If you have reached this website as a responsible person concerned about your legacy, you may wonder why you are looking at a blog post that will address Medicaid regulations. As a person with resources who will qualify for Medicare as a senior citizen, Medicaid regulations may not seem relevant.
On the surface, this makes sense. Medicare is in place to provide health care insurance for senior citizens, and clearly, elders are usually going to face medical issues at some point in time. You would assume that Medicare would be set up to pay for the health care contingencies that seniors typically face.
Though the perspective elucidated above is logical, in reality, one of the major health related expenses that most seniors will incur is not covered by the Medicare program. Seven out of every ten elders will someday need living assistance, and Medicare will not pay for it.
Medicaid does pay for long-term care, and this is why you may want to understand Medicaid regulations. In fact, the program pays for most of the long-term care that seniors are receiving, and this arrangement will probably continue into the foreseeable future.
Qualifying for Medicaid
There are many things to understand about the path that you can take to qualify for Medicaid as a person with resources. In this blog post, we are going to focus on some generalities. If you would like to discuss all the details with an attorney, feel free to send us a message through our contact page to set up a free consultation.
Since Medicaid is a need-based program, the limit on countable assets is just $2000 for an individual applicant. However, some things that you own do not count, including your home, as long as its equity does not exceed $828,000.
When it comes to things that are countable, you can give them to family members who would otherwise be inheriting them when you are an elder. The trick is, you have to act in advance, because the gift giving must be completed at least five years before you apply for Medicaid if you want to be eligible as soon as you submit your application.
Now, when you consider all of the above, you may not worry about giving your home to anyone, because it is not a countable asset. It is true that you can qualify for Medicaid even if you are still in possession of the home. However, Medicaid regulations require the program to seek reimbursement from your estate after you pass away. A Medicaid lien could be placed on your home if you maintained possession of it throughout your life.
Medicaid Planning Report
Our firm has prepared an in-depth report that puts a spotlight on Medicaid regulations. If this post has whet your appetite for more knowledge, click this link to download the free report: Free Report on Medicaid Planning.
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