Medicaid laws can be very complicated, and a person may need help figuring out what her rights are in terms of eligibility and planning for the future. A Medicaid lawyer may be particularly helpful when a person needs help planning for long-term care either for herself or for a family member. There are a number of different ways a person may seek out a Medicaid lawyer.
One way to find a Medicaid lawyer is through a local legal referral service. Often, these services maintain hotlines that people can call when they are in need of legal help, but don’t know whom to contact. Such hotlines typically take basic information, such as the caller’s name, address, and type of legal help needed. After determining the type of legal help the person needs, these services provide the name, address, and phone number of a local lawyer in that particular field of law. They often offer referrals completely free of charge, and some even offer discounts on consultations when a person contacts a lawyer through the service.
Another way to find Medicaid lawyers is through the local bar association. For example, if a person lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she could visit the website of the Philadelphia Bar Association looking for an attorney. She could then use the free attorney search engine on the website to find Medicaid lawyers that are in her area. Some bar associations also offer phone numbers a person may call to get help with finding a lawyer by phone. If a bar association does not offer a lawyer search engine, it may provide an online lawyer directory instead.
A person may also choose to take a more time-consuming approach to finding a Medicaid lawyer. She could use her telephone directory to call local law firms and ask them whether they have lawyers who specialize in Medicaid law. She may find several nearby and go on to narrow her choices based on their experience, situations they are capable of handling, and her personal preferences.
There are some websites that are designed specifically for helping consumers to find Medicaid lawyers. These sites often allow a person to search for Medicaid lawyers for free, providing a database of lawyers that spans either a local area or the entire United States. These sites may also provide answers to frequently asked questions about Medicaid and suggestions for choosing a qualified attorney.