Top Medicaid Planning Lawyer and Elder Law Attorney serving BRANDON AND ALL OF TAMPA, FLORIDA

It can be quite the shock when families in Brandon, Tampa and surrounding areas are faced with the prospect of exorbitant long-term care costs. Medicaid planning (also known as incapacity planning) is essentially the process of legally and ethically shifting assets from the status of “unprotected” to “protected” and/or converting those unprotected assets into an income stream to qualify someone for Medicaid benefits that will greatly assist with the immense costs of long term care and preserving assets for the well spouse / community spouse. Your Medicaid planning attorney will present your Medicaid planning options along with our pros and cons analysis. Our Tampa, FL elder law clients are usually excited and relieved after we explain our Medicaid-planning strategies.

Medicare (much to the surprise and dismay of many) only covers short term care and a lifetime benefit for a maximum of 100 days for rehab or skilled nursing - triggered by a hospital admission (as opposed to staying under “observation”) for at least three days. The intention is to provide skilled / rehabilitative care (not custodial care) following a stroke, hip replacement, etc…In fact; Medicare only pays the first 20 days in full. For days 21-100, the patient pays a $170.50 per day co-pay (as of 2019). After a patient has used up their 100 days, they will need to pay out of pocket, utilize long-term-care insurance, or qualify for Medicaid’s lesser-known Institutional Care Program. This is where a medicaid-planning attorney helps.