When you become financially eligible for Medicaid, the next step is to apply and it’s generally a straightforward process.  You fill out an application with basic information about yourself and submit it to the county Job and Family Services (JFS) where you currently reside.

However, the next steps are crucial and can become overwhelming.

Be prepared to send JFS current financial statements of every account you and your spouse own, along with income verification from every source of income received by you and your spouse. Technically, JFS can require you to provide 60 months (five years) of statements because of the “five-year-look-back” period. This is because JFS will want to know whether you transferred or gifted any assets to someone else before applying for Medicaid.

In addition to all the financial records, JFS wants to ensure you are a citizen and verify what medical insurance you receive. These documents include, but are not limited to, State IDs, Social Security cards, Medicare cards, Medicare Supplement cards, birth certificates and marriage certificates.

Navigating this process can be mind-boggling and working with an experienced Elder Law Attorney can ensure financial eligibility and take the stress off of you when applying.  The attorney will tell you exactly what documents you will need and handle the application process with JFS, saving you the hassle of organizing what could be hundreds of pages of documents.