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Planning Will Help Protect You and Your Family
Issues
regarding the elderly and disabled are complex. Now, Federal and State
laws have changed drastically. Finding answers to your questions is
difficult. Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions.
Q.
How
Can I Become Eligible For
Nursing Home Benefits or Assisted Living Facility Medicaid?
A.
First, an individual must have a need for care
associated with institutionalization. Second, Medicaid laws establish a
maximum level of assets and income an individual may have in order to
qualify for assistance. If the individual is married, the spouse’s assets
also must be considered.
|
2007 Asset and Income Eligibility Levels* |
|
Recipient |
Spouse |
|
Assets |
Maximum:
$2000 |
Assets |
Maximum:
$101,640 |
| Minimum:
N/A |
Minimum:
N/A |
|
Income |
Maximum:
$1,869/month |
Income |
Maximum:
Unlimited |
| Minimum:
N/A |
**Minimum:
$1,650/month |
*Effective January 1, 2007
** For purposes of determining spousal diversion amount |
Q.
How Do I Apply?
A.
The Law Office of Emma Hemness offers
one-on-one guidance and assistance with complying with the current
complexity of the new Medicaid eligibility laws. We discuss the avoidance
of impoverishment for a healthy person in the early years of their
retirement, whose spouse has been struck with a debilitating illness such
that they can no longer be cared for safely at home; or we help provide
for the future needs of a widow or widower in a nursing care home where
such needs aren’t covered by Medicaid.
Q.
Will Medicaid Take My
House Or Car?
A.
A car
of any value will not be counted as an asset. As for a home which was
previously exempt under the old law, the new Medicaid laws count a
homestead of greater than $500,000 in value as a countable asset,
requiring spend-down, in most cases.
Q.
If My Spouse Needs A
Nursing Home, What Can I Keep?
A.
Assets exempt from Medicaid include: a prepaid
burial plan and burial plot; personal effects and furnishings; and life
insurance with cash value up to $2,500. Non-exempt assets for the spouse
may equal approximately $101,640, while the ill spouse may keep $2,000.
While most income of an ill person must be paid to the nursing home, an
unlimited amount of income belonging to the spouse may be kept.
Q.
Will The Care My Loved
One Or I Receive In The Nursing Home Be Substandard?
A.
No, it is illegal to discriminate. Medicaid
patients receive the same level of care, and you can bring your loved one
home any time you want.
More questions and answers
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