If you are looking for home care for yourself or a loved one, you probably have a lot of questions. Homecare Planning Solutions is a free resource designed to guide patients seeking home care through all the stages of obtaining services.
Our services range from making home care arrangements for clients who already have Medicaid or Medicare (including foreign language home attendants), to assisting with Medicaid Applications, pooled trusts, and private pay home care. Whatever your needs, we are committed to helping you access home care as quickly as possible.
Please call us today to see how we can help you: 718-838-3838
The following are descriptions of each of our services:
Home Care Arrangements for Patients with Medicaid
Home Care Arrangements for Patients with Medicare
Medicaid Applications
Medicaid Pending Home Care Arrangements
Pooled Income Trusts
Medicaid Troubleshooting
Long-Term Care Insurance Claims
Veterans Benefits – Aid and Attendance
Private Pay Home Care Arrangements
Home Care Arrangements for Patients with Medicaid
The process for obtaining home care services for people who have Medicaid or are dual-eligible (meaning they have both Medicare and Medicaid) has become more confusing and cluttered with red-tape than ever. You may have heard that you need to enroll into a Managed Long-Term Care (MLTC) plan but don’t know how. Perhaps you are already with a MLTC plan but are not receiving adequate care. Or, maybe you simply need home care and don’t know where to start.
We can help you navigate the Medicaid home care system to get you the care you need quickly and efficiently. Give us a call today and we will explain the process. See Medicaid Home Care to learn more.
Home Care Arrangements for Patients with Medicare
If you have Medicare (or managed Medicare – also known as Medicare Advantage) and need home care assistance, we can help you with obtaining care covered by insurance. These services tend to be limited both in terms of the amount of services provided and their duration. However, they can be helpful for someone who needs help adjusting at home after a hospitalization or stay in a rehab. Additionally, they can help bridge the waiting period for someone who needs long-term home care and is working on a Medicaid application as well as provide some financial relief for patients that are paying privately for home care.
Medicaid Applications
The Medicaid application process to receive home care can be both confusing and intimidating. At Homecare Planning Solutions, we simplify the process. A case worker will ask you a few questions, and give you an assessment right on the spot on whether you qualify or what you may need to do to qualify.
Once you are ready to apply, your case worker will send you a list of items needed for the application. Get us those items and we’ll take care of the rest! The filing, the follow up, we handle it all. Most applications are approved within 4-5 weeks. We monitor all pending applications daily and we will notify you as soon as yours is processed.
And yes, the assistance really is free.
Not sure if you’re ready to apply? Ask for one of our starter packets. A case worker will be happy to mail (or email) you a packet chock-full of information about applying for Medicaid.
Medicaid Pending Home Care Arrangements
If you need home care immediately, you may want see if you can receive services Medicaid pending. This means that an agency would provide you with Medicaid level home care services while your application is being processed.
Eligibility for Medicaid pending services is determined on a case-by-case basis, and not everyone who qualifies for Medicaid will be approved for Medicaid pending. That being said, in many cases it can be a real lifesaver.
We have successfully arranged Medicaid pending home care services for many clients. If you would like to receive Medicaid pending services, give us a call to see if we can help.
Pooled Income Trusts
By default, someone with income above the Medicaid limit is required to “spend-down” that excess income on a monthly basis before accessing Medicaid benefits – much like a deductible. Pooled income trusts are often used to allow these patients to qualify for Medicaid without having to “spend-down” all that extra income.
So what is a pooled income trust? It is helpful to think of a pooled income trust like a checking account, with two important differences:
- Money deposited into a pooled income trust account can only be used to pay bills in the beneficiary’s name. It can never be withdrawn as cash. That being said, it is often not difficult to come up with enough bills to access the entire balance that is deposited into the account each month.
- Bills that are to be paid must be submitted to the trust, and someone at the trust will send the check for payment. In this, the trust functions like a bill paying service. For recurring bills, it is often possible to set up automatic payment.
By depositing the amount of their excess income each month into a pooled income trust account, a Medicaid beneficiary can receive services and not have to “spend-down”.
Not everyone can use a pooled income trust to qualify for Medicaid. One must document that he/she is disabled to be entitled to this leniency. However, this is generally not difficult to do for someone who requires home care.
Homecare Planning Solutions can guide you through the entire process of establishing a pooled income trust account, as well as assist in gathering the necessary paperwork to document disability. Once we have all the paperwork, we will ensure that the entire packet is submitted to Medicaid for approval and follow up regularly on the status of the trust.
To learn more, see: Pooled Income Trusts
Medicaid Troubleshooting
So you have Medicaid, but you are having trouble using it to access the care you need. Perhaps you have been told that you have a restrictive code on your Medicaid. Give us a call. We may be able to assist you in getting things straightened out.
Have you applied for Medicaid but can’t seem to figure out the status of your application? Maybe you were rejected but don’t understand why? Give us a call. We may be able to help.
Long-Term Care Insurance Claims
Filing a claim with long-term care insurance can be confusing and intimidating. We can help you understand the process and the important things that you should verify before obtaining home care. Additionally, we can assist with providing much of the paperwork the long-term care insurance will require. Once your claim is approved, we can even handle the billing of your long-term care insurance for your ongoing services should you so desire.
Veterans Benefits – Aid and Attendance
Many veterans are entitled to an Aid-and-Attendance pension to help offset the costs of home care. We can help you understand if you qualify for this pension, as well as whether it makes sense to pursue it as part of your strategy to obtain coverage for home care.
Private Pay Home Care Arrangements
If you are looking to pay privately for home care services while you plan for Medicaid. Or even if you are not looking for Medicaid coverage and are just looking to pay privately for home care. We can arrange private pay home care services. Give us a call today for a quote.
Assistance is a phone call away. Call Us Now! 718-838-3838