Medicaid Countable Assets
This edition of the Koldin Law Center E-Newsletter begins a series on Medicaid rules for “countable” life savings that must be spent towards the cost of care before you can qualify for Medicaid eligibility versus “non-countable” life savings.
All prior newsletters are saved on our website. You can read them by clicking here.
In a previous newsletter we compared the difference between Medicare and Medicaid. One major difference is that Medicaid coverage has financial eligibility rules.
“Countable” assets in your name must be spent towards the cost of your care before you will qualify for Medicaid coverage to pay for your long-term care in a nursing home or at home.
One method of asset preservation is to convert countable assets to non-countable or exempt assets.
Exempt Funds (Personal Allowance)
Under the Medicaid law in New York State, a single person in a nursing home in New York State in 2024 is entitled to keep $31,175 of family assets. When there is a married couple, the at-home spouse is entitled to keep one-half of the couple’s life savings, with a minimum of $74,820 and a maximum of $154,140.
“Countable” Life Savings Must be Spent Towards Cost of Care
All countable life savings over these Personal Allowance figures normally would need to be spent toward the cost of care before Medicaid eligibility can be established to pay for the cost of care.
However, there may be ways to protect some or all of your life savings even when you are already in a nursing home.
For example, as part of this “spend-down”, you are permitted to purchase and/or keep certain exempt (non-countable) items.
Caution: Once your life savings has been spent toward the cost of care, you cannot get it back to purchase exempt items.
Funeral-Burial
The Medicaid Applicant can use countable life savings to pay for certain funeral expenses not only for the Medicaid applicant and spouse, but also for their children and spouses of children.
Automobile
One automobile is exempt for either a single person or for a married couple. You can also trade in your current car and purchase a new one. While you still have your life savings, it may be a good time to purchase a new car.
Family Home
The family home is sometimes countable and might need to be sold and spent towards the cost of care. However, there are many important exceptions where the family home is not countable and can be protected.
The next newsletters in this series will review the special rules regarding the family home.
For more information about Medicaid Eligibility, please visit our website by clicking here.
At the Koldin Law Center, P.C., located in East Syracuse, New York, we have over 50 years of experience helping individuals plan for immediate crisis and long term care.
The Koldin Law Center, P.C. limits its practice to the specific field of Elder Law which includes estate planning and Medicaid law.
Our attorneys are available to discuss your estate planning options, including the advantages and disadvantages of Revocable Trusts and Irrevocable Trusts, along with other estate planning considerations including a Will, Power of Attorney, and Health Care Proxy.
When the Koldin Law Center, P.C. handles a Medicaid case, we not only handle the entire application process, but we also review asset protection options with our clients. We review with our clients who are already in a Nursing Home options to protect some or all of their assets beyond merely establishing Medicaid eligibility.
We do not charge a fee for the initial consultation. We welcome your children, family attorney, accountant, and/or financial planner to be present at the initial consultation.
There is something you can do.
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Our Attorneys are available to speak to your organization
Our Attorneys speak to groups throughout New York State as a public service. If you would like to arrange for one of our Attorneys to speak to your group, please contact our office.
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We appreciate your referrals
We have been told by many clients who are in a crisis that they wish they had known about our firm much sooner. We are proud of the many families we have helped in times of crisis.
We are also proud of the many families we helped avoid financial crisis by doing estate planning in advance.
We all share the responsibility for making our family and friends aware of the planning options available to them.
Your referral to the Koldin Law Center could make a major difference in the lives of your family and friends if they are someday faced with a long term illness.
Remember that the Koldin Law Center offers many services for clients of all ages. Our services range from basic estate planning such as a simple will to complex estate planning including asset preservation planning.
THERE IS NO FEE FOR THE INITIAL CONSULTATION
