Benefits for Assisted Living and Caregiving
ALTCS is the State of Arizona’s Medicaid program for long term care. It provides coverage for assisted living, nursing homes, and in home care to members. Due to the enormous costs that these services require over possible years of needed care, even people who have saved and planned well for their retirement frequently find it necessary to access ALTCS benefits.
Key Arizona Probate Terms to Know
Qualifying for ALTCS
The ALTCS program has complex financial and medical requirements that must be met before a patient can qualify for benefits. The financial requirements vary depending on whether the applicant is single or married. Income and financial resources are both considered by the program.
Medical qualification is based on the degree of difficulty that an applicant has with their ADLs (activities of daily living) as well as certain medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease or Dementia
Preserve Assets and Qualify for ALTCS
In many cases, people with substantial financial resources can still qualify for the ALTCS program, or put themselves on the path to qualifying with the right planning. Many people have been advised by medical professionals or case workers that it is necessary for someone to spend down their savings, but this is not the case.
Proper ALTCS planning with an attorney can preserve most or all of your resources depending on your specific situation and qualify you for the program.
ALTCS Financial Rules
For the purposes of ALTCS qualification, the home you live in is exempt and is not considered a countable resource. Your vehicle, burial policy, and personal effects are also exempt.
Any other financial instruments or accounts, real estate other than your primary residence, life insurance with a surrender amount will all be counted. However, with proper organization, it will be possible to preserve most of the value of these items.
For ALTCS applicants that have income exceeding the ALTCS limit, we can create a Miller Trust that will allow you to qualify.
ALTCS also has the capability to place a lien against a user’s home property to recoup the cost of care. Similar to other issues, it is possible to arrange assets to avoid this lien or to find one of the exceptions to ALTCS’s placement of the lien against the property, preserving the member’s home equity for themselves or their heirs.
ALTCS and Estate Planning
It is very common to consider a future need for ALTCS when engaged in the process of estate planning with an attorney. We can combine these activities to make sure that you are well positioned to apply for ALTCS in the future if that is a foreseeable need.
Arizona Long term care specifics
Legal Issues
Sometimes, it may not be possible to qualify someone for ALTCS without additional legal work. In the case where the applicant already has Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia and does not have a power of attorney in place, a guardianship and/or conservatorship may be needed so that someone has the legal authority to make the necessary changes.
After Qualification
People enrolled in the ALTCS system will sometimes require additional work, such as when there is a financial change of circumstances, such as receiving an inheritance, the sale of a property, or similar. We encourage you to contact us if you have a change in circumstances so that we can advise and assist you with making sure your benefits stay in place.
Benefits of ALTCS
- In-Home Care
- Assisted Living
- Nursing Homes
- Hospital Services
- Home Healthcare
- Case Management
Appeals and Denials
If you have previously applied for ALTCS and been denied, it may still be possible for you to get approved. ALTCS applications are quite difficult, but there are many things that our firm can do to improve your chances of qualification on the medical evaluation, as well as getting things in order for issues on the financial side.
