Case Study Married couple one needing Medicaid
Married couple has a combined $100K in assets/investments
Husband is the Medicaid applicant has $2000 income
Wife is the “Non applicant” spouse has income of $1000
Husband continues to be readmitted to the hospital due to not having sufficient caregiving in the home. Wife is elderly herself and cannot provide the care. The couple has been told they cannot qualify for Medicaid due to their assets and income but they cannot afford assisted living or in home caregiving.
Medicaid planning:
INCOME: Non-Applicant spouse (wife) is entitled to a minimum of $2400 of the couples combined income. As she only makes $1000/month, husband will transfer $1400 to wife every month for a “Minimum Monthly Spousal Allowance”
Husbands’ income is now only $600. Husband would be paying ONLY $475 to the facility and allowed to retain $125/mo for personal needs spending allowance. The facility is unable to charge the Medicaid participant more than his share of cost per Medicaid rules. The difference in the rate is worked out between the facility and Medicaid for reimbursement.
ASSETS: Medicaid wants to see the non-applicant’s assets below $2K. To achieve this, the couple will split the asset in half. The husband needs to spend his $50K below $2K and we accomplish this in a multitude of ways, including gifting, purchasing a Medicaid Compliant Annuity that will pay the non-applicant spouse back in a monthly income over a set period, reimbursement to family for any expenses paid out, home improvement for safety and accessiblity, and multiple other ways, all the while preserving assets and avoiding estate recovery if able. (This is the benefit of working with a Certified Medicaid Planner)
Once the assets are moved appropriately and transparently, the applicant becomes Medicaid eligible and can begin receiving the correct level of care needed to keep him out of the hospital for a total of $475/month while the spouse remains financially whole.
