Many people with Alzheimer’s or dementia end up moving into assisted living facilities. These people may be fairly healthy medically, but because of their dementia they need assistance with activities of daily living, such as dressing, bathing, and remembering to take their medications. An assisted living facility, also sometimes called a rest home, provides help with the activities of daily living and many of these facilities offer secure wards to prevent the risk of a patient wandering off. People often believe that if they are in such a facility and they run out of money that Medicaid will pay for their care. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Medicaid and in limited cases, Medicare, pay for skilled nursing facilities, but these programs do not pay for assisted living care. We do have a program in North Carolina called Special Assistance that pays for assisted living care, but this program has a strict income limit that causes many people to be ineligible for help. Veterans and their spouses may qualify for the VA Aid and Attendance pension, which provides additional tax-free income to help pay for the cost of care in assisted living, but this program has certain requirements for service and asset limitations.
If a person is not eligible for Special Assistance due to their income and they don’t qualify for VA Aid and Attendance, they may find themselves in quite a predicament if they run out of money in assisted living. Moving to a skilled nursing facility and applying for Medicaid may be an option in such a situation if the higher level of care can be justified medically, but it can be almost impossible to find a nursing home with an available Medicaid bed for a new patient. For these reasons, it’s wise to consult an Elder Law Attorney when the person is first entering long-term care rather than when they’re out of money – the attorney can help the family determine eligibility for programs like Medicaid, Special Assistance, and VA Aid and Attendance, as well as help strategize paying for long-term care in the event that the person doesn’t qualify for those programs.
Amanda Spence is a Raleigh Elder Law Attorney who has been assisting clients in Wake, Johnston, Harnett and other counties throughout North Carolina with Medicaid and long-term care issues for thirty years. Contact her at 919-863-4183 or [email protected] to schedule a consultation.