Medicaid is a health insurance program that is jointly administered by the federal government along with each respective state government. It is a program that is only available to people who can demonstrate significant financial need.
When you think about Medicaid, you may immediately feel as though it is irrelevant to you. After all, you will qualify for Medicare when you reach the age of 65. These are both health insurance programs, so you wouldn’t need Medicaid. On top of that, you have financial resources, so you would not meet the eligibility requirements.
In reality, Medicaid does become relevant for many people who were never financially needy. Let’s look at the facts.
Long-Term Custodial Care
If you need assistance with your activities of daily living, this is considered to be custodial care. As far as Medicare is concerned, there is a difference between medical or convalescent care and custodial care. Medicare will pay for up to 100 days of convalescent care after surgery, but it will not pay for custodial care.
Nursing homes are extremely expensive around the country. However, they are even more expensive in the state of New York, and certain areas of New York are more expensive than others.
We have offices in Long Island. The estimated average annual cost for a year in a Long Island nursing home is over $145,000 at the present time.
People often spend multiple years in these facilities, so you could be looking at a very big number.
The Medicaid Solution
Medicaid will pay for long-term care, and this is why it is relevant to people who retire with resources. There are asset and income limits that you must stay within to qualify, but you can divest yourself of assets with future Medicaid eligibility in mind.
This is a practice that is commonly called a Medicaid spend down. Many people will essentially give their children inheritances in advance.
If you decide to divest yourself of assets before you apply for Medicaid, you have to be aware of the 60 month Medicaid look-back period. The program will examine your financial dealings going back 60 months. You will be penalized and your eligibility will be delayed if they find that you have given away assets within this 60 month window.
Because of this look-back, you have to engage in advance planning if you want to become eligible for Medicaid coverage when the time is right.
Medicaid Planning Special Report
We have prepared an in-depth report on Medicaid planning. This report will provide you with a great deal of very useful information, and it is being offered free of charge at the present time.
To download your copy of the report, click this link and follow the simple instructions: Long Island NY Medicaid Planning.
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Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney
Latest posts by Mark S. Eghrari, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
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