Questions to Ask a Certified Medicaid Planner Before Hiring

Choosing someone to help with Long-Term Care Medicaid is a big decision. This person will see your family’s bank statements, advise you on what to spend and what to keep, and help prepare an application that is signed under penalty of perjury. A good planner can protect a spouse at home, avoid penalties and shorten the wait for coverage. A poor one can cost months of benefits.

Working with a Certified Medicaid Planner™ (CMP™) is a strong place to start, because the credential requires an exam, a code of ethics and ongoing education. But CMPs differ in background, experience, services and fees. This guide gives you the questions to ask in a first conversation, what good answers sound like, and the warning signs to watch for.

Figures change periodically. Double-check current amounts before relying on them.

Before the first meeting

You will get more from the conversation if you prepare a little:

Check the credential. Ask the planner for proof of current certification. The CMP Governing Board, the organization that grants the credential, says it will verify whether any individual is currently certified.
Write down the basics. Who needs care, where they are now (home, hospital, rehab or nursing home), whether they are married, and the state they live in.
List the money picture. Monthly income, bank and investment accounts, retirement accounts, the home, life insurance and any trusts. Exact numbers are not needed yet.
Note any gifts or transfers in the last five years, including money given to children or help paying someone’s bills. See Gifts and the look-back.
Note any deadlines, such as a nursing home asking for payment or a pending application.

Bring a family member or take notes. Many first conversations are free, but ask in advance whether there is a charge.

Questions about the credential and background

1. Is your CMP certification current, and when did you first earn it? A CMP must pay an annual fee, recertify every three years and complete 20 hours of continuing education in each three-year period to keep the credential. A good answer is a simple yes, with no hesitation about you checking it yourself.

2. What is your professional background? CMPs come from many fields: law, nursing home administration and social work, geriatric care management, financial services, accounting, and former Medicaid caseworkers. Each brings different strengths. A former caseworker may know the application process well; an attorney can also give legal advice and draft documents.

3. Are you also an attorney, or licensed in another field? This matters because a CMP who is not an attorney cannot give legal advice or draft legal documents. If the planner is a financial professional, ask whether any products they sell would be part of the plan (see question 13).

4. How long have you worked on Long-Term Care Medicaid cases, and how many do you handle in a year? Look for steady, recent experience rather than an occasional case.

5. How much of your work is in our state? Long-Term Care Medicaid is run by each state. Asset limits, income rules, how the home is treated, and the application process all vary. A planner should know your state’s rules and how its local offices work. See your state guide.

Questions about your situation

6. Based on what we’ve told you, what are our main issues? A good planner will name them in plain language, for example: “Your mother’s income is over the cap, so she may need a Qualified Income Trust,” or “The gifts to your brother may cause a penalty period.”

7. What options do we have, and what are the risks of each? There is rarely only one path. Ask about the trade-offs: cost, timing, effect on the spouse at home, and effect on the rest of the family.

8. If my parent is married, how will you protect the spouse at home? Listen for an explanation of the spousal impoverishment rules, the Community Spouse Resource Allowance and the income allowance for the spouse at home.

9. When should we apply? The date you apply affects retroactive coverage and how the look-back is counted. A planner should explain why they recommend a particular timing.

10. What happens to the house? Ask whether the home counts, what happens if the person cannot return home, and what estate recovery could mean later.

Questions about the services

11. What exactly is included in your service, and what is not? Get a clear list. Common pieces include reviewing finances, creating an eligibility plan, gathering records, preparing and filing the application, answering verification requests, and handling renewals. Ask whether help with a denial or fair hearing is included or extra.

12. Who will do the work day to day? In some offices the CMP plans the case and staff handle paperwork. That can be fine, but you should know who your contact is and how quickly they respond.

13. Will any part of the plan involve buying a financial product? Some plans use annuities, life insurance or other products. Ask whether the planner or their firm earns a commission or other payment on anything they recommend, and get the answer in writing. A good planner will explain why a product fits your situation and what the alternatives are.

14. Who drafts legal documents and gives legal advice? If the planner is not an attorney, ask which attorneys they work with for trusts, deeds, powers of attorney and legal advice, and how that work is billed. Some states limit what non-attorneys may do in Medicaid planning, so ask how the planner handles that in your state.

15. Who will the Medicaid agency contact? Ask whether the planner will be named as an authorized representative, who receives letters from the agency, and how you will be kept informed of deadlines.

16. What do you need from us, and by when? Applications usually require months to years of bank statements and other records. A clear checklist and deadlines are a good sign. See How to apply for what is usually needed.

Questions about fees

17. How is your fee set? Fees may be flat, hourly or split into stages. Ask which applies, and what the total is likely to be for your situation.

18. What does the fee cover, and what costs extra? Ask about attorney fees, document costs, appeals and work after approval, such as renewals.

19. When is payment due, and what is the refund policy? Be cautious of large up-front payments before any work is done. Ask what happens if the application is withdrawn or the person passes away during the process.

20. Will you put the scope of work and the fee in a written agreement? The answer should be yes. Read it before you sign.

Applying for Long-Term Care Medicaid through the state is free. You are paying for planning, expertise and time, so make sure the service goes beyond filling out forms. See What CMP help typically costs.

Questions about ethics and accountability

21. Do you follow a code of ethics? Every CMP has agreed to the CMP™ Ethical Principles and is subject to the board’s disciplinary process, which can include losing the designation. A CMP should be comfortable talking about this.

22. How will you handle something we would rather not report? This is a test question. The only acceptable answer is that everything must be reported accurately. Applications are signed under penalty of perjury.

23. What happens if the application is denied? Ask how often that happens in their practice, why, and what they do next. See Denied? What to do next and Fair hearings.

What good answers sound like

Strong planners tend to:

explain things in plain language and welcome questions;
describe more than one option and the downsides of each;
say clearly what they will not do, such as give legal advice if they are not an attorney;
give a written scope of work and fee;
encourage you to take time to decide, unless a real deadline requires speed, in which case they explain that deadline.

Red flags

Be cautious if a planner:

guarantees approval or a specific outcome;
pressures you to sign or pay right away without explaining why;
suggests hiding assets, gifts or income, or leaving anything off the application;
cannot show a current credential, or is vague about their background;
offers to draft trusts or deeds without being an attorney;
pushes a financial product before understanding your situation, or will not say how they are paid;
charges only to submit forms, with no planning, since filing itself is free;
will not put the fee and services in writing.

After you hire

Keep copies of everything you send and receive.
Ask for a written summary of the plan and the next steps.
Mark every deadline on your calendar, even if the planner is tracking them too.
Ask to be copied on notices from the Medicaid agency.
Do not make gifts or large purchases without asking the planner first.

Last updated for 2026. General information only, not legal or financial advice. Medicaid Answers is a free educational resource published by Medicaid Answers Foundation.