Thanks to the Elder Law Bar in Illinois, we are finally getting relief from Medicaid application processing delays that people have experienced in Illinois. This is great news for our clients, prospective clients, and our friends that run nursing home facilities in Illinois.
While federal law requires that Medicaid applications be processed within 90 days, Illinois, in the past several years, has been taking somewhere between a year and a year and a half. A recent state-wide federal class action lawsuit challenged the state of Illinois noting they were in violation of federal law. A federal judge agreed and now Illinois is under a court order to process Medicaid applications more quickly.
In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson, O’Fallon Illinois Elder Law attorney, discusses a recent court ruling giving relief to the Medicaid application processing delays that people have experienced in Illinois.
Relief At Last From Illinois’ Medicaid Application Processing Delays
Transcript:
Hi, I am Wes Coulson from Dent-Coulson Elder Law and this is your Elder Law Minute. I want today to share some good news for our Illinois clients, prospective clients, and our friends that run nursing home facilities in Illinois. And that is that thanks to the Elder Law Bar in Illinois, we are finally getting relief from the interminable delays that people have experienced in Illinois when they have applied for Medicaid.
Interestingly enough, federal law requires that Medicaid applications be processed within 90 days. Illinois, the past several years, has been taking somewhere between a year and a year and a half. Well, what has happened recently is there was a state-wide federal class action lawsuit that challenged the state of Illinois that said: You can’t do this, you’re in violation of federal law. And the federal judge agreed and so now Illinois is basically under a court order to clean up its act to process applications more quickly, and to even grant provisional eligibility to people whose applications have been pending for too long.
So, hopefully this means that we’re going to have a significant change and that people and facilities won’t have to suffer through these long delays and long times of worrying waiting to find out whether their loved one is going to be eligible for Medicaid. Thanks.
For more information on the Medicaid application process, visit these articles:
- What you don’t know can hurt you: Understanding the Medicaid Application Process
- What is a Transfer of Assets?
- Do you need a lawyer to help with the Medicaid Long-Term Care application process?
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Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 or (314) 567-9292, or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
