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Assisted Care and Medicare

We’re asking these two questions to find out if any of the elderly (65 or older), blind or permanently disabled people in your home need help with paying for nursing home care or home health care. Keep in mind that we’re only asking these questions about the people who are elderly (65 or older), blind or permanently disabled. Other people in your home will not be listed here.

To answer the first question, check the box for anyone who is living in a nursing home or may need to move into a nursing home. By nursing home, we mean a place where someone lives in order to get medical care. This can be a skilled nursing facility, an intermediate care facility, or a hospital. If someone in your home is living in an institution for mental disease, you should only check the box if they are younger than 21 or older than 64. Adults between the ages of 21 and 64 who are living in an institution for mental disease are not usually able to get help with the cost of this care.

Keep in mind that Medicaid does not help with the cost of assisted living, so don’t check the box for anyone who is living in a place for assisted living. The difference between a nursing home and an assisted living facility is that a nursing home must be licensed by the state as a nursing home.

To answer the second question, check the box for anyone who receives or may receive home care. By home care, we mean health care in your home, as well as help with things like cleaning, shopping and cooking..

To answer the third question, check the box for someone who lives in a licensed boarding facility. By licensed boarding facility, we mean a community group home, training home, family care home, private boarding home, or other residential facility licensed by a State Department, which at a minimum provides lodging and meals to various groups of elderly, blind or disabled individuals.

Medicare

We’re asking this question to find out if anyone in your home could get help with paying for monthly Medicare fees. We will also look to see if you could get help with buying prescription drugs through Medicare Part D. Keep in mind that we’re only asking this question about the people who are elderly (65 or older), blind or permanently disabled. Other people in your home will not be listed here.

To answer the question, check the box for anyone who has Medicare. By Medicare, we mean the federal health insurance program for elderly (65 or older), blind or disabled people. Medicare is not the same as Medicaid. Most people who have Medicare have a "Red, White and Blue" card. People who have Medicaid have a "CONNECT" card. The type of Medicare you have may be called "Part A", "Part B", "Part C" or "Part D".

Another way to know whether it’s Medicare or Medicaid is to think about the type of income you have. Most people who get Social Security payments (meaning retirement payments and some disability payments) get Medicare.