Medicaid for Nursing Home Care is often the right step for individuals as they age. Unfortunately, the rules surrounding it are complex and can be difficult to navigate. Eligibility for Medicaid for Nursing Home care is determined by an applicant’s monthly income and countable assets.
There Are Things to Look Out for When Seeking Medicaid for Nursing Home Care.
Let’s first take a look at the income limit for Medicaid for Nursing Home Eligibility. The Department of Children and Families, the agency that sets the rules for Medicaid for Nursing Home eligibility states that an individual applicant cannot receive more than $2,829 in monthly income. If an individual’s monthly income exceeds this amount, something known as a Qualified Income Trust is needed. Often referred to as a QIT, this type of trust artificially lowers an individual’s income so that it is below the $2,829 threshold. It is achieved by funding the applicant’s income that exceeds $2,829 a month, plus a recommended buffer of about $300 into the QIT.
The excess funds in the QIT can still be used to pay for the applicant’s expenses. It is not recommended to fund the entirety of the applicant’s income into the QIT each month, because any funds remaining in the applicant’s account at their passing is payable to the state. By utilizing a QIT, the applicant can qualify for Medicaid for Nursing Home Care.
In order to qualify for Medicaid for Nursing Home Care, an individual applicant cannot have more than $2,000 in countable assets. A married applicant who is applying individually cannot have more than $2,000 in countable assets, and their spouse cannot have more than $154,140 in countable assets, and a married couple that is applying jointly cannot have more than $3,000 and still qualify for Medicaid for Nursing Home Care. It can be advantageous to apply for each individual in a married couple where both need to apply, as that allows them $2,000 each, totaling $4,000 instead of $3,000.
What happens when potential applicants are over the countable asset limit to qualify for Medicaid for Nursing Home Care? When they are above the asset limit, steps must be taken to convert those countable assets to assets that are non-countable. There are a number of approaches that can be taken to convert countable assets into non-countable assets in order to qualify individuals or couples for Medicaid for Nursing Home Care.
Over To You:
At Platinum Benefit Services, in conjunction with appropriate legal counsel, we focus on protecting assets in such a way that the assets are kept liquid, within the family, and with little or no tax consequences. We have been helping our clients obtain Medicaid for Nursing Home care eligibility for over 27 years and have obtained over 14,000 approvals in that time. We will not stop until a correct Medicaid for Nursing Home Care approval is obtained. If you want to ensure that you or a loved one is in the best hands possible, contact Platinum Benefit Services today!
