Financial Assessment & Connection to Applicable Community Resources
Senior Crossroads recognizes that the cost of ongoing care can be expensive. All of our clients receive a financial assessment. This allows us to be sure they access any and all benefits to which they are entitled to help offset some of these costs.
A financial assessment is a means of collecting household income information which is used to determine:
- Your eligibility for enrollment
- Your qualification for financial benefits
- What out of pocket expenses may you have to pay
- What will be covered by the benefit
- What will not be covered
When there is a possibility for additional benefits, we work with the family to be sure they complete the application processes required.
Medicaid Eligibility in Florida
To be eligible for Medicaid, individuals must also meet certain non-financial eligibility criteria. Medicaid beneficiaries must generally be residents of the state in which they are receiving Medicaid. They must either be citizens of the United States or qualified non-citizens, such as lawful permanent residents.
In addition, some eligibility groups are limited by age, or by pregnancy or parenting status. States have the option to establish a “medically needy program” for individuals with significant health needs whose income is too high to otherwise qualify for Medicaid under other eligibility groups.
Medically needy individuals can still become eligible by “spending down” the amount of income that is above a particular state’s medically needy income standard. Individuals spend down by incurring expenses for medical and remedial care for which they do not have health insurance.
Once an individual’s incurred expenses exceed the difference between the individual’s income and the state’s medically needy income level (the “spenddown” amount), the person can be eligible for Medicaid.
The Medicaid program then pays the cost of services that exceed what the individual had to incur in the way of expenses in order to become eligible.