Frequently Asked Questions

What’s involved in filling out my application?

Once you know you’re eligible, there are 2 parts to getting approved.
1. Fill out an 8-10 page form.
2. Track down and gather five years worth of financial statements for all incoming + outgoing money
(checking, savings stocks, bonds, life insurance policies and more).
3. Present the information in a Medicaid-compliant manner so you get approved.
Tracking down all documents and presenting them correctly is where the application becomes overwhelming.

Why can’t I do this on my own?

You can– but you'll have to deal with providing 5 years worth of paperwork for the financial review alone.

That means you're facing a much higher risk of getting denied Medicaid coverage, plus an infinitely more stressful 2-6 months. Here's why:

• It's difficult + stressful to communicate with hard-to-reach financial institutions and obtain all paperwork before the deadline.
• Often, when you're doing this for a loved one, you don't even KNOW all their assets + expenditure, and it makes the task impossible.
• Any missing paperwork delays the process and could cause you to miss deadlines and get denied.

At SPS, we have relationships and techniques for obtaining the necessary documents quickly across a wide range of states.
We're familiar with the many different possibilities and requirement for every case.
We'll do all the work for you — so you get approved faster, and more importantly, without additional stress.

I’d rather do it myself, and save the cost of this service.

Doing it yourself means a lot of extra work and headaches - and ultimately, you don't save any money.

That's because you have to spend down assets until your financial status reaches Medicaid-eligible levels.

You can only spend money on specific, approved expenses for the individual seeking approval (such as medical care and living expenses). Senior Planning Services are an approved expense. Besides a few exceptions, family members cannot use the individual's funds, income or assets in any way.

Ultimately, funds will have to be spent on medical care. Instead of paying another month's worth of medical bills, retain our services, and free yourself of an overwhelmingly stressful burden.

What exactly will SPS do for me, and how involved will I have to be?

SPS will:
• Help you determine if you're eligible
• Identify, locate and procure ALL documentation
• Present the paperwork in a Medicaid-friendly format
• Manage communications with financial institutions and social services
• Walk you through re-application processes

We'll need 1-2 hours of your time right before we start to get a clear idea of your personal case and review existing documents. Then we'll keep you posted on where your case is holding.

What’s so difficult about filling out a 10-page form?

Filling out the form isn't where it's complicated. The hard part is:

1) Gathering all financial statements from the past 5 years to show proof of where all the money came from and where it went.
This means knowing all of Mom, Dad or your loved one's financial information, reaching out to agencies and institutions to request documentation, and then putting together all documents in the Medicaid-friendly format.

2) Ensuring that every document is clear and explanatory.
For instance, if one bank statement shows that $10,000 was transferred elsewhere, you have to clearly reference the document that shows where that $10,000 was put/spent. The Medicaid staffers will not look through paperwork to find answers on their own. If anything is unclear or not presented in their approved format, you risk delays and denial. We know exactly which documents to look for. We'll manage the full process of gathering and presenting them swiftly and correctly.

Mom still has $50,000, and she's really sick. She'll probably pass away before her funds are exhausted, and won't need Medicaid.

When an individual is in long-term care, savings dwindle rapidly. Medical care usually starts at $6,000+ monthly, and in 7-8 months, those savings are gone.

It's best to start gathering all the docs for Medicaid months before you'll need them, so that whatever happens, you're covered.