So, you have decided that you are in need of Medicaid services, but you are not sure where to begin. Aside from contacting an Elder Law Attorney to make sure that you meet the asset and income thresholds set by Medicaid, there are also a number of other items that are required to start the Medicaid process. The documents you need to file for Medicaid will be required for applicant and spouse and any minor children under the age of 21.

Identifying Information

First, Medicaid requires copies of identifying information such as:

• Social Security card or verification of number from the Social Security Administration
• United States Birth or Baptismal Certificate or for those family members not born in the U.S.A.:
  1. Certificate of Naturalization
  2. United States Passport and/or Visa
  3. Alien registration card
• Military Discharge Papers
• Marriage Certificate
• Death Certificate of Spouse

Health Insurance Providers

Second, Medicaid requires verification of any other health insurance providers responsible:

• Copy of your Medicare Card
• Copy of any other health insurance card as well as verification of any premium(s) paid

Proof of Residency

Third, Medicaid requires proof of residency to verify which county will be responsible for making the payments towards your care:

• Rent Receipt and/or lease
• Utility Bills (most current)
• Mortgage statement; property and school tax bills (most current)
• 2 letters of residence, from other than a relative, stating the length of time at the given address
• Letter from person(s) you live with verifying that they supply room and board

Income Verification

Fourth, Medicaid requires that you verify your income.

• Pay Stubs for previous eight (8) weeks, if any
• Unemployment Insurance book, if any
• Statement of rental and/or room and board income
• Support payments – divorce or separation papers
• Award letter and/or photocopy of check stub for the following:
  1. Social Security
  2. Railroad retirement, if applicable
  3. Veterans benefits
  4. Pensions (letter showing gross and net pension on letterhead of union or employee benefits department)
  5. Insurance endowments
  6. N.Y.S. disability
  7. Worker’s Compensation
• If self-employed; business book and records
• Income tax returns for a stated number of years based on the application being filed or verification of non-filing from the IRS

Financial Statements

Finally, Medicaid requires financial statements from all financial institutions that you have dealt with throughout the lookback period (5 years for nursing home and up to 3 months for home care). You will need the title page of Life insurance policies and a letter from the carrier stating the current cash value. You will also need copies of real estate deeds to all properties and closing papers for any properties that were sold during the look-back period.

It is recommended that if you have the opportunity to plan in advance, you start to save the financial statements. Many financial institutions will charge you for the duplication of these statements and over a five-year lookback, that can get extremely costly. Having all of these documents in advance of filing will help both reduce the stress of trying to obtain the documents in Medicaid’s short windows of time, and will allow for the process to move along more efficiently and result in a more successful application. Happy organizing!