How to fill out the Medicaid application for Dad

© Copyright 2013, Douglas D. Germann, Sr., Professional Corporation

You could do the Medicaid application yourself. If you read the instructions closely, you see that all that is necessary is name, address and a signature.

That’s the easy part.

Then comes the interview. My experience is it is best to gather all your paperwork before you file the application.

So how do you fill it out is answered best by knowing when to fill it out: when you have all the information ready to go.

Why? Because the interview will come up in a matter of days. It takes more time than that to get some of the 59 documents they have on their list. And they always ask for something else. Insurance companies and stock brokers and doctors do not produce documents overnight.

On top of this you will find surprises. You might not know that the prepaid funeral documents need to show the assignment to the funeral home, to list the goods and services, and show the date all this was done was more than thirty days ago, or have a written waiver of the 30 days cancellation rights.

You might not know that the holiday gifts to the grandkids will jeopardize the application. You might not know what to do about that.

You might have sold Dad’s house to your daughter for what you thought was a reasonable value only to find that an appraiser says it was worth more, and Medicaid is now going to claim the difference was a gift that prevents Dad from getting Medicaid for several months. Did you even think to get an appraisal?

Sometimes life gets just too complicated. Dad is going into the nursing home, you have to decide what to do with the house, and before you do that you need to clear out 40 years of accumulations. On top of that your husband or wife needs your help with their upcoming surgery. Most urgently, you need to spend time with Dad and his doctors, and just be there for Dad.

Here are some questions you might have for Dad’s Medicaid application:

    1. What documents out of those 59 do we really need?
    2. How do I get correct consideration of our special circumstance?
    3. How do I make time to organize all our documents when my whole day is spent running for Dad’s medicines, taking him to doctors, and visiting with him? Not to mention my spouse’s needs.
    4. When the Medicaid forms use an unfamiliar or unclear term, what do they really want?
    5. Will I have enough time to gather any additional materials Medicaid wants? They usually give 7 to 10 days.
    6. If it is impossible for me to find the documents Medicaid wants, what then? Will they deny Dad’s application for “failure to cooperate?”
    7. Which do I choose, a telephone interview or an in-person one? I have heard the telephone interviews actually take place as late as 2 or 3 hours after the appointment time—I cannot afford to wait around for a phone call.
    8. Do I have to go to the interview with the caseworker? Is it maybe even a good idea that I do not go?

Is this to say you should always have an attorney do the Medicaid application? No, not at all.

Perhaps for you some of these things point to having an elder caring attorney help you with this process. Maybe not. Maybe you are organized and have the time to put together a strong presentation. No, we don’t have all the answers, and sometimes we choose to respond in ways that are less black and white and more a matter of art: What do we think might help us get your application approved?

Sometimes you and we together can make a better decision about who. But the how is a matter of when: when you have your presentation ready to go.

Douglas D. Germann, Sr., Professional Corporation P.O. Box 2796, South Bend, IN 46680-2796 telephone 574/291-0022; fax 574/291-0024 email [email protected]

 

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