care is provided and paid for through a federal-state collaboration, so people who are in need can get the healthcare benefits that they require and have the costs paid or subsidized by the government. 
Medicaid provides coverage for many things which other health insurance programs, like Medicare, do not cover. Qualifying for Medicaid can be very important as you age and have costly medical needs. Unfortunately, Medicaid is means-tested. You can, however, qualify for benefits if you create a Medicaid plan with help from a Vermont Medicaid planning lawyer.
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC has provided extensive assistance to clients in making an advance plan to qualify for Medicaid benefits when they need it. If you want to ensure you can get appropriate medical care, give us a call today to speak with a Vermont Medicaid planning lawyer and to learn how we can help you.
What is Covered by Vermont Medicaid?
Green Mountain Care.org explains the types of medical services and health services offered by Medicaid within the state of Vermont. Covered services include:
- Ambulance
- Certified Nurse Midwife
- Chiropractic
- Community Mental Health Center
- Dental
- Diabetic Supplies
- Eye Exams
- Family Planning
- Gynecological Services
- Hearing Aids
- Home Health Nursing
- Home Health Aide
- Hospice
- Immunizations
- Inpatient Hospital
- Lab Tests and X-rays/Imaging
- Medical Equipment
- Maxillofacial Surgery
- Medical Supplies
- Mental Health Counselors
- Naturopaths
- Nurse Practitioners
- Nursing Facility
- Nutrition Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Ophthalmologist Y
- Organ Transplants
- Outpatient Hospital
- Over-the-Counter Drugs
- Physical Therapy
- Podiatry
- Prescription Drugs
- Primary Care Providers (PCP)
- Prosthetics
- Psychiatrists
- Psychologists
- Psychiatric Hospital
- Respiratory Therapy
- Specialist Services (non-PCP)
- Speech/Language Therapy
- Substance Abuse Treatment
- Transportation
Copayments are not required for people living in a long-term care facility. While Medicare covers many of these same services for seniors aged 65 and older who are on Medicare, Medicare also has a deductible and it typically pays only 80 percent of most of your health care costs, unless you have an optional Medicare advantage plan. For seniors on fixed incomes, the coverage provided by Medicare is often simply not enough to ensure that essential medical care is affordable.
One of the most important things Medicaid covers that Medicare (and most other private insurance) does not cover is nursing home care. Medicare pays for a nursing home for a limited time and pays only if skilled medical services are needed. There’s no coverage for custodial care. A senior who becomes unable to care for himself and who needs to be admitted to a nursing home for help with routine daily living will thus face substantial financial hardship due to the high cost of a nursing home and the fact nursing care is not covered.
Medicaid, on the other hand, does pay for nursing home care- and is in fact one of the primary payers of nursing care services nationwide. Because Medicaid pays for nursing home care, it becomes important for seniors to try to qualify for Medicaid benefits. The problem is, most seniors have saved money over their life, and Medicaid is means-tested so you could be disqualified for having financial resources.
Medicaid planning involves structuring the ownership of your assets so you can keep them and not have to spend them down before getting Medicaid to cover you for nursing home care or other health services. With the right plan in place created with the help of Vermont Medicaid lawyers, you can ensure you get the care you require and are still able to pass your home, other property, money, and assets onto your children or other relatives.
How a Vermont Medicaid Planning Lawyer Can Help
Medicaid planning should be done no less than five years prior to the time nursing care is required to save the maximum amount of assets. While you can save some assets even if you require nursing care sooner, transferring assets within five years of the time you need coverage can result in a period of Medicaid disqualification. As a result, you should begin Medicaid planning as early as possible when you are worried about getting your medical costs covered without losing assets.
A Vermont Medicaid planning lawyer at Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can help. You can give us a call at (802) 879-7133 or contact us online today so we can get started on protecting your assets while ensuring that you are able to qualify for Medicaid benefits when you need them.
Stephen Unsworth
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