Medicaid getting harder to tap into...

Recently, families that hoped to use Medicaid for long term care expenses are facing tougher challenges.  Depending on where you live, some states are tougher than others.  In addition, the services you were counting on may have been eliminated or drastically scaled back in scope.

Medicaid, a jointly funded state and federal program intended for the poor, is now shouldering 40% of the country's long-term-care spending.  To be eligible for Medicaid in most states, you generally can have no more than $2,000 in cash and investments, along with a house and a car.  In 2006, a new federal law increased the "look back" period for most applicants to five years, which means the above requirements had to exist for five years prior to approval.

In an effort to address funding reduction, some states are now proposing Medicaid cuts to routine dental care in nursing homes, the elimination of adult day-health programs, and increasing the number of daily living activities that patients need help with to qualify.  With no real funding increases in sight, and more cuts likely, Medicaid-funded long-term care may not provide the options you had hoped for, if at all.

To learn more about the changes surrounding Medicaid (and Medicare), contact your local Council on Aging office.  You can find information on the offices near us by visiting our Online Resources Page and clicking on the county closest to you.

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