Meeting the Medicare Criteria

Aug 14, 2014

By Estate Planning attorney Rick Law of Law Elder Law, Illinois’ leading Elder Law attorneys.

As you may have read in our previous blog entries, Medicare only cares about you if you can get better.  Many seniors expect that Medicare will take care of them if they need to have long term care later in life, and that’s simply not true.

If you have an ongoing chronic diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and other degenerative memory and mobility issues, you will have to pay for the bulk of your costs – especially if you need long term care.

Fortunately, there are tools that a qualified Elder Law attorney can use to help you save some of your assets and even your home.  Be sure you have the right tools in place as soon as possible – because if you’re already out of money, you may be out of options.

Medicare will also pay some of the costs of home healthcare. If you need help only with basic daily activities, then Medicare won’t cover these costs. However, Medicare will cover the expenses of medical care in the home, including help with daily living activities, if it is part of a doctor’s orders.

In order to receive home care coverage from Medicare, the home care agency that is used must be Medicare-approved, and the patient must also meet certain qualifications of their Medicare, Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement plan. To meet the criteria set by Medicare in order to qualify for home care coverage, the patient must need at least one or more of the following:

• Part-time nursing care
• Physical therapy
• Speech language therapy
• Occupational therapy

In addition, the patient must be homebound. This means that leaving their home is a major effort and the person only does it rarely.  For example, the patient would only leave their home to:

• Attend regular church services
• Obtain medical treatment, including therapeutic or psychosocial care

If qualified for coverage, the patient must receive their home care services from a home healthcare agency that is approved by Medicare, and/or an adult day care program that is Medicare-approved and state-certified to provide adult day care services.

Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options!

Sincerely,

Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner

Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.