Is there a Tucson ALTCS Office?
There are ALTCS offices across the state of Arizona. Although the main office is in Phoenix, you can apply to ALTCS from whichever office is local to you. You can open an application by calling or appearing in person. We at Senior Planning can also help.
What is ALTCS?
Many Arizonans face the same difficult question when it comes to affording long-term care: how to pay the monthly costs associated with assisted living, group homes, nursing homes, or any other type of long-term care facility. The Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) is a program designed to help in this situation. For those who meet certain medical and financial requirements, ALTCS will help pay for any form of long-term care. In order to use the ALTCS program, however, a person must first go through a rigorous application process.
How Long Does the ALTCS Application Take?
After opening an application and filing basic information with a state intake worker, your case will be assigned to a case manager. This generally takes anywhere from 7-21 days. Once the application is assigned to a caseworker, they will schedule both a financial and a medical interview.
After the financial interview, the caseworker will request specific documents regarding an applicant’s finances, but if everything looks good and there are no financial abnormalities or disqualifiers, this portion can be wrapped up in around 30 days. Once a financial approval is imminent, the state will schedule a medical interview.
For the medical portion of the application, a caseworker will request medical records and do an in-person evaluation, making sure the applicant is at the nursing home level of care. All in all, you can expect the application to take anywhere from 60-90 days if everything goes right.
Getting Help
Using the aid of an eldercare planning firm like Senior Planning can help alleviate much of the stress associated with the ALTCS application. Many people who apply on their own are deemed ineligible for the ALTCS program. However, because Senior Planning has many years of experience, we have a very high success rate in getting applications approved.
Why are most ALTCS Applications Denied?
Although the application process sounds straightforward, when people apply on their own, without the assistance of a professional, most applications are denied. There a wide range of reasons an application can be denied. Sometimes, applications are denied because a person just isn’t medically ready, meaning they are not at the nursing home level of care. Other times, they are denied because a person’s income is too high, or they have too many assets to qualify. But generally, if an applicant seemingly meets the medical and financial requirements, denials occur due to mistakes made during the submission process, inability to procure requested documents, and poor planning.
However, if a person does not meet the correct income level or asset level, all is not lost. There is still a chance for approval. This is where a firm like Senior Planning can step in and help the most. We help preserve as many assets as possible while bringing the applicant below the financial threshold for approval. Also, we assist with the creation of Miller Trusts if an applicant is over-income, allowing the person to become eligible.
Can Senior Planning help Determine if I am Eligible?
If you are unsure about your eligibility status, click the “Request Information” button above or simply give us a call. We offer free consultations and will let you know immediately if we can or cannot help. The sooner you apply to ALTCS, the sooner your loved one can get the financial help to pay for the care they need.
