A Pittsford Medicaid attorney can provide assistance in making an advanced plan in case you need nursing home care or long-term care. If you require care in a nursing home or care provided by a long-term care aide because of illness or age-related infirmity, it is important to determine if your care will be covered by any type of insurance policy or program. Both long-term care at home and nursing home care can be very expensive and you could quickly spend your entire life savings if your care is not covered.

One of the key questions that determines whether or not your care will be paid for or whether you will have to pay out-of-pocket comes down to whether the care is classified as skilled nursing care or not. The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. can provide guidance on what skilled nursing care is, why it matters, and what you can do to protect yourself from financial loss regardless of how your care is classified.

What is Skilled Nursing Care and Why Does the Definition Matter?

According to Medicare, the definition of skilled nursing care is limited to care that must be provided by a skilled medical professional or by someone with some type of specialized medical training. A nurse, a doctor, a speech therapist, a physical therapist, or any other type of medical professional could be called upon to provide skilled nursing care. The key is that the care being provided couldn’t be offered by just any layperson off the street without specialized training and education. The specific example given by Medicare to define skilled nursing care refers to medical care such as intravenous injections that it takes training to give. However, there are many types of care considered skilled nursing care.

Whether care is classified as skilled nursing care or not matters tremendously for those who are in need of nursing home care and who want to get their care costs covered. If your care is classified as skilled nursing care, Medicare will typically pay for the care as long as you meet certain qualifying criteria, such as a doctor indicating the skilled care is needed. Medicare, however, will pay nothing for unskilled nursing care even if that care is very expensive because it must be provided in a nursing home or by home health aides.

The type of nursing care Medicare won’t pay for is called custodial care. It becomes necessary when doing basic routine activities of daily living has become impossible. A person without specialized training could help you to use the restroom or cook and eat food when you are no longer able to do these things without difficulty. As a result, Medicare won’t pay for the nursing home care or long-term care that is provided by unskilled nursing home staff or unskilled home health aides. You’ll have to pay for your nursing home or your long-term care at home out of your own pocket unless you can get means-tested Medicaid benefits.

Getting Help from a Pittsford Medicaid Attorney

A Pittsford Medicaid attorney at The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. can provide you with guidance on the Medicaid and Medicare rules for nursing home care coverage eligibility. Our legal team can also help you to make a plan so you can protect as much of your wealth as possible while still getting covered by Medicaid to pay for your care expenditures. You should act as soon as you can to get your Medicaid plan in place because the longer you wait, the more challenging it will become to protect the maximum value of your assets.

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C. has provided assistance with the Medicaid planning process to people of all ages and in all situations. Whether you need crisis planning for an imminent stay in a nursing home or you are making a plan well in advance of the time you need care to best protect your assets, our legal team is here to help you. To find out more about all of the different Medicaid planning services that we can offer to you, join us for a free seminar. If you are ready for personalized help with your Medicaid plan, give us a call at (585) 546-1734 or contact us online to today.