Medicaid planning, using a qualified elder law attorney, allows you to correct inequities in the system. Medicaid planning has gotten a bad name because some individuals, who would normally have too many assets to ever qualify for Medicaid, deliberately use it, many years in advance, to give away everything to their family so as to qualify for Medicaid. It is wrong to abuse the system in this way and to use taxpayer dollars to insure an inheritance for the family. And if that person is not anticipating immediate care, this strategy is just plain dumb. A list of practitioners who specialize in this area of helping people with Medicaid issues can be found at http://www.longtermcarelink.net/a7medicaidplanning.htm

When it was first created in 1965, Medicaid would only pay for nursing home care for recipients over the age of 65. But allowances were made in the legislation for exceptions or "waivers" to the nursing home coverage. In recent years, many states have applied for waivers to allow their state programs to pay for care in assisted living or at home. These waiver slots are typically administered by the local area agencies on aging. As a rule, the vast majority of elderly Medicaid recipients are still receiving their care in nursing homes.

An informal phone survey of Utah nursing homes and home health agencies reveals that a large number of new Medicare Advantage insurance claims are paying for significantly fewer days of care than original Medicare would normally pay. In some cases these plans could be paying as little as 20% of the normal Medicare benefit.