Rachel Fortenberry - Attorney At Law

The $100,000 Problem: When Medicare Isn’t Enough
Long-Term Care, Medicaid, and the Role of the Benefits Professional

Long-term-care costs can quickly consume a client’s savings, but many families misunderstand what Medicare, Medicaid, insurance, and estate planning actually cover. This program will help insurance and benefits professionals recognize common long-term-care planning problems, understand the basic structure of Missouri nursing-home Medicaid, and identify transactions or circumstances that should trigger coordinated advice from an elder-law attorney.

Learning objectives

At the conclusion of this program, participants should be able to:

1. Distinguish Medicare’s limited skilled-care benefit from Medicaid coverage for long-term nursing-home care.
2. Identify the basic medical and financial requirements for Missouri nursing-home Medicaid.
3. Recognize how common assets and insurance products may affect Medicaid eligibility and long-term-care planning.
4. Identify common planning mistakes involving gifts, life insurance, annuities, retirement accounts, and the family home.
5. Recognize when a client should be referred to an elder-law attorney before changing ownership, surrendering a policy, transferring assets, or beginning a Medicaid spend-down.