When you begin thinking about your elder years, it’s wise to start planning for your life needs, particularly health care, as you age. Maybe you have an elder loved one who needs assisted living or a place in a nursing home. As any Medicaid planning attorney would tell you, unless you have a lot of money, you’d better figure out how you can adjust your finances to get eligible for Medicaid assistance. Texas Medicaid pays for long-term care if your income qualifies.
You say you’re not rich, but your income isn’t low enough to be on Medicaid. That may be true now. But with the right planning and the help of a Medicaid Planning Attorney, you can make changes in your finances and become eligible for Medicaid benefits – benefits that pay for long-term or nursing home care should you need it.
Basic Steps to Apply for Medicaid
Medicaid Attorneys will help you with the following:
- Identify the Type of Medicaid
- Determine if Automatically Eligible
- Gather Supporting Financial Documents
- Identify Medicaid Office
- Complete the Application
- Wait on Your Determination
- Determination Letter Review
Texas has designated the elderly and disabled as a special focus group for Medicaid payout. Starting there, help is a matter of restructuring your assets to meet financial requirements, which usually means transferring assets out of your name.
What is the highest income to qualify for Medicaid in Texas?
To be eligible for Texas Medicaid, you must be a resident of the state of Texas, a U.S. national, citizen, permanent resident, or legal alien in need of health care/insurance assistance whose monthly income does not exceed $3,435 a month.
If you receive Medicaid long-term services and support, including nursing home care, be aware that the state of Texas has the right to ask for money back from your estate after you die. A Medicaid planning attorney will factor this into any financial plan.
A Word from the Voeller Law Firm
Money transfers to satisfy Medicaid requirements should be made carefully, with an understanding of all the consequences. People who make transfers should not exceed a five-year look-back period without first consulting an elder law/Medicaid planning attorney. Monetary penalties can be significant, depending on the size of the transfer. Bear in mind that if you give money to your children, it belongs to them, and you may not get it back.
Medicaid planning attorneys are a special group who should be consulted with concerns regarding elder health care and how to pay for it. Those in the middle-income range have the most to worry about since the need for long-term or nursing home care is a real but expensive option.
We Can Help with Your Medicaid Needs
The Voeller Law Firm would like to sit down with you and explain what it takes to secure long-term care and elder services for you or your elder loved ones. If you have questions and need help with your planning, contact us by calling 210-985-2741 or using our online contact form to send a message and set up a consultation.
We serve San Antonio, Schertz, and the surrounding communities of Bexar County.
19311 FM 2252
Suite 103
San Antonio, Texas 78266