There are a number of ill-conceived notions regarding Medicaid, which is an essential part of planning for entering an assisted living facility or nursing home, or utilizing in-home care. Most people cannot afford to pay for the astronomical cost of these types of care or homes. For one, they usually have no income at this point in their lives, meaning that they will depend solely on their financial savings–savings for which they worked their entire lives. Secondly, nursing home, in-home care, and assisted living can easily cost between half a million and well over a million dollars over a 10-year period. Costs for these services are expected to increase rapidly in the very near future.
Dispelling Common Medicaid Planning Myths
Medicaid-funded nursing home beneficiaries have been declining for decades after reaching a peak of 1.4 million recipients in 1995, and dipping down to just over one million in recent years, according to Forbes. This comes despite the overall number of people in nursing homes greatly rising. Medicaid has seen drastic cuts over the years, and politicians have used demeaning language to belittle Medicaid and further harm its image in hopes to further funding cuts. Some of the negative associations with Medicaid and for-profit nursing homes are outlined below:
- Myth Number One: Medicaid is for poor people. The average person cannot afford to pay for even a semi-private room in a nursing home for more than a few years without becoming broke. In order to pay for a private room in a nursing home for any moderate length of time, the older person would have to be a multimillionaire. Medicaid, which all working people have paid into over their lifetimes, makes high quality care affordable to everyone.
- Myth Number Two: Adult children qualify their older parents for Medicaid in order to increase their inheritance. Nothing could be further from the truth. An adult son or daughter who takes the time and effort to help their parents with Medicaid planning is showing their true care and concern for their parent’s wellbeing and financial stability.
- Myth Number Three: Non-profit centers that take Medicaid offer lower quality service. For-profit nursing homes and assisted living facilities are more expensive than non-profit centers. And, 68.3 to 74.4 percent of nursing homes in Maryland are for-profit, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. For-profit facilities also provide lower-quality service than non-profit care centers, statistically speaking. However, the majority of for-profit nursing homes also take Medicaid, meaning that Medicaid planning is relevant whether you or your loved one plan to live in a for-profit or nonprofit home.
- Myth Number Four: Medicaid will bankrupt the government. The United States is the wealthiest nation in the world, and has financed close to $6 trillion in war since 9/11. Medicaid will not bankrupt the government.
Call Maryland Medicaid Planning Attorney Tara K. Frame Today
Careful Medicaid planning can help make these services affordable without sucking an older person or couple’s bank account dry. To help dispel some of the negative myths surrounding Medicaid planning, and to get started today, do not hesitate to contact an experienced Pasadena Medicaid planning attorney at your soonest convenience. Call the law offices of Frame & Frame today at 410-255-0373.
Resources:
b-i.forbesimg.com/howardgleckman/files/2013/07/0012.jpg
cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/CertificationandComplianc/Downloads/nursinghomedatacompendium_508-2015.pdf