Senior Planning Services

"Until the crisis hits your own family, you never really understand what it means to deal with the ins and outs of the senior health care system," says Medicaid specialist Ed Marcum, who recently joined Senior Planning Services.

 Ed, a long-time friend of certified senior advisor Don Allen, was working as a business consultant in Oklahoma when the health of his wife's mother began to decline. Shortly after her death, his stepfather became ill, and Marcum quickly became acquainted with the tangle of laws and regulations surrounding the Medicaid system in Oklahoma.

 During that time, he frequently called Don in Texas for advice. Don had been urging him to join Senior Planning Services for some time, but it wasn't until he had to negotiate with attorneys, care facilities and Medicaid officials that Ed understood the importance of the service the company provides.

 "I felt the pain of the people going through the process, and I said, ‘Boy, this is a service that I have got to get into!'"

 Ed talked it over with his wife Jan, and on February 1 of this year, he joined Senior Planning Services.

 "God put us together in his perfect timing," Don says.

 After working with Senior Planning Services for 19 years, Don understands the Medicaid system as few others do.

 "The Medicaid staff is not permitted to answer your questions," he points out. "They will help you fill out forms, but they cannot do more than that."

 Attorneys don't often specialize in Medicaid as Senior Planning Services does. "As a matter of fact, we get many of our referrals from attorneys," Don says. "When it comes to dealing with Medicaid, we know every avenue, roadblock and wall."

 Ed sees his role with Senior Planning Services as an opportunity to dispel myths regarding Medicaid. "Often people are told by well-meaning friends that they have to sell all their assets, including their home, to qualify for Medicaid. We have been able to help people save from 50 to 65 percent of their estates."

 For many people, their house is their greatest asset, and they fear that if they enter a nursing home, they will lose the home that they've worked for much of their lives.

 "This is more than a possibility - it's a probability," Don says. "Medicaid law can attach to the value of the home. We can protect people from having that happen."

 Along with expanding its staff, Senior Planning Services is constantly upgrading its knowledge and ability to help you or your loved ones hold on to the assets you've worked for.

 "Many people are in the same situation that my wife and I were with her stepdad," Ed says. "I have a passion for helping them, for keeping them from having to says, ‘If only I had known.'"

 For more information and your free brochure titled "You Do Not Have To Spend All Your Money Paying for Nursing Home Costs!" call Senior Planning Services at (432) 550-6800 or (866) 304-6800. For more information on Senior Planning Services, go to: www.seniorinformationserviceswt.com.

Senior Planning Services is not affiliated with any state agency that determines Medicaid benefits.

This information is an advertorial provided as a public service message. It is not a solicitation for the procurement of Medicaid benefits for anyone to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.