To continue our series on strategies for maximizing collections on long-term care accounts, we're focusing on the first steps: vetting the applicant by gathering the information that you'll want to have upon application for admission.

We recommend that nursing homes and long-term care facilities request the following information from prospective residents and their families:

• List of assets (bank accounts, real property)
• List of liabilities (mortgage loan balance, credit cards)
• Income (Social Security, pension, rental income)
• Personal information (date of birth, Social Security number)
• Transfers of money, property or other assets during the past five years
• Power of attorney or health care proxy

Requiring a detailed list of transfers will allow you to flag prior "uncompensated transfers" that might cause Medicaid to impose a penalty, if the transfer falls within its "lookback period" of 60 months.

When signing the application or Financial Worksheet, the prospective resident and/or the financial representative should acknowledge the information provided is accurate and that the nursing home is authorized to base decisions upon it.

Our rule of thumb is: the more information, the better.

Stay tuned for further posts on maximizing collections on long-term care accounts.