Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS)
Many families and individuals in Arizona face the same challenge when it comes to long-term health care: how to pay for the rising costs of care.
In-home care options can often cost $20 to $30 per hour or more, and skilled nursing communities can cost as much as $8,500 per month or more. It’s no wonder that many families struggle to find the best financial options when a loved one is faced with long-term health needs.
Fortunately, there are programs in Arizona to help cover these long-term costs. Arizona Long-Term Care System, or ALTCS, is a branch of Arizona’s Medicaid program that covers long-term health care for qualifying individuals. ALTCS provides health insurance and coverage to people who need “nursing home” levels of care, and this may include care in a licensed nursing facility, residential care facility, rehabilitation center, assisted living facility, or even at-home care.
ALTCS provides incredible benefits, but the application and approval process can be daunting. In fact, 79% of ALTCS applicants are denied eligibility for long-term health care coverage because the ALTCS application process is so complex.
With the right planning, however, you can get get approved for ALTCS and protect your assets during the process. At JacksonWhite, we’ve helped thousands of individuals become eligible for ALTCS, qualify quickly, and protect their assets in the process.
To learn more about how we can help your loved ones with the ALTCS process, call us today at (480) 467-4337 or read more below.
Get to know ALTCS
Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) is a complex medical health insurance program, but we’ve organized the basics to better understand the process. Here’s how ALTCS works.
What is ALTCS?
Arizona Long-Term Care System, or ALTCS, is the Medicaid program in Arizona that covers long-term health coverage to those who meet financial and medical eligibility requirements. Despite the similarity in titles, Medicaid is very different from Medicare, and the two should not be confused. Above all else, ALTCS differs from Medicare because it is needs based, meaning that only those who meet strict eligibility requirements qualify for the benefit.
The ALTCS benefit is unique to Arizona, and is based on a managed care concept that enables the state to pay for a variety of services. In addition to helping with skilled nursing and nursing home costs, ALTCS covers certain in-home services as well. These home and community services are expensive for the state to provide and are oftentimes preferable to individuals as well. As such, it is often in everyone’s best interest to give ALTCS members in-home care for as long as possible.
What does ALTCS cover?
ALTCS provides many health coverage benefits, including:
- Acute care services: includes doctors, hospitalization, reduced prescription costs, lab work, x-rays, tests, and specialist treatments.
- Alternative facility care: includes care provided in a licensed nursing facility, residential care facility, rehabilitation care facility, assisted living center, or group home.
- Home and community-based services: includes home day care, personal and respite care, medical transportation, mental health services, homemaker services, attendant care, and home health aides.
- Services for developmentally disabled adults and children: benefit includes specialized care for developmentally disabled adults and children.