Resources

Everything you need before you even call us.

You shouldn't have to talk to us to start understanding this process. These are free, no email gate required, and written the way we'd explain it in person.

Checklist

Medicaid Document Checklist

A plain-language list of exactly what financial and personal records to start gathering: bank statements, property records, insurance policies, and the rest. Nothing here should be a surprise once someone actually applies.

Download the checklist Explainer

How Medicaid Works

A short explainer on income and asset limits, spend-down, the look-back period, and spousal protections, written for someone with zero background in benefits law.

Read the explainer FAQs

FAQs

The questions we hear on nearly every first call: Will we lose the house? What if we've already been denied? How long does this take? Answered honestly, without the hedge.

Jump to the FAQs

How Medicaid Works

Long-term care Medicaid, in plain language

Long-term care Medicaid decides who qualifies using two separate tests, and most confusion starts with mixing them up:

  • Income limits. Your monthly income has to fall under a state threshold. If it's over, some states allow a legal workaround called a Qualified Income Trust rather than an automatic denial.
  • Asset limits. Countable assets (bank accounts, investments, a second property) have to fall under a set dollar limit. Certain things don't count against you: your primary home in most cases, one vehicle, and personal belongings.
  • Spend-down. If assets are over the limit, they don't have to stay that way. Spending them on allowable costs, like paying off debt or prepaying funeral expenses, can bring a case into compliance.
  • The look-back period. States review several years of financial history for transfers made for less than fair value. Gifting assets away to qualify faster can backfire into a penalty period instead.
  • Spousal protections. When one spouse needs care and the other doesn't, rules exist specifically to prevent the healthy spouse from being left with nothing.

Every one of these has state-specific dollar figures and exceptions, which is exactly where a case can go wrong without someone who does this daily.

FAQs

The questions we hear on nearly every first call

Will we lose the house?
Not necessarily, and this is exactly the kind of question worth a real conversation instead of a guess. If the situation calls for asset protection or trust planning, we'll tell you plainly and connect you with an elder law attorney. Our job is the application. Legal strategy is theirs.
What if we've already been denied?
Denials are often fixable. We review what happened, correct it, and refile or appeal as the case requires.
How long does this take?
Every state and county moves at a different pace, and we'll give you a realistic estimate once we've reviewed the situation rather than a generic promise. What we can promise: nothing sits waiting on our desk, and you'll always know what stage the case is in.

Client Stories

What this looks like in practice

Placeholder — hold until real stories exist Populate once there are real client stories to tell. Follow the same format as the reference sites: a first name, a short quote, the specific thing Compass handled so the family didn't have to.

Still have a question we didn't answer?

The first conversation is free and there's no obligation.

Talk to a Medicaid Specialist