Time is money for the attorney and also for the Medicaid applicant. While attorneys bill for time in hours, a nursing home bills time in days. An applicant not determined eligible for nursing home Medicaid means a loss to the family of approximately $300 per day or $9,000 per month. The "Kiss of Death" for any Medicaid Planning Practice is the inability to swiftly and efficiently process, file and gain a correct "Approval" for an application. While creating a well-prepared Medicaid Asset Protection Plan is crucial, the inability to efficiently process, file and gain "Approval” status severely devalues the plan or renders the plan meaningless.
When I first began my Medicaid Planning and filing business in 1996, I had one assistant processing and filing Medicaid applications. This filing responsibility was added on to her already full agenda of unrelated tasks. It soon became apparent that my expectations for the one assistant to handle multiple responsibilities and also efficiently file Medicaid applications were unrealistic.
Therefore, I realized that to build a “well oiled machine” I was going to need both personell and technology. I further realized I was going to need a volume of Medicaid Crisis Planning cases to make a profit. In other words, I was going to have to provide subpar service to my clients or have enough business volume to create an attractive ROI after paying the dedicated staff and developing custom technology.
Responsibilities
I began to analyze the responsibilities related to a successful Medicaid filing and found the following crucial: Obtaining on behalf of the client, written verification of assets such as bank accounts, insurance policies, annuities, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cars, boats, motorhomes, homestead property, rental property, vacation property, timeshares, promissory notes and collectibles, confirming gift and transfer amounts/values; obtaining written verifications of income from pension companies, insurance companies, Gov’t Accounting Office, state pension funds, Veteran’s Administration, and social security. In addition, and somewhat frequently, this included obtaining verifications from the above lateral agencies or companies in foreign countries that only spoke their native non-English language. Successfully obtaining this information usually required the hiring of a translator for more than one conversation or written communication.
Further, the responsibilities of the assistant required the gathering of titles, identification cards, health insurance cards, health insurance policies, marriage certificates, proof of disability, medical records and forms, and the list goes on almost endlessly depending on the specifics of the application. Then the assistant would have to convey to the legal representative the steps necessary to implement the protection plan, follow up every two days to make sure the legal representative was timely and properly carrying out the necessary steps. Once the legal representative had completed the proper steps, the real work began.
What work? Properly preparing and packaging all the gathered documentation that proved eligibility and accompanied the actual application, filing the application online and following up with a certified mail hard copy package of all documentation, then regularly following up with DCF by phone (often a 45 minute or longer hold time), email, and document upload, then gathering and timely submitting any additional requested information (although often lost or misplaced by the department), on occasion requesting and preparing for a Fair Hearing, left the assistant little time for other responsibilities.
Actions
Because I realized the need for a “well oiled machine”, processes were defined, procedure manuals and training manuals created, and custom software developed - all in an effort to create and build a system specifically to expedite the process of gaining Medicaid eligibility for my clients.
This was no simple task. Further, managing a full-time dedicated Medicaid processing staff required hands-on supervision; supervision that I knew would take me away from what I do best, bringing in new clients. I delegated this crucial responsibility to someone who had direct knowledge of the inner workings of the Department of Children and Families as a result of 18 years of employment by DCF.; and also a second person who had direct experience with nursing home business office staff. These two hires became among the best business decisions I have made during my career. Their experience and knowledge have assisted us now for 17 years by directly assisting in the creation of all the internal processing policies, procedure manuals, software development, client intake forms and so much more. These same employees and other valuable personnel additions are still with Platinum Benefit Services, Inc. today.
Estate Planner’s Dilemma
It is my genuine belief that typical estate planning law offices are lead by smart, hardworking attorneys that have the best interest of their clients in mind. Unfortunately, only a small minority of these attorneys have the necessary Medicaid Crisis Planning volume to justify building a machine like Platinum Benefit Services, Inc. Further, because of the intensity of filing a Medicaid application and because Medicaid policy changes regularly, many estate-planning attorneys simply refer Medicaid planning business to the local “Medicaid Planning” attorney. Unfortunately, the frequent outcome of that type of referral is not optimal. Often the client is dissatisfied with the customer service, the unnecessarily lengthy process, the loss of crucial months of benefits, and the immense responsibility put on the client to do the legwork they believed they paid the attorney to do. In the alternative, perhaps the “Medicaid Planning” attorney did such a phenomenal job that the client shifted other business away to them. In all likelihood the referring attorney didn’t get a thank you, or any fee sharing. It’s a bit of a lose, lose, situation.
The Estate Planner’s Solution
Keep the legal advice and document preparation portion of the Medicaid planning business in-house and refer the administrative information gathering and application processing to a company that does not compete with you in any way? Platinum is your solution! Platinum has built proprietary Medicaid planning software that will allow you to quickly interview your Medicaid planning client and determine the potentially appropriate asset and income protection strategies. You can then submit that information to Platinum who will handle the Medicaid application process from beginning to end. Platinum will with your office and the client to obtain all of the appropriate legal documents. Platinum will keep you and your staff informed every step of the way on an automated basis so that you can be informed without being interrupted.
Estate Planner’s Benefits
1) Comprehensive Training in Less Than a Day – 21 Years of Tips, Tricks, and Traps
2) Customized Planning Software
3) Automated Reports
4) Added Revenue
5) Client Control
6) No Involvement of Competitors
7) Minimal Time
8) Handsome Flat Fee (should you choose to bill this way)
9) 21 Years of Back Office Application Processing Experience
10) A Back Office Money Back Performance Guarantee
11) Super High Touch Customer Service for You and Your Client
12) No Demanding Calls from Clients
13) No Dealing with DCF
14) No Fair Hearings
15) No Additional Staff
16) No Additional Office Space, Desks, Equipment
17) No Out of Town Training
18) So Much More
MedicaidEsq™ "Asset Protection and Filing System" provides Virtual Proccessing staff complete with customer relations with No out-of-pocket expense, No overhead, No management.
Providing Attorneys with the tools and support necessary to add Medicaid Planning to their practice without the need for extensive management, expense and training.
Leading the Industry in innovative technology, intuitive processes and professional enterprise.
"The Processing Professionals"
"I was given Platinum’s name and information after my uncle fell and could no longer live on his own. Initially, I intended to handle my uncle’s affairs myself. After all, my mother spent the last 2 ½ years in a nursing home in Illinois and I handled her placement. I was wrong. I soon found myself overwhelmed… I never could have maneuvered my way through the Medicaid maze of paperwork without the help of Platinum. It was well worth the money spent and I highly recommend them."
"Platinum did a great and professional job in getting and receiving Medicaid for our Mom. Lori’s assistance and knowledge made us feel better about the problems we were facing. The staff at Platinum was and continues to be helpful with every visit and phone call. Without Platinum and their staff the process would not have been possible. Thank you so much!"
"Platinum was very helpful and efficient while going though the process of enrolling my mother in Medicaid. Melissa and Lori were never too busy to answer questions, return my phone calls or make phone calls on my behalf. At first, I wasn’t sure if I should spend the money to hire an outside service for the Medicaid paperwork. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It was all handled efficiently, and made my life much less stressful than it could have been."
Since 1996, Platinum Benefit Services, Inc.
has achieved "Approval" status
for more than 6,000 families.
We guarantee our success.
Our experience is unsurpassed in
Medicaid Asset Protection Strategies,
Asset Protection Plan Implementation and
Medicaid Application Processing and Filing.
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