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GeriSW has a good grasp on this. In general, you have to spend down the assets before you can get Medicaid - at least in North Dakota, where I live, we did. My parents were allowed tokeep very little. And the five year look back period is an issue now, where they will not exclude anything given away in the past five years from her assets.
I'll be looking for Geri's input, as she can help us all with this.
Carol
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The key phrase in the question is "...makes too much." This indicates to me that you are concerned about income and not assets.

If the perceived problem is that Social Security + Vet benefits + any other income brings the Medicaid applicant to over $2022 and, therefore, over the qualifying income limit, then here is the solution:

The Irrevocable Qualified Income Trust (aka QIT or Miller Trust), permitted since the implementation of OBRA '93, allows the applicant to gift excess income over the cap to the trust and thereby qualify for Medicaid if all other eligibility requirements are met.

So yes, there is a very effective way to qualify for Medicaid if income is too high.
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Well all I know is thank God for the elder law attorney and financial advisor I have.

I am working on getting VA benefits for dad and of course dealing with Medicaid isn't too far behind.. The one thing that my ELA told me is that due to my parent's assets we had to create a trust in my name and transfer all but the minimum assets allowed to my trust. I was really nervous about being taxed as my income and I was told that my accountant needs to file a 709 indicating the transfer which also states taxes have been paid on it. They also suggested in liquidating the life insurance that I should take taxes out due to present government administration then when its in my trust acct just put it in a money mkt to draw the same interest over time.

I think its all in the professionals that are hired. Don't take one person's word for it either. Do some research on your own.

This is all an ugly process so get as informed as you can.
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Eric - I very much apprecate all your information on medicaide if my husband had been realistic about his condition we could have avoided what mess I am going through now and if we had not listened to our first elder lawyer telling us as late as one year ago that our debts of credit card balances would be subtracted from our assets we would be better off or I would because my husband refuses to help me out at all with this mountain of redtape I did get a good local elder lawyer and the social worker at the nursing home he is in is helping me because I am overwhelmed esp, since I had silent strokes a few years ago, I had no idea applying for it was going to be so hard,
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I couldn't agree more Carol! My elder law attorney came highly recommended. I also questioned him because he talked about things I had never heard of. He said it was because so many people do not hire those to use the law correctly.

I asked my acct questions my atty told me about. So far, although I'm still not through this, he hasn't lied to me yet.

Find elder specialists. Just because they deal in an area does not make them elder specialists.

Austin, I've been working on VA benefits for the past 9 months. Even that is a PITA.

Do what you need to and we're here to listen!
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Mitzipinki Thank you for your information every bit helps and working on it every day the social worker has been very helpful esp. since I lost it the other day inher office and cried but I was at the end of my rope and have called the lawyer a few times- I hate to have to ask for help but he told me it was wise to let the social worker help my appointment with the the social service in our county is 7/2 I wanted to see the lawyer again before I went there but he said to keep that appointment and the husband can stay in the nursing home because he is on medicaide pending I know I will have to eventualy pay something but hope it is less than the $8000.00 for 2 months for 7 hr. daily aides.
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Well Austin, that is roughly $19/hr which is actually a low end cost (if I did the math correctly).

Hopefully things will work out for you. I know I never saw all this provisions responsibility happening to me, and I've had to learn legal, financial, AL, caregiving all on the fly. Fortunately God has put some awesome help around me.

Sometimes social workers can be a great resource. Some I've encountered are a waste, but there are some extremely helpful people out there and if you go in grateful to them and thanking them, they tend to open up a bit more and find additional resources.

Austin, just take care of you. The rest will work out!! Your husband is covered for now. Don't let these stressors get to you (D'OH... I hate that phrase!). We want to see you around for a long time!
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My name is RHaley, I live in Strasburg, VA. I am sending this on behalf of my Mom, Dad, and sister. All 3 are disabled and live in the same house, my sister is confined to a hospital bed (I pay for my sisters home care), my mom is in a wheel chair unable to walk, stand, or get herself in and out of bed or off the toilet, she is on Medicare. My father recently fell several times, he is retired disabled, he also has Medicare. He fell on Monday and now will not walk because he is saying he can't. They are now in a hardship in there home due to no help. I am married, I have to commute 124 miles a day to my job. I get up at 2:30 am in the morning and I am at work by 4:45 am, I do not get home until 6:00 or 6:30 pm in the evening. I have one friend who is helping them a little but she has a life also. Is there any way that we can get assistance for them???? My father is mad at me because I told him I could not do everything and he said I was just abandoning them. Which I have not, I am just so frustrated because I do not know what to do or who to call. Can someone please help me???
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Yes, RHaley, there is plenty of help available for you. Appropriating it is the hard part. It takes a lot of time, phone calls, and paperwork. Your local County Commission on Aging can provide resources. (Depends what direction you want to go.) What happens when you can no longer keep up, and their needs become greater? There's respite care, day care, in-home care, and professional managers. What do you think best fits your situation and needs?
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Eric wrote:

"There are 2 standards that need to be met. 1-Be Nursing Home eligible as determined by a doctor and/or state social worker. 2-Receive no more that $2,022.00 in income per month and have no more that $2,000.00 in assets/resources."

Dragonflower writes:

This is absolutely correct! Medicaid is intended for the "medically indigent" which basically means "low income and limited resources." I cannot stress this enough. It was never intended for middle-class people who own a house, a car and have a middle class income arriving into the household every month from any sources (pension, dividends, IRA, Social Security, interest income).

While each state manages its own Medicaid, there are certain things that are fairly uniform from state to state. You are required to "spend down" your assets to qualify for Medicaid, as others have pointed out. Your entire "asset package" is examined to determine if you qualify. Start making a list of all assets that could be liquidated from all sources.

Social Security income and pension can be put towards the cost of either assisted living or nursing home care - I know, because when I had to put my late father in a home, these were used to pay for his care in addition to money from his personal savings, IRA income, etc. I was in charge of his financial arrangements, so I was very aware of every penny.

At the time when I was in charge of this stuff, the look-back period for assets was only 3 years. Since then, it has been extended to five years and will probably be further extended as people keep living longer.

As others have advised, you probably need to consult an attorney who specializes in this type of thing.
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