Medicaid and Funeral Arrangements

Funeral arrangements are very common now and many Americans are finding out about the advantages of prearranging their funerals. Funeral arrangements make certain that the wishes of an individual will be done on their final day and this also alleviates the financial and emotional burden on their loved ones.

As with any pre-need plan, details are arranged in advance. Most people will meet up with a funeral director who will then give details on the available services they can provide and if an agreement is reached they will take note of the choices of the client. These will then be checked in the event of death and the wishes and arrangements done will be followed by the funeral service provider.

Funeral arrangement plans differ in the way that they are funded or financed. These differences can be noteworthy, and they become more important as a client gets older and may eventually need extended medical care. Majority of people avail of Medicaid assistance when they need this type of care.

Medicaid is administered by the Department of Social Services in a specific location. It is a state managed and federally funded program that provides health and medical financial assistance for people who fall below a certain income limit. Since health care can be quite costly, it can quickly use up peoples’ assets. Even people who do not belong to the lower income level could need Medicaid benefits specially in cases of major or long periods of illness. Nursing home care is one health care service that can greatly deplete savings in a very short time.

To qualify for Medicaid, a person must meet certain requirements. These can differ at each state and are quite strict. Common to all of these is the criteria that am individual should have limited financial resources. These include bank accounts, stocks, real estate other than their own home, and life insurance policies.

Some funeral arrangements and plans are considered as resources and can affect the eligibility of a person when applying for Medicaid. These plans can even exclude an individual from getting Medicaid benefits.

A person may still be able to get Medicaid if their funeral arrangements are funded by a term life insurance policy. This policy is nonrefundable and has no cash surrender value, and for that reason it is not counted as a financial resource. This allows a person to still make the funeral arrangements they want and still obtain Medicaid benefits.

Finding out how much the total amount of funeral services covered is, is vital and it is also important to determine who would be paying for the taxes on the interest. It is also good to establish the total cost of funeral coverage once the policy is issued in cases of insurance programs.

When talking to funeral directors, clients should ask them if the funeral arrangements promise no additional amount will be charged to them or their family. And before purchasing any funeral arrangement plan it would be ideal to get in touch with the Department of Social Services to check if these will affect Medicaid eligibility.