Burlington Medicaid attorneys can assist seniors in understanding the rules for qualifying for Medicaid and can help seniors to find ways to protect assets while qualifying for Medicaid as soon as possible if they begin to struggle with healthcare costs. 
A person’s need for healthcare typically rises as he ages. For seniors, hundreds-of-thousands of dollars may be required to pay for healthcare expenditures. Most people are not able to afford to pay out-of-pocket for all of the care costs they will be responsible for as they get older.
Unfortunately, if you haven’t made advanced plans to cover costs when healthcare expenditures get too high, you could be forced to spend down your assets and impoverish yourself before Medicaid kicks in. Making a Medicaid plan helps to ensure that this does not happen.
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC can help people of all ages to make plans for retirement savings and covering the costs of care. Our legal team can also help with a Medicaid plan so you can get Medicaid to pay your bills for high care costs without having to spend the wealth it took you a lifetime to acquire. To find out more about how our legal team can assist you, give us a call today.
How Much Do Seniors Need for Medical Care Costs?
Seniors may need much more money than they anticipate to pay for their healthcare needs as they get older, especially if they require nursing home care. According to a report from Employee Benefit Research Institute, a senior couple should have $350,000 saved in order to have a 90 percent chance of covering healthcare costs if the couple needs a lot of prescription medication. This $350,000 is based on the costs of Medicare premiums, and it assumes that the senior couple also has a Medicare Advantage plan that they pay premiums for.
Obviously, most older people do not have $350,000 to spend as a couple on paying for prescriptions and other medical needs. And, seniors may need even more money if they must go into a nursing home. The Genworth Cost of Care Survey for Vermont in 2015 found that the median annual rate for a semi-private room in a nursing home was $102,018.
Medicare won’t pay for a nursing home except in limited circumstances when a Medicare beneficiary needs to live in a nursing home for a limited duration to get skilled medical treatment. If Medicare and private insurers won’t pay, the senior who needs nursing home care has no choice but to pay privately until Medicaid finally kicks in once the senior has spent down his or her resources.
How can Burlington Medicaid Attorneys Help?
Burlington Medicaid attorneys can help you to plan ahead when you are younger to build up a substantial retirement nest egg and to save money in special accounts, such as health savings accounts, which you can then draw from to pay some of your care expenses as a senior.
Our legal team can also assist you in understanding what Medicaid covers, how it will help to pay your care costs, and what you can do to qualify for Medicaid coverage. If you make a Medicaid plan at least five years in advance of the time that you need Medicaid to start paying for your nursing home care or other costly medical services, you may be able to protect some or all of your assets from having to be spent down.
Do not wait to get help, because by the time you actually need Medicaid to pay your bills, it may be too late for you to protect all of your wealth… although an experienced attorney can still help you to protect as much of your money and assets as you can.
Getting Help from Burlington Medicaid Attorneys Today
At Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC, our legal team knows the ins-and-outs of retirement planning and of the process of planning to cover healthcare costs. We can assist you in finding ways to save as much as possible throughout your life so you can be more financially comfortable as a senior, even if you incur healthcare costs. We can also help you to protect your wealth in case of a serious medical emergency or in case you need long-term care which could strip you of your financial security and your ability to leave a legacy.
To find out more about Medicaid planning and how making a Medicaid plan works, join us for a free seminar. If you are ready for personalized advice about protecting your wealth in case you need nursing home care or other expensive treatments, give us a call at (802) 879-7133 or contact us online today.
- Medicaid Planning - August 31, 2023
- 5 Essential Estate Plan Components - August 22, 2023
- How to Apply for Senior Medicaid in Vermont - December 11, 2022
