Medicaid exempt assets: What Federal and State Laws grant

by GarySpicuzza » Tue Apr 22, 2008 09:19 am

Medicaid, the State and Federal Government program pays for health services and nursing home care for the elderly in your home. This program has been designed for individuals with low income and if you have limited assets. An added advantage of Medicaid is that it also pays for some long-term care services at home.

How would you choose long-term care?

This is an important decision that you need to make. When choosing long-term care you need to plan out your health care needs in the future. How much you would pay for such care depends on the type of policy you buy. Experts say that if you have the savings for long term care you may not consider buying a policy. But, if you do not have then maybe you could consider buying one. The cost of treating chronic illness can be expensive and this is when a policy like this can be very advantageous.

Usually, LTC recipients of Medicaid are usually those who are aged or from the disabled group, but there are only a handful who receive SSI and yet opt for LTC.

What are the assets exempted under Medicaid and LTC?

There are certain Medicaid asset exemptions made by the Federal and state laws when determining eligibility. As an applicant you would first have to use all of your assets in excess of the exempt amount in order to pay the cost of nursing care facilities before you can qualify for Medicaid. If you are married, your spouse’s assets would also be combined to determine eligibility.

The following are Medicaid exempt assets:
  • A house but only when you (the applicant) are likely to return home. Your home may also be among Medicaid exemptions if your spouse, or a child under the age of 21 years or a child over the age of 21 years but disabled, or a brother/sister owning part of the house and having resided there for at least 1 year continues to live in that house.
  • Essential items like furniture, appliances etc.
  • Personal items like jewelry, clothing etc.
  • Burial plots
  • Funds for burial up to $1500 each in case you are married and $1200 if you are a single applicant.
  • A cash surrender value in a life insurance. This is possible only when the face value of the policies together is less than $1500. However, term life insurance does not have a cash surrender value and hence is totally exempt.

Related readings:

Exempt assets from Medicaid with Long Term Care insurance. (LTCi)

There are 25 states with Long Term Care Partnership Programs.

This is significant legislation as a person can now LEGALLY exempt their assets from nursing home and Medicaid spend down by simply obtaining Long Term Care insurance.

Click HERE to read Florida Statute 409.9102.

(b) Provide a mechanism to qualify for coverage of the costs of long-term care needs under Medicaid without first being required to substantially exhaust his or her assets, including a provision for the disregard of any assets in an amount equal to the insurance benefit payments that are made to or on behalf of an individual who is a beneficiary under the program.

(4) The Department of Children and Family Services, when determining eligibility for Medicaid long-term care services for an individual who is the beneficiary of an approved long-term care partnership program policy, shall reduce the total countable assets of the individual by an amount equal to the insurance benefit payments that are made to or on behalf of the individual.



States with Partnership Legislation:

Arkansas
Iowa
NorthDakota
Colorado
Maryland
Ohio
Florida
Massachusetts
Oklahoma
Georgia
Michigan
Pennsylvania
Hawaii
Missouri
Rhode Island
Idaho
Montana
Virginia
Illinois
Nebraska
Washington
New York
Indiana
Connecticut
California

Total Comments: 113

Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 05:43 pm Post Subject: exemptions

Are Varriable Annuities exempt from cash that is claimed on Medicade?

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 12:49 am Post Subject:

Are Varriable Annuities exempt from cash that is claimed on Medicade?



Annuities -- variable or otherwise -- are ONLY exempt from the countable assets if they have been annuitized or are holding qualified plan (IRA/401(k)/403(b)) assets. The cash value in any insurance contract is a countable asset except for $1500 for burial expenses.

If an annuity has been annuitized, the periodic income must be spent down as part of the "share of cost" formula that permits the Medicaid beneficiary a $35 monthly allowance.

If an insurance agent sold you an annuity with the understanding that it would protect the assets from the spend down test, you may be able to void that contract and obtain a full refund of all premiums paid.

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 06:48 pm Post Subject: auto purchase before applying for medicaid

Can my mother buy me car to visit her in her nursing home? Will that be considered a noncountable asset when she applys for medicaid? Does the car and insurance need to be in her name or could it be mine.

Thank you

Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 10:52 pm Post Subject:

Can my mother buy me car to visit her in her nursing home?



As long as you don't use the car for any other purpose.

Seriously? Are you unable to provide your own transportation to visit your mother in a nursing home? This almost sounds like what we call in California ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSE.

Your mother may buy a car in her name and allow you to use it. She is allowed to keep one vehicle in her "noncountable assets" column. The value of all other vehicles she owns will be included in her "countable assets" and subject to the spend down test. She can keep the Lamborghini in her noncountable assets, and your new Kia will be in the countable column.

If she buys a car for you as a gift, the value of the gift in excess of $13,000 creates a GIFT TAX LIABILITY for your mother, and the entire purchase price of the vehicle could be viewed as an unlawful attempt to qualify for Medicaid (gifts within 60 months of application), resulting in the need to spend down an equivalent amount of cash assets (that she may not have) in order to qualify for Medicaid.

So do the right thing. Buy your own car and visit your mother at least five times a week in the nursing home.

Or, better yet, take care of your mother in her old age, like she did for you as an infant. The services are about the same, only she's a lot larger as an adult than you were as a child, so it requires a bit more effort on your part.

Payback's a b****! :roll:

Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 04:26 pm Post Subject: Medicaid

I have a family of 8 and I keep getting denied for medicaid. I have 2 children that are constitly sick and are supposed to be seeing specialists I also have a chronic illness but do not qualify for any help. Now my youngest daughter has medicaid because she is only 3 yrs. old. My husband is the only one that works and I receive back child support payments. My husbands monthly income is $1,920.00 before taxes and what he brings home is about $1,600.00 after taxes. My child support is $359.96 a month. Our monthly bills exceed our income and we are behind on our mortgage. Why don't we qualify for medicaid if we don't have any cash on hand or in the bank? Is it because we are buying a house? What am I supposed to do if I don't have the money to get them medical treatment and the care that they need. I am fed up with this government bull****.

Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 05:16 am Post Subject: property

do you have to surrender your home for medical pmt back to medicaid

Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 05:22 am Post Subject: income guidelines

how much income is accountable to parents medicaid qualification. I work with a women who make approx $300 a week, she gets $500 a month child support for 2 children, their estranged father makes 0ver $900 a week clear after taxes and childsupport garnishment and their children are on MC+

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 12:32 am Post Subject: a TIAA-Cref TIAA account, is it countable?

If one is taking funds out of TIAA-Cref traditional account via 10 payments over 9 years, with that being the only way one can access the founds, is the money remaining in the account a countable asset after say the third paymant?

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 08:25 am Post Subject: reverse mortgage lenders

Medicaid is a helth and nursing program paid by state goverment. I really got more benefit by this article by studing this.
Thanks.

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 07:34 pm Post Subject:

I have a family of 8 and I keep getting denied for medicaid.



Sorry . . . did not see this post prior to now.

There is something dreadfully wrong if the circumstances are as you state. There is always an administrative appeals process for claims/eligibility denials. There are public advocates who can assist you with this process at no cost in most places.

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