Justin, My mother has been in a nursing home for the past three months. When she first went in, we had high hopes that she’d be able to go home soon. Now it seems like she’ll be there long term. I have been told that she has too much money to qualify for Medicaid and that the best thing to do is to continue privately paying the facility costs until she spends down her funds. Is there a better way? – Sue
Sue, There is a better way. Many well-meaning people in the senior service industry know the basic rules of Medicaid coverage. And they’re right—you can’t qualify for benefits if you have substantial assets. But rarely, if ever, would our advice be to spend down by paying facility costs until the money is gone.
When a nursing home resident has a spouse at home, Medicaid rules offer way more protection for that spouse than many people realize. But even when a nursing home resident is single, we can almost always create a plan that will save substantial assets or, at the very least, that will help our clients spend their assets in a more efficient and beneficial way.
Many people believe they cannot spend their money on anything other than facility charges when moving towards Medicaid coverage. Others believe they cannot gift or transfer assets under any circumstance if Medicaid is on the horizon. Neither of those beliefs is correct. Sure, Medicaid has strict rules about spending and gifting, but if you work with someone who knows those rules you’ll always come out ahead. Everybody likes to have insider information.
Visit our website at ElrodFirm.com to learn more. Better yet, call today to schedule a no charge strategy session with one of our attorneys to get straight answers to your specific Medicaid questions. We’re here to help.
