What Is Medicaid?
Medicaid is a benefits program which is primarily funded by the federal government and administered by each state. Sometimes, the rules can vary from state to state.
One primary benefit of Medicaid is that, unlike Medicare (which only pays for skilled nursing), the Medicaid program will pay for long-term care in a nursing home once you’ve qualified. For example, a long-term stay in a nursing home may be caused by Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, even though the patient receives medical care, the treatment will not be paid for by Medicare. These stays are called custodial nursing stays. Medicare does not pay for custodial nursing home stays. In that instance, you’ll either have to pay privately (i.e. use long term care insurance or your own funds), or you’ll have to qualify for Medicaid.
James E. De Martino is licensed to practice in the State of New Jersey.
Our practice is limited to estate planning, long-term care planning, and NJ Medicaid asset protection.