This is the second in a two-part series about the Miller Trust legal document. Using it, my father became eligible for full Medicaid nursing home benefits saving us $3000 per month. This is what we learned.
Plan early. Ten years ago, Dad signed several Powers of Attorney for me to handle all his affairs if necessary. Geography was the first hurdle. I'm in Austin and Dad's nursing home is in Texas City. You apply for Medicaid in the county of the nursing home. I chose a Houston attorney for the Miller Trust, and this resulted in several trips to Houston and many long distance calls.
You can't apply until the applicant is in the nursing home. Dad's nursing home generously admitted him as Medicaid-pending since we had an attorney. They only required the first month's payment throughout the six month application ordeal.
Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS) required photocopies of all income and savings: monthly checks for applicant and spouse, last four bank statements, insurance policies, burial plots, annual award letters from the VA, U.S. Air Force, Social Security, and Medicare card. That took time. One delay was caused by Mom changing banks, requiring TDHS documentation only the bank could provide.
Send everything to TDHS by certified mail. If you're denied eligibility and need to appeal, it's worth the few dollars. Dad was initially denied eligibility and the case was closed due to a few words in the Miller Trust. We changed them and quickly returned it by certified mail. We discovered the case could have been delayed instead of denied, which caused approval to take longer. Then the caseworker went on vacation without notifying me Dad had been approved.
After five months, he was finally approved retroactive to April, but we applied in February. We appealed and TDHS granted approval retroactive to March 1 saving us the initial $3000 payment to the nursing home and much more.
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