Uncountable Assets:
House value below $500,000
Car
Funeral Plan or insurance tied to a funeral plan
Term Life Insurance or Whole life with case value below $1,500
Certain Medicaid Qualified annuities (should be reviewed by attorney prior to purchase).
Applicant - Less than $2,022* per month prior to need for QIT
Well spouse’s income limit - Unlimited if no income is needed from applicant
Countable assets allowed for the applicant - $2,000
Countable Assets allowed for the well spouse - $109,560
Transfer penalty divisor - 5,000
How to pay for Long Term Care?
When one is placed with a skilled nursing facility (SCF) they are given several options of payment (cash, Medicare, Medicaid, cash via long term care insurance). Medicare unfortunately only pays for rehabilitation for 20 days. It will continue with a co-pay beyond that time period for up to 100 days. The average SCF in this area charges between $5,500 and $6,500 per month; therefore few families can pay long term for that level of care. Likewise even when a family has long term care insurance the coverage is only for a portion of the daily expense. The payment remaining after insurance can often deplete a families’ savings in a very short period of time. Those without cash or long term care insurance go onto a program called Medicaid. Often confused with Medicare the programs are very different. One must meet an eligibility requirement with Medicaid beyond age and/or disability. It is important to be aware that there are various Medicaid plans available to families. The one that deals with nursing homes is ICP Medicaid.
While the numbers vary from year to year one is safe to assume the following when making a determination as to whether one qualifies for Medicaid:
One can see why many people do not believe they qualify for Medicaid. However, what they do not realize is that some assets do not count towards those totals. For example a person’s house does not count (less then $500,000). A person’s car, funeral plan, personal property all do not count. Therefore many people may be closer then they realize. The attorney’s role in this is to take a person who does NOT qualify and help them obtain Medicaid coverage. There are planning options available that can help a family obtain Medicaid even if they are already in the nursing home facility. We firmly believe it is never too late!