Questions families commonly bring to a first meeting
- Does Medicare pay for a nursing home?
- How will we pay for Mom's care if her savings run out?
- Can my husband keep the house and some income if I need nursing home care?
- Will gifts we made to our children affect Medicaid?
- Is a short rehab stay covered differently from long-term care?
- Who can manage Dad's money if he no longer can?
This list is illustrative. It reflects the kinds of questions elder law attorneys hear, not data about AI usage. Many of these are asked by an adult child on a parent's behalf, so write for that reader too.
Three federal rules a page has to get right
The first is Medicare. Medicare's own long-term care page says Medicare and most health insurance do not pay for long-term care services, including care in a nursing home or in the community, and it points readers to Medicaid and private long-term care insurance. Medicare's skilled nursing facility coverage is a different thing: it is limited to 100 days in each benefit period and generally follows a medically necessary inpatient hospital stay of at least three days in a row. A page that blurs the two creates the misunderstanding families most often bring in.
The second is the spouse at home. Medicaid.gov's spousal impoverishment page explains that Congress enacted these provisions in 1988 so that a certain amount of a couple's combined resources is protected for the spouse living in the community. The protected amounts are updated each year, so link to the current figures rather than hard-coding an old number.
The third is gifts. Under 42 U.S.C. 1396p(c)(1)(B)(i), the look-back period for asset disposals made on or after February 8, 2006, is 60 months. Families repeat the phrase "five-year look-back." A page should state the rule accurately and say plainly that how it applies depends on the facts.
Where the state takes over
Medicare's page also notes that Medicaid eligibility depends on state requirements. That is the gap a firm page fills: how your state handles the application, how it treats the home, and what the current protected amounts are. Write those answers for one state, name the agency, and keep promises such as "protect all your assets" out of the first sentence. Many of the same readers also need wills and powers of attorney, which our estate planning guide covers. For the page shape, see how an answer-first practice page is built.
Go deeper
The elder law practice guide lists the pages these firms tend to need. For the planning questions that often come first, read what estate planning clients bring to ChatGPT.
Keep reading
Sources
- Medicare.gov, "Long-term care" coverage page (linked above)
- Medicare.gov, "Skilled nursing facility care" coverage page
- Medicaid.gov, "Spousal Impoverishment" (linked above)
- 42 U.S.C. 1396p (Cornell LII) (linked above)