Table of Content
- KanCare & Medicaid
- KanCare Frail Elderly (FE) Waiver: Medicaid Home and Community Based Services for Seniors
- The Cost Of Assisted Living In Kansas
- Other than Medicaid: Who Else Can Help Pay for Care?
- Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF-IID)
- Nursing Facility Medicaid / MediKan Rate List
- Medicare Nursing Homes In Topeka Ks
- Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF)
If you did, they would likely need to be liquidated with that money being used to cover your care costs before Medicaid will step in and start paying. But not only that, you can’t have had available assets within the last 5 years. Kansas looks back over the last 5 years to see if you had any assets that you sold, transferred or gave away.
Irrevocable Funeral Trusts are pre-paid funeral and burial expense trusts that Medicaid does not count as assets. Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts , which must be implemented well in advance of the need for care, are trusts that protect assets from Medicaid and for family as inheritance instead. Another option, which also protects assets for loved ones, is the Modern Half a Loaf Strategy. This is a complicated strategy that combines gifting assets and purchasing an annuity. There are many other Medicaid planning strategies available when the applicant has assets exceeding the limit.
KanCare & Medicaid
Need for nursing facility services is defined by states, all of whom have established NF level of care criteria. State level of care requirements must provide access to individuals who meet the coverage criteria defined in federal law and regulation. Individuals with serious mental illness or intellectual disability must also be evaluated by the state'sPreadmission Screening and Resident Reviewprogram to determine if NF admission is needed and appropriate. The average monthly cost of long-term care options that provide a higher level of care, such as memory care and skilled nursing, is more expensive than assisted living.
This includes installing wheelchair ramps, stair lifts, walk-in showers, and the addition of first floor bedrooms. Other ways to “spend down” assets include prepaying funeral and burial expenses and paying off debt. Remember, assets cannot be gifted or sold under fair market value, as doing so violates Medicaid’s look back rule.
KanCare Frail Elderly (FE) Waiver: Medicaid Home and Community Based Services for Seniors
Seniors who already have long-term care insurance may be able to use it to pay for skilled nursing care. Most policies cover at least a portion of the cost, but it depends on the specific policy terms. Note that older adults who are already in need of skilled nursing care will not typically be eligible to sign up for a LTC insurance policy.
All of the nursing homes on this site are either Medicaid- or Medicare-approved. One’s home is often their most valuable asset, and if counted toward the asset limit for KanCare , it would likely cause them to be over the limit for eligibility. However, in some situations the home is not counted against the asset limit.
The Cost Of Assisted Living In Kansas
Kansas Administrative Regulation requires nursing homes to have sufficient staff to provide 2.0 hours of direct care per resident on average. Nursing care is given by registered nurses, licensed practical nurses or certified nurse aides. The nursing home must have one nursing staff member for every 30 residents. In addition, a licensed nurse must be on hand at all times, with at least two nursing personnel on duty at all times in the facility. Kansas Advocates for Better Care educates and advocates for Kansas seniors in long-term facilities. This group ensures that the rights of seniors are respected in adult care homes and that residents are being treated with respect.
This is called a “client obligation” and is the amount of income one has over the PIL. One may reduce their client obligation by paying for health insurance premiums and medical expenses that are not covered by insurance. This pathway to eligibility is often called the medically needy pathway. Medicare provides limited coverage for short-term stays in a skilled nursing facility following a hospital stay, but seniors must meet a number of specific requirements. This benefit is available to beneficiaries who have been hospitalized for at least three days, excluding the date of discharge, so it’s most valuable for those who are recovering from an injury, illness or surgery. An exception may exist for paying for private health insurance and potentially a spousal income allowance for a non-applicant spouse.
Other than Medicaid: Who Else Can Help Pay for Care?
It is recommended one keep documentation of how assets were spent as proof the look back rule was not violated. Income is counted differently when only one spouse applies for Regular Medicaid / Aged Blind and Disabled; The income of the non-applicant spouse is considered along with the applicant spouse’s income. The monthly base rate for Kansas nursing homes is typically average when compared to neighboring states. According to the 2015 Genworth Financial cost of care survey, the average cost of skilled nursing in Kansas is $5,019 per month. The KanCare Medicaid program operates with a waiver from CMS that must be periodically extended.
It also has a live chat feature so that those with questions can access help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Medicare does not cover long-term custodial care that addresses seniors’ day-to-day needs. This includes help with daily activities, such as bathing, dressing and using medical equipment. If a gift of any amount is given in Kansas during a period of 5 years before applying to Medicaid, a penalty period will be initiated.
All assets of a married couple are considered jointly owned regardless of the long-term care Medicaid program for which one is applying. However, spousal impoverishment rules permit the non-applicant spouse of a Medicaid nursing home or Waiver applicant a Community Spouse Resource Allowance . In 2022, the community spouse (the non-applicant spouse) can retain 50% of the couples assets, up to a maximum of $137,400, as the chart indicates above. If the non-applicant’s half of the assets is under $27,480, 100% of the assets, up to $27,480 can be retained by the non-applicant.
The KanCare health plans are Aetna Better Health of Kansas , Sunflower State Health Plan , and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas . For more information about KanCare, please visit the KanCare website. On average, about 360,000 Kansas are enrolled in these programs each month.
For a single applicant in 2022, the asset limit is $2,000, which means they must have $2,000 or less in countable assets. Countable assets include bank accounts, retirement accounts, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, cash and any other assets that can be easily converted to cash. An applicant’s home does not always count as an asset , and there are other non-countable assets like funeral trusts and Medicaid-approved annuities. For married applicants with both spouses applying for nursing home coverage through KanCare, the 2022 asset limit is $3,000 combined.
No comments:
Post a Comment