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[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

I'd like to hear from people who've had to apply for MassHealth for nursing-home services for elderly relatives -- especially if your relative was coming to MA from out-of-state. What was your experience like? How much did you end up paying out-of-pocket? What organizations did you contact (and how helpful were they)?

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[red-liner.livejournal.com]

As others have noted, you don't want to negotiate the system alone; my family was in a very similar situation to yours, and there are a ton of intertwining issues that come into play. It's definitely a job for experts.

While the agencies that have been mentioned are probably good, hiring a lawyer is what really made a difference for us. I can give a very high recommendation to the Moschella & Winston firm on Broadway (http://www.moschellawinston.com/) - they're extremely knowledgeable, easy to work with, and just generally seem to give a damn about people.

They do charge fees, of course, but at least in our case they saved us many, many times what we spent with them, and really went to bat for us with the state bureaucracy while also providing a lot of inside knowledge on how to find a good nursing home and maintain a good family relationship.

Good luck to you and your family - this is a tough passage no matter what, but it can be a time of real mutual assistance.