The Dogged Pursuit of Your Entitlements

My customers pay for my assisted living services through a variety of methods.

• Some pay from savings or investment income

• Some have private long term insurance policies

• Some ex-military residents receive a subsidy from the Veterans Administration

• Some qualify for Medicaid based on their health condition and low net worth

The cost of long-term care is high. I understand. So I try to do everything I can to help people with the cost.

My number 1 way to help people with the cost is to try to help them become healthy enough that they no longer need assisted living. People in this industry question me when I tell them that. They ask:

“If they become healthy and go home, you lose a customer”

Darn straight Skippy. However, since I’ve been pushing for this philosophy in my homes, I have had a large increase in ‘customers’ who want to move into my homes.

Not to mention it’s the right thing to do.

Regardless of whether the resident becomes healthier or not, they still need some time in assisted living. Therefore I try to help them obtain any benefits for which they are eligible.

Unfortunately I can’t help people sign up for long-term care insurance. If they are ready for assisted living, it’s too late to sign up. The insurance companies want you to sign up when you’re young and healthy.

I can help them fill out the paperwork to file a claim each month if they already have long-term care insurance.

For people on Medicaid, I own two homes that have contracts to accept that benefit. The process for applying is painful. There are lots of forms to fill out. The applicant has to go through two interviews.

One interview to evaluate their health status. They have to be sufficiently unhealthy to qualify.

One interview to evaluate their financial status. They review the past 5 years of someone’s income. It’s a ton of work to gather all the documents.

The process is supposed to take 45-60 days. I’ve seen it take 6 months to a year.

Only about 20% of the applicants receive the benefits.

If they turn you down, you can appeal. That can take several more months.

We’ve had a lot of success with our residents obtaining Medicaid benefits. We have them use an outside company to help them with the application process.

Same with the Veteran’s Administration. I have a veteran staying with me right now. We started his veteran benefit application in October, 2023. It will be a year since we started in a couple of weeks.

I’ve sent letters to the Veteran’s Administration telling them I would evict him in a couple of weeks if he didn’t receive his benefit.

No response. They don’t care.

Now I just just called his Congressman. We are working with his office to help this veteran obtain what he deserves.

Many families start feeling like giving up out of frustration.

Don’t.

I’m not a big government guy. I’m a guy who believes that if you say you are going to do something, you do it. The government should too. If the government says they will give you a benefit, they should follow through.

So keep fighting for your benefits. They want you to give up. Don’t give them the satisfaction.