What Can Be Done About the Cost of Long-Term Care?

As we age, we all need to accept the fact that we might need long-term care. You and your family must be prepared to handle the costs of long-term care. More than any other expense, long-term care costs drain the hard-earned life savings of many Michigan families. Did you know that the average cost of a nursing home in Michigan is now approaching $250 per day? Many facilities cost far more than that. The simple fact is that you can do virtually everything else right and you can still be sunk by long-term care costs. The good news is that you can protect yourself by contacting an experienced Grand Rapids Medicare planning lawyer who can help you prepare for long-term care issues.

The Cost of Long-term Care Sinks Many Michigan Families: What Can Be Done?

Self-paying for long-term care sinks far too many seniors in western Michigan. While Medicare pays for many of the much needed health costs of seniors, it falls far short when it comes to long-term care. Fortunately, Medicaid does offer some potential assistance. Many Michigan seniors assume that they will not qualify for Medicaid, and therefore, they never take advantage of this option. This means that they are stuck self-paying for care, as a result, they will quickly burn up their life-savings. Something needs to be set straight: as a Michigan senior, you have spent decades paying into the Medicaid system and you deserve your full and fair long-term care benefits. Do not simply assume that you will not qualify. If you are facing crushing long-term care costs, our team will help by:

• Assessing your Medicaid eligibility: There are strict financial requirements for qualification, though many more seniors qualify than most people realize. Medicaid uses financial means tests that are extremely complicated. An attorney can help ensure that your assets are fairly calculated under these tests.
• Setting up protection for your hard earned assets: It is also important that your estate, and assets, are properly structured. This must be done correctly, otherwise assets that are entitled to be protected may be exposed to long-term care bills.
• Assisting you through the complex application process: As with many other government applications, the process for applying for Medicaid long-term care benefits can be confusing. A small mistake during the process could result in your application being denied or substantially delayed. As was mentioned previously, with nursing home costs averaging over $250 per day, a delayed application could quickly become financially devastating.

Ultimately, you need to ensure that you and your family are financially protected. If you have any questions about the cost of long-term care, or estate planning in general, please contact an experienced Grand Rapids elder lawyer for immediate legal assistance.

Contact Our Office Today

At The Law Offices Of David L. Carrier P.C., our team handles a wide variety of elder law and estate planning issues. This includes Medicaid crisis planning, probate, family trusts and much more. If you are in the Grand Rapids area and have estate planning concerns, we highly encourage you to join us at one of our upcoming LifePlan Workshops. Our friendly and experienced team will teach you what you need to know about estate planning. Please do not hesitate reserve your seat today.