Volume 02 | FEB 2020
Benefit BLAST
News You Can Use
from your Benefit Coordination Partner!
Have you ever heard the phrase "Just because you CAN doesn’t
mean you SHOULD"? This is certainly true when helping families through the benefit process. Many families are just instructed to apply for benefits, before anyone has really gone through all of the specific details, like income amounts, asset amouts,whether the persons life expentancy will be long enough to secure benefits.

We encourage you to take a moment before applying for any benefit, to properly assess each client and their specific situation. The ineligibility rate for most government benefits is around 75% , the main reasons for this are applying too soon, or before all documents are gathered, and applying before the applicant is medically ready. Taking adequate time to prepare and organize before applying can make a huge difference in how quickly the case goes through, and how difficult of a process it may be!
Benefit Update:
 Timing is important when applying for Medicaid
Did you know that regardless of what part of the month you apply for Medicaid (ALTCS in Arizona), even if the application went in on the 31st of
the month, IF the applicant was determined eligible in that month, the eligiblity will revert back to the 1st of that month!

It is often misunderstood that the eligilbity is retroactive to the first day of the month the applicaton was filed, this is true ONLY if all eligiblity requirements were met in that month. Also important to remember that last year, July
2019, CMS approved the Waiver to end Prior Quarter Coverage, meaning the end of coverage for the three months prior to the month of application - reinforcing the importance of getting the application done right the first time!

We have provided a sheet on the Prior Quarter Coverage Waiver for easy reference.


Recent RESULT!
After a third denial for Medicaid, a facility social worker reached out to Benefit Results for help. Due to the inability of the facility to secure prior quarter
coverage, even a successful applicaton now would mean three months of lost revenue. Getting help as soon as an issue arises that causes ineligiblity is now more important than ever. After a comprehensive assessment of this case, Benefit Results was able to secure approval, quickly, as the issue causing ineligiblity was primarily due to the family not understanding the rules and needing support. This was a great, but hard lesson, for the social worker to learn. Had this information been provided to this family earlier, the previous denials could have been avoided!

What is coming up?
FEBRUARY ALTCS TRAINING in TUCSON
Are you signed up to come to the AHCA ALTCS training on Feb 27? This is not just an ALTCS overview. We have titled the training, Put on Your ALTCS Armor: Implementing Strategies to Avoid Costly Mistakes
The sessions will focus on how to arm yourself with the useful tools to interact with ALTCS most efficiently to make a huge difference in your approval rates!