I have posted three articles in my Archive under the following two titles.
Eligibility for Medicaid
I then excerpt portions of two of the articles here.
It speaks for itself as it discusses eligibility generally and as far as I can tell it is correct in all of its aspects
. A
Medicaid applicant is allowed to retain a small amount of countable assets, but
the amount varies from state to state. However, most states set a $2,000 asset
limit.
Countable assets
include (but are not limited to):
� Savings
and checking accounts
� Stocks
� Bonds
� Certificates
of deposit
� Treasury
bills
� Savings
bonds
� Investment
property and vacation homes
� Second
vehicles
� Livestock
� Individual
retirement accounts
� 401(k)
accounts
� Mutual
funds
� Precious
metals and coins
� Whole
life insurance (above a certain surrender value, often $1,500)
� Home
equity if it is over $500,000 or at the state's option $750,000 (equity is
noncountable if you, your spouse, or your minor, blind, or disabled child lives
there)
To be eligible for Medicaid, most
states provide that you may not have more than $2,000 of countable assets if
you're single. For a married couple living together (applying for benefits at
the same time), the limit is usually $3,000 of countable assets. Because
spouses are treated as individuals one month after either of them enters a
nursing home, however, the $2,000 limit will usually apply.
A nursing home resident, therefore,
may usually keep $2,000 in countable assets. If you have more than that, the
additional amount must be spent down on nursing home bills until you reach the
allowable level.
******Tip: If
you don't know your state's countable asset allowance figur
e, be sure to call
your state Medicaid office.
Spouse is given some
assets prior to any spend-down
When a spouse
enters a nursing home and applies for Medicaid, the couple's assets must be
pooled together and totaled to determine what portion the noninstitutionalized
("at-home") spouse may keep. This is called the spousal resource
allowance. Each year, the federal government sets a minimum and maximum asset
amount for the community spouse; the states set their own parameters within the
federal limits.
In
2007, under federal guidelines, the at-home spouse could receive one-half of
the family assets or a minimum of $20,328 (whichever is larger), but no more
than $101,640.
After the spousal
resource allowance has been determined by the state, the Medicaid applicant
must transfer assets representing the amount of the spousal resource allowance
to the community spouse within 90 days (depending on the state) of the state's
determination of eligibility for Medicaid.
Tip: Bear in mind that
a married couple's assets will be pooled together--it makes no difference, for
example, whether the source of the asset can be traced back to one spouse or
the other (e.g., inherited funds, a bank account established by one spouse
prior to the marriage, or the like).
Exempt
assets do not affect your Medicaid eligibility
Exempt assets are
assets that do not affect your Medicaid eligibility. Under federal guidelines,
each state composes a list of exempt assets, which include the following:
� Principal
home, regardless of value (so long as you, your spouse, or your minor,
disabled, or blind child resides there)
� Household
furnishings, jewelry, and personal effects (though some states limit these
items)
� Burial
funds of approximately $1,500, depending on the state
� Burial
plots for the applicant and immediate members of family
� Prepaid,
noncancelable burial contracts
� One
automobile (for use by you and your family)
� Term
life insurance policies
� Cash
value of life insurance policies, provided the face value does not exceed
$1,500
Example(s): If
Medicaid applicant George and his wife, Martha, own $24,000 of countable
assets, a principal home, one car, and a term life insurance policy of
$300,000, then only George's portion of the $24,000 of countable assets can be
reached by the state during the couple's lifetime; the other assets will be
exempt. At George's death, however, state authorities could seek reimbursement
for Medicaid payments under a theory of estate recovery.
Simply stated,
Medicaid authorities may be granted a lien against the home, collectible after
the death of the Medicaid recipient (and the death of his or her spouse or
other specified relatives living in the home). For more information, see
Medicaid Liens and Estate Recoveries.
Inaccessible
assets will not be counted
As
with exempt assets, the state will not consider inaccessible assets when
determining your Medicaid eligibility. These assets are otherwise countable
ones that have been made unavailable to you and, hence, unavailable to
Medicaid. You can make assets unavailable by giving them away or by holding
them in certain trusts. Although a proper transfer of assets will preserve
these assets for your loved ones, the transfer may also create a period of
ineligibility before you can collect Medicaid benefits. It is vital, therefore,
to become familiar with the transfer rules. For details, see Look-Back Period
for Medicaid.
Discusses specifics of Minnesota. Its important part I quote as follows at it regards assets:
The Minnesota Medicaid rules look at both spouses’ assets as one, regardless of whose name is on the asset. One of the biggest points of confusion for families is that they believe assets owned in one spouses name only should not affect the other spouse. Like I mentioned, this is not how the Minnesota Medicaid department rules look at it.
In essence, all the assets are dumped into one bucket and labeled as joint assets on the outside of the bucket.
The well spouse is then permitted to reach into the bucket of assets and begin pulling out assets for their use only.
For example, Minnesota Medicaid places assets in 3 categories and they are as follows:
1. Exempt Assets: $3000 in cash, the primary home, 1 car, personal property, funeral/burial contracts, IRA’s (in most states protected if in well spouse’s name)up to $1500 in cash value life insurance
2. Unavailable Assets: an interest in someone’s estate or real estate that cannot be sold
3. Countable Assets: cash, CD’s, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, IRA’s, 401(k), 403(b), tax-deferred annuities, 2nd car, buildings or land owned.
So looking at the list above, the well spouse is allowed to begin pulling assets out of the bucket like: the primary home and 1 car. However, Minnesota Medicaid rules only allow the well spouse to pull out a limited amount of assets besides the house and car and that limit is approximately 50 % of the total assets up to $109,500.
As you can see, it would be easy for most families to reach the $109,500 upper limit of assets very easily and it's obvious that the amount of assets you have directly affects your ability to qualify for full Minnesota Medicaid benefits.
Without knowing the rules and applying proper asset protection strategies, the well spouse would be forced to spend down all remaining assets greater than $109,500.
The second and third Articles posted under the title:
Are correct Read them to get their gist. they detail Minnesota's application of the foregoing
In my next Blob post I will comment on it all.
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