Posted on January 07, 2021
A number of requirements must be met in order for an applicant to become eligible for Medicaid to pay for the applicant’s long-term care.
They include requirements pertaining to an applicant’s categorization, citizenship, state of residence, health status, and financial state. Among the most important of these requirements are those pertaining to an individual’s medical condition and financial circumstances.
A person will qualify for Medicaid when he/she:
A single person will qualify (financially) for Medicaid when he/she owns less than $2,400 in assets, unless his or her income is less than $2,329 monthly, in which case the applicant can keep $8,000 in assets. These "assets" do NOT include "excluded assets."
Excluded Assets
Example
A married person will qualify (financially) for Medicaid when he/she (the Institutionalized Spouse, or "IS") owns less than $2,400 of assets in his/her name. To confirm, IS is the spouse going into the nursing home.
The Community Spouse (CS) keeps one-half of couple’s total assets. If total assets are less than $25,628, CS can keep all assets.
The CS is capped at owning $128,640 in assets. Anything over these caps needs to be spent down or converted to an excluded asset or income. Excluded Assets remain the same as for single persons.
Example
See also: What Is the 5-Year Look-Back Period for Medicaid?
Demystifying Medicaid Planning
If you have questions about Medicaid eligibility or have other Elder Law or Estate Planning concerns, please contact one of our Elder Law Attorneys or call (814) 459-2800.
John Bartlett concentrates his practice on elder law, Medicaid planning, estate and trust planning, and estate administration.
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