estate planning, Financial Planning, Long Term Care

Medicare’s Limitations

By Rick Law, Estate Planning Attorney at Law Elder Law in western suburban Aurora, IL. At the time Medicare was established, it marked a major shift in society’s view of who should carry the cost of providing medical care for senior citizens. Medicare is the federal health insurance program that is provided on behalf of persons who are over the age of 65, blind, and/or disabled. Medicare was designed to provide healthcare for the individual who has a probability of recovering from his or her ailment. Contrary to what many believe, Medicare does not cover all medical expenses of seniors. For example, it does not cover routine physicals, eye and hearing exams, dental care, self-administered prescription drugs, and many other medical products and services. Also not covered is custodial care, which is helping with daily living activities or meeting personal needs, along with private nursing care. Nor does Medicare cover care that is not considered to be “reasonable and customary.” Few people realize the limitations of Medicare, and they can wind up with substantial loss of funds and dignity if they get hit with long-term care expenses. Medicare was designed to care for those with acute medical conditions like gall stones or broken bones. But it was not designed to pay for chronic diagnoses such as Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s, dementia, or long-term mobility problems. Medicare really only covers short-term or “acute care.” In other words, Medicare only covers your healthcare expenses if you are expected to get well. Medicare does not provide care when someone is diagnosed with a long-term chronic condition from which they are not expected to recover. Remember this: Medicare is not designed to pay for long-term care, such as a nursing home or assisted living stay.  Medicare only cares about you if you can get better… and relatively quickly! Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney for the last 3 years by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.