Moving to a Senior Community - Indiana Estate & Elder Law

Moving homes is a daunting task at any age or level of quality health. It can be increasingly unsettling to move into a senior housing facility where you have new routines, neighbors, floor and plans. The realization that independent living is no longer serving your needs best can be frustrating. Maybe the death of a spouse, concerns for health or safety, or the decline of day-to-day task ability has been a triggering event for this move.

The first step to approaching a big transition like this is assessing how you will strategically afford a move like the one you are going to be making. What financial tools (i.e., Medicaid. Medicare, insurance, or assets) do you have to utilize?

Next you will want to create a list of places that meet these requirements before touring them to see what location, atmosphere, and team seem to suit you best.

Then you will be tasked to explore some new home options. Be sure to create a list of things that are necessary, nice to have, or unacceptable. Take a friend of family member to be your second pair of ears and eyes as you visit. Talk through how soon this move might take place too. Not every transition needs to be or can logistically be sudden.

Finally, take time to process this decision. There are many stirred emotions, feelings, and memories. Working through them will better prepare mental and emotional wellbeing for a move.

Medicaid Crisis Planning

Don't Panic!

WebMD has a great article on people who have imagined themselves in a specific crisis and have thus been more likely to survive that crisis if it were to happen. Since you probably do not spend the lull of time before you fall asleep each night dreaming about a Medicaid crisis and how to avoid it, leave it to a team like ours to help you best survive the process.

When you find yourself preparing a Medicaid application for yourself or for a loved one it is best to work through the process slowly. Hasty decisions are likely to lead to a lengthy setback in getting approval and guesswork is surely not going to be your best work.

Long-Term Care Costs

Skilled nursing home care (skilled care) comes with a big price tag. Unfortunately, due to inflation, worker shortages, and the rising costs of medical supplies, each generation will pay more than the former for this form of care.

Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) will come with differing price tags throughout the nation. Major factors include:

the average cost of living by state
the type of SNF that you choose (i.e., programs, amenities, private or semi-private room, and location)
how long you intend to stay at said facility (the longer you stay the longer you experience continued rising costs)

Most of the tenants at skilled facilities are paying for their long-term care costs by first depleting their entire life savings. At an average rate of $8,000/month (in Indiana) this takes only a few years to accomplish. However, receiving Medicaid benefits can often help partially or completely protect these assets depending on how soon you begin planning.

Complexity of Medicaid

Medicaid may be a mostly federally funded program, but it is managed state-by-state. This means that eligibility of Indiana will be different than other states. Indiana's Medicaid Program is overseen by the Family and Social Services Administration (commonly referred to as "FSSA"). They maintain an Eligibility Guide that makes it easy to view the current rules, including rules relating to income, assets, eligibility, etc.

If your assets and/or income are greater than the limits provided in the rules, it typically means that additional planning is needed to qualify. To clarify, it does not mean that you do not qualify. In fact, this is often when an elder law attorney enters into the conversation.

We like to say: "There are the Medicaid rules, exceptions to the rules, and exceptions to the exceptions of the rules." Medicaid is complicated and complex, and a program that many often want or need professional guidance to navigate. Therefore, we encourage you to seek an Indiana-based estate and elder law attorney before applying for Medicaid.

A results-proven team who can help you create a strategy for your assets is a surefire way to better protect your assets without forfeiting benefits. Especially when those same professionals can communicate laws and rules in an easy-to-understand way to further guide decision making. If you are in need of assistance with applying for Medicaid for you or your loved one -or- perhaps you already attempted to apply on your own, an estate and elder law attorney with experience in this area can still help you create a game plan.

At Indiana Estate & Elder Law, we truly love helping you and your loved ones find peace of mind during difficult and uncertain times.