Submitted by KBrent on Mon, 10/17/2011 - 08:25
Posted in
My mother has dementia that is becoming worse at an alarming rate. I'm afraid I won't be physically able to care for much longer at home. I've researched a couple of nursing homes and at one that I liked a social worker offered to help me fill out my mother's MassHealth application. She said they could do the application at no cost and, frankly, the whole MassHealth process is a bit intimidating to me so I'm tempted to take them up on the offer if we decide to place my mother there. Should I accept that offer or is it better to hire an attorney to do the application? Thank you.
Attorney for MassHealth Application
You don't give any details about your mom's assets or her current estate plan, and that, to me, is the key to your question. People with some assets or with complex estate plans in place should contact an attorney, preferably the attorney who drafted the estate plan, for help with the MassHealth application. An experienced attorney can help avoid pitfalls, like premature applications, and can also suggest additional estate planning tactics.
Even in other situations, such as where a person has limited assets, some attorneys feel that it is not a good idea to allow employees of a nursing facility to fill out the application, because there may be an inherent conflict of interest in that practice. They argue that it's in the the nursing home's best interest to keep a person as a private-pay patient for as long as possible, because private-pay residents pay more than the amount received from MassHealth. I'm not sure I buy that argument and, depending on your mom's financial situation, it may not be relevant.
However, one thing is certain, the application process can be trying. If you are not comfortable with it, or feel you are not a detail oriented person, but you or your loved one cannot afford an attorney, you may want to look into hiring a paid consultant to assist with the MassHealth Application. In general, these services will cost less than hiring an attorney to do the job. However, this is an important job, so make sure you press for details on the qualifications of the consultant and talk to some families that have used her services in the past. Hope that helps.