Regarding Seanna Williams’ letter in the June 27th Public Forum, Medicaid DOES NOT “go after care, your loved one’s home.” When Medicaid pays for long-term care, they provide extra benefits and services not covered by Medicare, supplemental insurance or any other traditional insurance. This allows your loved one to receive all the care and service they need.
When your loved one passes away, Medicaid will put a lien on their home. Medicaid does not force a sale or require payments. Medicaid will only receive payment when the home is sold and they will only receive the amount they paid in benefits for your loved one.
Long-term care is very expensive, costing $5,000 to $20,000 or more per month. Recovering some of the money paid allows Medicaid to help more people in need.
Usually, the only alternative to Medicaid coverage is for the family to pay the expense for their loved one. Most families cannot afford to take on that much extra expense and are more than willing to have Medicaid take repayment from the value of the house.
In my 40+ years of experience, when people get upset about the repayment, it is usually because they feel their inheritance is being compromised.
If anyone ever has questions about Medicaid, please call a Medicaid representative. There are a lot of myths and misunderstanding floating around out there.
Debra McBride, West Valley City
