What is the Medicaid Long Term Care Waiver program?

Attorney Robert Hidock: This week, we have been putting a lot of clients on Medicaid Long Term Care Waiver waitlist and for what many people don't know, is when everyone thinks of Medicaid, they think of nursing home but there is an alternative to that is what I just said the Medicaid Long Term Care Waiver and Tom, what you're actually doing is waiving the facility, and you're getting to receive home healthcare, by Medicaid in your either home or assisted living facility.

Now, it's not 24 hours a day, like in a nursing home, but it's 10 to 35 hours a week, which is designed to typically help the one caregiver that's like let's say, it's a husband trying to take care of a wife, it gives them a very good break in the day to help have somebody come in and help them and the good news is when they actually get on the list, they don't have to qualify for Medicaid but when they get called off the list, that's when we have to help them get qualified for Medicaid.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Robert, that sounds like a such a great service and part of what we're saying is, is that once you get on the waitlist, it may take a year before it's your turn to get this home healthcare up to 35 hours a week. You may want to apply for it now, knowing that you're not going to get it for a year and circumstances could change in a year.

Attorney Robert Hidock: I've actually added it to our pre-planning. When I talk about pre-planning for Medicaid, we always talk about the Ladybird deed, we always talk about a power of attorney, we do have our own Medicaid assessment, but then getting on that waitlist for the person who is of age and that might have that major medical event, it's good to have that lined up so they can transition and have Medicaid at home and then they're already qualified for Medicaid and God forbid their health gets worse. They've already qualified for Medicaid, and they just transition right over to a skilled nursing facility.

Attorney Tom Olsen: How is the determination being made for somebody that's getting this home healthcare whether they're getting 10 hours a week, or 35 hours a week?

Attorney Robert Hidock: Well, they do and originally, they'll do an intake interview, like where somebody will get they rate it from one to five, if they score a five, they're very high on the list a high priority. Then they once they get that five, and they're called off the list, they will come to the house, they'll do an evaluation, they'll see what's already in place and who's really giving care and if that caregiver that's there is really having a hard time holding down the fort, then they will get more hours of assistance.

Attorney Tom Olsen: It let's say it's 35 hours, does that mean something every day, a few hours every day, seven days a week or eight hours a day for three days a week, how do they make it--

Attorney Robert Hidock: Its good, you kind of have your choice of how you want to do it. A lot of times people will use it as a supplement. Let's say if it's a son taking care of a mom and they need to get out in the middle of the day to work or they're working from home but then they have appointments in the afternoon. They can set it up where that caregiver will come in at that point they can actually do their job and carry on.

Attorney Tom Olsen: What a great service and available to people, so few people know about it.

Attorney Robert Hidock: That's like getting the word out because it's one of the best things you can do because Tom, everybody they hear the word nursing home and they just cringe because they really don't want to go to a nursing home but being at home and getting care at home doesn't sound that bad.