Medicaid will pay in-home, residential, and nursing facility care costs if the patient meets program eligibility and financial need requirements. You are entitled to apply in person or by phone or mail and receive a written decision on eligibility within 45 days. If you disagree with the decision, you may ask for a Fair Hearing review. Financial Eligibility Apply for financial eligibility at your DSHS HCS office. The financial eligibility rules for Medicaid are very complex and subject to change.
Financial rules protect the finances of the spouse of someone receiving assistance.
Spouses may keep significant amounts of both assets and income. Ask the HCS worker for more information. Recovery of Medicaid funds from your estate By law, the state must recover certain long-term care benefit payments, plus hospital services and prescription drug services, from recipients' estates after their death. These are collected without regard to the age of the recipient. The state will not begin recovery efforts during the life of a surviving spouse, or while a surviving child is under age 21 or blind or disabled.