Only want to apply for Medical Assistance, not long term or nursing care. Is the criteria the same regarding income, assets/resources and spend down? And would the penalty period still impact my mother if she were only applying for Medical Assistance. Only asset is cash in bank, about $22,000.
Thanks.
I think is the site you want.
HOWEVER...
I’d be concerned that if your expecting for her to get in her home 1-to-1 care for several days per week, paid by the state Medicaid, that would be unrealistic.
What states are doing for community based programs is
1. to have them assessed to level of care needed and based on # of hours. It needs to be kinda in the 15-28 hr per week range to show some”need” but cannot get too high, like over 30/32-35hrs per week, as that’s showing them leaning into needing more full time care (like in a facility).
2. The needs assessment usually done by state employees or outside contractor for Medicaid. They get to review the elders health chart. Neither you or Their old MD determines “need”.
3. Once “need” determined if there is a program they can enroll in, that is where they are going first and foremost. There’s a program called PACE, & thats the model that states Medicaid programs are shifting too. They are day program that the elder goes to, 2-3 maybe 4 days a week. Pace has vans that pick them up, they get meals, health care & medication management and activities at the PACE center. All their health care is coordinated with whatever health care organization that is administering that PACE center. Like the one by us, the Benson Center, has as its partner the Health Facilities and Systems division of Catholic Charities. PACE is way way more cost efficient to do rather than 1-1 in home care. If you have PaCE, or something else like it, the elder may need to do it first and only if PACE cannnot meet their needs can they go to a in-home program paid by Medicaid.
Imho the big takeaway to keep in mind on community based is that it will never ever be full time care. (Unless your in a unique situation, like in NYC where cost of facility care is so high and so limited that in home caregivers is the better use of $.) So for Community Medicaid, it’s maybe 12 hrs a week, maybe 23 hrs a week. But it’s totally on family to be there to deal with or do whatever else oversight & care that is needed the other 24/7.
if all this is new to you and you haven’t been dealing with the elders daily, (so yiur kinda unsure how truly ambulatory they are or if they actually can transition in & out of a bath, etc.) you just might want to get your own needs assessment done to realistically see just where they are. So you then use that info to look just for programs or facilities that can meet their needs. If they actually now need full time care, and the needs assessment shows that, spend your time figuring out what NH or MC are out there and what to do to get them ready to be appropriately Medicaid eligible. Good luck.