None of us want to face placing a loved one into a nursing home or needing nursing home care ourselves.  In Florida, there are approximately 700 nursing homes with 84,000 beds.  73,000 Florida residents live in nursing homes.  10,000 Americans turn 65 every day. 5% of older adults (aged 65+) live in a nursing home.  Medicaid Institutional Care Program benefits are the primary payment source for nursing home care.  A little-known fact is that once Medicaid is obtained for the nursing home care, one does not have to stay in the nursing home.  The benefit is transferrable to an Assisted Living Facility or even to Home Care if the person will be safe in the alternative living situation. 

Florida Medicaid.com lists some of the Common Mistakes Made in Trying to Qualify for Medicaid Nursing Home (ICP) Institutional Care Benefits

1. Transferring assets out of the Medicaid applicant’s name without considering the transfer rules and penalties.
2. Confusing the look-back period and the transfer penalty period.
3. Transferring the homestead to the adult children directly by way of a quitclaim deed.
4. Failing to plan for the event BOTH spouses enter a skilled nursing facility.
5. Failing to plan for the event the Well-Spouse predeceases the Nursing-Home-Spouse.
6. Making transfers without the proper authority or documentation.
7. Relying on outdated or poorly drafted durable powers of attorney (or other estate planning documents).
8. Neglecting to disclose all known income, assets or gifts.
9. Failing to include the gross income of an applicant.
10. Improper establishment and/or maintenance of a Qualified Income Trust (QIT).
11. Failing to determine whether a nursing home accepts Medicaid payments.
12. Believing that MEDICARE pays for long-term nursing home costs.
13. Making transfers into and out of the wrong type(s) of trusts.
14. Thinking the $11,000 IRS gift tax exclusion is applicable to Medicaid.
15. Thinking that Medicaid rules are the same in every state.
16. Failing to realize that Medicaid rules continuously change.
17. Obtaining advice from people who have limited knowledge or expertise with the Medicaid laws.Diana Mangsen focuses her practice as an elder law attorney in Clearwater, Largo, St. Petersburg, Dunedin, Palm Harbor and the Tampa Bay area.

    For more information, visit our website at
    https://www.mangsenlaw.com/
    or call (727) 888-6282.