Nobody can predict your health status in the future, so it is best to consider Medicaid planning. A New Jersey Medicaid planning lawyer can help realize your wishes in terms of your long-term healthcare needs.

Planning for Long-Term Care

It is important to understand that the need for long-term care isn’t just brought about because you suffer from an illness. Also, it doesn’t just provide medical treatment. You will never know you could be involved in a catastrophic car accident and sustain serious injuries that require you to have some kind of long-term care. For some people, long-term care is necessary, so they can get assistance with their everyday activities such as dressing, meal preparation, and grooming.

Health Insurance May Not Pay for Long-Term Care

Long-term care is often quite expensive. It could cost you thousands of tens or even hundreds of thousand dollars every year. Also, keep in mind that a lot of seniors who are at least 65 years old need long-term care for several years. Never think that private health insurance and Medicare are enough to cover your long-term care expenses. The truth is that such financial resources rarely cover such costs.

Benefits of Medicaid Planning

Medicaid benefits help low-income people pay for medical services. To be eligible for these needs-based benefits, you should not own more than $2, 000 assets. While some assets such as your house are excluded, you can easily deplete your savings even before you can start getting Medicaid benefits to cover your long-term care expenses. But effective Medicaid planning prevents you from exhausting your resources while you get the benefits you are entitled to.

Moreover, you should remember that you must not transfer your assets to other people to decrease your assets and be eligible for Medicaid. Medicaid only pays for long-term care when you have exhausted other payment sources. Thus, when you give away your assets or property before applying for Medicaid, such asset transfers may lead to delayed or denied benefits. However, careful Medicaid planning with the help of a lawyer allows you to stay in control of your assets and property while you qualify for Medicaid benefits, if necessary.

Planning for the unknown is hard; however, not preparing for long-term care presents even more challenges. Therefore, you must consider the importance of Medicaid planning.