Serving the legal needs of Alabamians over 50



To apply for Medicaid you will to have fill out and submit the application form while providing the documentation to verify general and financial requirements. Failure to do so correctly will result in denial of Medicaid benefits. Knowing what documentation will be required and providing it in advance with the applicaton is a key element of obtaining approval.

  You may apply for Medicaid coverage yourself, or you may designate another person, such as a family member, your attorney, or a friend, to apply for you. If someone else applies for you, that person should be familiar with your situation, be able to answer all eligibility questions, and have access to your financial records. If you own a home, the state may ask you to document the current fair market value of the home and any loans for the home, such as mortgages or equity loans. The state may ask for these and many other supporting documents based on individual circumstances. 

  The state may ask for this documentation because, while your home is not counted as an asset when determining your eligibility for Medicaid, how much equity you have in your home can affect whether Medicaid will pay for your long-term care services. 

  If the value of your assets went down a lot within the past five years, the state may ask you to explain what happened to the assets. The state will want to know whether you gave away any of your assets in the past five years. These transfers of assets can significantly delay when or if Medicaid benefits will be paid.

  If you are married and in a nursing home, you will also be asked to document your assets when you first entered the nursing home—this can help establish how much of your assets your spouse is able to keep. 

  To be eligible for Medicaid, you must meet the requirements. To participate in Medicaid, federal law requires states to cover certain population groups. States set individual eligibility criteria within federal minimum standards. There are other non-financial eligibility criteria that are used in determining Medicaid eligibility.

  Individuals need to satisfy federal and state requirements regarding residency, immigration status, and documentation of U.S. citizenship. Medicaid coverage may start retroactively for up to 3 months prior to the month of application, if the individual would have been eligible during the retroactive period had he or she applied then. Coverage generally stops at the end of the month in which a person no longer meets the requirements for eligibility. There are many specifics to the Medicaid program in Alabama too numerous to mention, and which of these apply are always dependent on each applicant’s particular set of circumstances. 

  Given the complexity of the approval process, you should always seek competent legal advice before you apply for Medicaid benefits.