Hartford Medicaid lawyers can provide assistance to seniors in qualifying for Medicaid coverage. Medicaid can provide payments for nursing home care in situations when a nursing home is not covered by Medicare or any other private insurance. Medicaid can also help seniors to pay for Medicare premiums and some co-insurance costs that Medicare does not pay for. 
Qualifying for Medicaid can be vitally important because getting healthcare as a senior, and paying for nursing home care, can be astronomically expensive. In fact, one new report from Employee Benefit Research Institute warns that seniors may need as much as $350,000 saved to cover healthcare costs during retirement – and this does not even factor in the costs of a stay in a nursing home if such a stay is necessary.
Very few seniors can afford to bear the burden of substantial medical costs during their golden years, even if they have saved a lot of money. It is important to understand the types of costs that you may end up having to pay and to learn whether Medicaid can help you to afford those care expenditures.
If Medicaid may be necessary to help you afford essential care, you’ll also need to make a Medicaid plan if you want to qualify for coverage without spending down your life savings. Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates can help you with taking the necessary steps to get covered when you need care.
How Much Will Seniors Have to Pay for Nursing Home Care?
One of the most significant care expenses seniors may be forced to cover is the cost of nursing home care. The state of Connecticut released a guide in April 2016 detailing the costs of long-term care. The average daily rate for skilled or intermediate care in a nursing home was $407 daily or $148,700 annually.
The guide also estimated costs of other types of nursing care. The average charge for a skilled nursing visit was set at $139. Personal care attendants, on the other hand, charged an average of $28 hourly while home health aids charged an average hourly rate of $28. A live-in companion for a senior would cost around $245 daily, and a full day of adult daycare at a facility providing this service is around $84.
Most of these costs are not going to be covered by Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, or other kinds of private insurance. Insurance pays for nursing home care only if you need to stay for a limited duration and only if there is a need for skilled medical services. Otherwise, you’ll be forced to pay for this care if you need it and will have to pay out-of-pocket unless or until you can qualify for Medicaid.
Medicaid pays for custodial nursing home care, which is routine care that becomes necessary due to old age or infirmity. Unfortunately, if you haven’t made an advanced plan to protect assets when you need Medicaid to cover your bills, you may be ineligible based on your asset level. You’ll have to spend down assets until you have impoverished yourself and qualify for coverage.
How Much Will Seniors Have to Pay For Other Medical Care?
While nursing home care is a huge expense, it isn’t the only medical expense that Medicare won’t cover in full. Employee Benefit Research Institute published a report on how much seniors should save for care costs. The report was based on the assumption that seniors purchase a Medigap or Medicare Advantage Plan. The estimated costs thus were calculated by adding up Medigap premiums, co-insurance costs, and costs not covered by Medicare.
Based on these assumptions, the research revealed in the report found that a married couple might need to have around $350,000 saved in order to have a 90 percent chance of being able to afford medical costs. This is the amount that the couple would need to save if they were in the 90th percentile for prescription drug use.
Even seniors who don’t use many drugs will still need a substantial amount saved. A man with median drug expenses would need to save $72,000 to have a 50% chance of covering his care costs and a woman with median drug expenses would need to save $93,000 to have a 50% chance of covering her costs.
Many seniors will struggle to save this money and may have a hard time affording their medical care.
Getting Help from Hartford Medicaid Lawyers
Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates can provide you with assistance in making a plan to qualify for Medicaid if you have nursing home care costs to pay or medical needs you cannot afford to cover. Give us a call at 860-548-1000 or contact us online to find out more. You can also join us for a
free seminar to learn about the Medicaid planning process.
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