Getting older can influence your ability to maintain full-time employment. Once you reach retirement age, you may have concerns about how you will afford health care coverage for emergencies.
Medicaid can provide low-cost or free benefits to select groups of people, which could help cover health care and nursing home expenses. Once you reach age 65, you may meet the eligibility requirements to apply for benefits. Knowing how to properly prepare your application might improve your outcome.
Plan ahead
Medicaid coverage will not begin right away. Once you submit your application, a process will follow to determine whether your situation meets eligibility requirements. Considering the time this could take, you will want to have a plan in place in case there is a gap between when your current coverage ends and when Medicaid begins.
Gather documents
You will need to gather several documents to provide evidence of the information you claim in your Medicaid application. This could include information related to the following:
- Proof of age
- Proof of income
- Proof of residency
- Personal identification
- Assets
A Medicaid planner—a professional who helps individuals prepare the proper documentation and structure their financial resources—can be an invaluable resource in this process.
Stay informed
You can submit your application in a few different ways. According to USA.gov, you can fill out a Medicaid application through the Health Insurance Marketplace or by contacting your local Medicaid agency. Once submitted, stay in contact with representatives to know where your application is in the process.
Staying informed can help you look ahead and continue finetuning your estate plan. With Medicaid benefits, you can focus your resources on other areas of elder care planning so you can optimize the value of your money. The support of government resources may ease some of your stress as you approach retirement.