Nursing Home Costs and Medicaid – We’re Here to Help

By Kelly Hayes, Esq., and Dennis McAndrews, Esq.

 

We all age differently and for some, living independently becomes increasingly difficult as we get older.  For a great many individuals, long-term care needs and costs will be a significant family issue.

 

The majority of nursing home residents in the United States depend on Medicaid for their long-term care. The Medicaid program pays for 100% of nursing home costs for individuals who meet certain modest asset and income tests.  Asset and income amounts permitted for the nursing home patient are modest, but a careful adjustment of assets can pay 100% of nursing home costs.

 

Unfortunately, some individuals believe that they can simply “gift” assets away and become eligible for Medicaid to pay for a nursing home.  However, this process typically violates Medicaid’s “five-year look back period.”  Similarly, placing assets into a trust during that five-year term generally precludes eligibility for Medicaid. Often, these ill-advised efforts require significant and complicated “reverse engineering” to render an individual eligible for Medicaid.

 

Fortunately, there are several completely legal and appropriate adjustments of assets that can, if properly undertaken, render a person quickly eligible for Medicaid.

 

For example, an appropriate adjustment of an individual’s assets may include paying “legal obligations” or purchasing “excludable resources” to render an individual eligible for Medicaid.  Some examples include payment of establish debts, prepayment of funeral expenses, payment of legal fees to establish Medicaid eligibility, creation and payment of a personal care contract to a loved one or friend to provide ancillary services, transfer of funds to a special needs trust for a disabled individual, purchase of an annuity, or the purchase of exempt assets such as a car, home furnishings, home improvements, and clothing.

 

In all of these situations, it is critical to undertake the process with the assistance of skilled professionals, like those in our Estates and Trust Department, to ensure that the complex rules regarding Medicaid are understood and utilized without jeopardizing an individual’s eligibility for those benefits.  We are fully prepared to provide this service and look forward to working with your family to obtain these critical benefits. Click here to contact us today to schedule your appointment!