Medicaid is a program only for those with limited assets and income. You may have never needed Medicaid throughout your adult life, but there is a possibility you will need it as you get older – even those with well-funded retirement accounts may eventually need Medicaid care when they get older.
If you don’t plan now to preserve your assets and help yourself qualify, you may not be able to get benefits as soon as you need them.
Medicaid is the only government program that pays for nursing home costs
New Jersey residents that eventually need to move into a nursing home will need Medicaid or they will need hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings or long-term care (LTC) insurance to cover the costs. Medicare will not cover long-term nursing home care or in-home nursing support expenses.
New Jersey nursing home care is relatively expensive when compared with many other states. A semi-private room shared with someone else will cost, on average, $11,254 per month. A private room will cost $12,151. That is substantially higher than the national median costs of $7,908 monthly for semi-private rooms and $9,034 per month for private rooms.
If you don’t plan ahead to qualify for Medicaid, the state may determine that you don’t qualify for benefits until you use up all of your own resources paying for nursing care expenses. Even if you do qualify when you apply, your home and other remaining property will be at risk of estate recovery efforts after you die.
Recognizing the benefits of advance Medicaid planning will protect your financial solvency. Having legal guidance can help.
