New Jersey Medicaid Eligibility Criteria –

Proving ones identity using a passport, birth certificate or baptismal certificate
By Neil Stern
When a nursing home or assisted living resident contemplates applying for adult Medicaid benefits, they will often find the rules and guidelines to be quite confusing. Since Medicaid eligibility depends on what has occurred over the previous five years, there may be questions as well as general confusion regarding what documentation is required.

Aside for the five years of financial documentation that needs to be submitted, there is also a requirement for documentation proving the identity of the New Jersey Medicaid applicant.

In this article, I will discuss the topic of “Proof of Identity” for New Jersey adult Medicaid eligibility. The required documentation includes the following:

Proof of citizenship
Proof of age
Proof of identity
Proof of marital status
There are numerous documents that can satisfy the required identity proofs.

If the applicant has a US passport, that will suffice for proof of identity. Even an expired passport will work. The passport will obviously only work for the first three identity proofs (citizenship, age, and identity). It will not work as proof of marital status. Of course, although a passport is an excellent and versatile proof of identity, not everybody has a passport.

One of the most common proof of identity documents used is a birth certificate or baptismal certificate. Although it is the most commonly used proof of citizenship and age, many people do not have copies of their birth certificate. Even though it may prove to be a bit challenging to obtain, there are methods in obtaining birth certificates from government agencies.

Aside for knowing how to obtain the birth certificate, there is certain basic information that you would need. This includes the name and birth date of the person in question, as well as the names of both parents. You also need to know which city and state the person was born in.

When proving marital status for New Jersey nursing home or assisted living Medicaid, you may be required to provide a marriage certificate. Also, where applicable, you may need to furnish either a death certificate or divorce decree for the former spouse.

As is usually the case when it comes to New Jersey adult Medicaid, understanding the guidelines will make applying much easier. By researching the rules and regulations, you may successfully prevent denials and reduce Medicaid penalties.

Senior Planning Services is a social service firm based in Howell, NJ that obtains Medicaid eligibility for their clients. They offer free Medicaid consultations to help people navigate the complexities of the Medicaid process. Although Senior Planning Services is based in Monmouth County, they do Medicaid consulting in all 21 New Jersey counties. Most of their Medicaid work is for nursing home or assisted living residents in the following counties;Monmouth County, Ocean County, Middlesex County, Mercer County, Camden County, Hunterdon County, Union County, Warren County, Bergen County and Passaic County.

For your free Medicaid consultation, call Senior Planning Services toll free at 1-855.S.planning (775-2664) or email us at Consultations@senior-planning.com