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Davidow Articles The Devasating Cost of Not Planning Ahead Perhaps what Elder Law is best known for today is what many refer to as the $100,000 question. Did you know that nursing homes cost over $100,000 per year in New York? How will the family afford a nursing home without impoverishing a healthy spouse still living at home? How will the family avoid losing everything they worked a lifetime to acquire? This is the crucial question on the minds of hard working families in New York. There are very few ways that families have to meet this very high cost of long term care. Paying privately at over $100,000 per year is not much of an option for most people. Long Term Care Insurance is one option to meet the cost of Long Term Care, and should be strongly considered, whenever possible. However, for too many of our seniors, pre-existing health conditions and unaffordable premiums, render this type of coverage unavailable or inappropriate. If Long Term Care insurance is available and appropriate, we can serve as a resource for accurate information and referral. Many are under the misconception that Medicare pays for Long Term Care. The fact is that Medicare does not pay for such care. Rather, Medicare only pays for short term care under certain limited circumstances. The only other option is Medicaid. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program designed to provide medical assistance benefits, including Nursing Home care and community based home care, to certain needy individuals who qualify. With proper planning, Middle Class families can position themselves to qualify for the Medicaid program in order to protect their assets. However, the process of application and eligibility is confusing and intimidating. At Davidow, Davidow, Siegel & Stern we can successfully guide you through the entire Medicaid process: establishing eligibility and the preparation of the application; gathering of the necessary documents and submisssion of the applicaiton; follow-up to submission; acceptance/continuing of Medicaid eligibility. The bottom line is that middle class families cannot afford to pay over $100,000 per year for the cost of Long Term Care. Options do exist. However, it is virtually impossible to maximize your planning opportunities, without advanced planning. Planning ahead is crucial to protecting the most assets.
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