I like the answers above, especially if there is a way to keep the money and keep Medicaid, but I think I might check with an attorney who focuses on Medicaid issues just to be sure. See if it's possible to renounce the inheritance. If you renounce, you don't accept the inheritance. For some people, it might be worth it. I'd check and see if that would help or if there is a way to avoid that and still keep your coverage.
Betsy - id suggest you do nothing till January....don't deposit it till 1/2/16. But between now & then speak with your caseworker about how best to deal with the check which will become income/assets that will make you ineligible for Medicaid once it's deposited. There well could be things that you could buy and use as a spend down totally within the month of January. So you technically start the beginning of the month(1/01/16) within Medicaid financial limits & end the month (1/31/16) within financial limits. I would look into how to spend down the 3k in advance of your chat with the caseworker so you have a " solution" to the problem to present to the caseworker.
For NH Medicaid they often need to do the spend down ASAP so they buy: - a preneed funeral & burial policy (these could easily be 8/10K) - paying in advance on utilities, insurance, mortgage IF they own a home - getting repairs IF they own a home - new hearing aid & eyeglasses (& a duplicate set on these) - a walker or wheelchair (On the above 2, what Medicaid pays for is limited and as inexpensive as possible, so often folks will spend down on better quality items) - dental care. Dental is by & large really not covered at all on Medicaid & is expensive. 3K coukd easily be totally spent on dental without even getting all the dental work needed done! and would be a simple & good use of the small windfall of $. My mom spent down thousands in dental & it was a most excellent use of her $. So you just want to make sure that you end the month with all checks cleared through you bank before 1/31/16 so that you start the month poor and end the month poor so that there is no net change for Medicaid.
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But between now & then speak with your caseworker about how best to deal with the check which will become income/assets that will make you ineligible for Medicaid once it's deposited. There well could be things that you could buy and use as a spend down totally within the month of January. So you technically start the beginning of the month(1/01/16) within Medicaid financial limits & end the month (1/31/16) within financial limits. I would look into how to spend down the 3k in advance of your chat with the caseworker so you have a " solution" to the problem to present to the caseworker.
For NH Medicaid they often need to do the spend down ASAP so they buy:
- a preneed funeral & burial policy (these could easily be 8/10K)
- paying in advance on utilities, insurance, mortgage IF they own a home
- getting repairs IF they own a home
- new hearing aid & eyeglasses (& a duplicate set on these)
- a walker or wheelchair
(On the above 2, what Medicaid pays for is limited and as inexpensive as possible, so often folks will spend down on better quality items)
- dental care. Dental is by & large really not covered at all on Medicaid & is expensive. 3K coukd easily be totally spent on dental without even getting all the dental work needed done! and would be a simple & good use of the small windfall of $. My mom spent down thousands in dental & it was a most excellent use of her $.
So you just want to make sure that you end the month with all checks cleared through you bank before 1/31/16 so that you start the month poor and end the month poor so that there is no net change for Medicaid.
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You are correct, each State is different when it comes to Medicaid.