Medicaid rules are different for each state. You would need to find a lawyer who specialized in Medicaid and elder law for the state of Connecticut. Please realize that anything you try to set up now will still be subject to Medicaid Recovery after you die if you are over 55 or be assessed a transfer penalty before you receive services unless you don't require services until 5 years after the date that you "take action to protect your home and other assets". Medicaid expects that you will use your assets for your own care (rather than protect them for the benefit of friends and family after your death) before you apply for benefits intended to help low-income/poverty level individuals. If you have a family member as an in-home caregiver, you may be able to have them apply for exemptions on the house from Medicaid Recovery if they provide care to you that keeps you out of long-term care for at least 2 years. The lawyer can also tell you whether any actions taken prior to now will be subject to a 5 year look-back or transfer penalty. Medicaid is also limited by your monthly income (pensions, Social Security, etc) so a lawyer is your best resource for how it works in your state.
Realize that you are not "put on Medicaid". Medicaid is an "at need" entitlement that you have to apply to and be eligible for both medically & financially. Medicaid is quite different than Medicare or SS - which are entitlements that you have actively participated in by $ paid into FICA.
5 year look back basically means having everything done before the end of this year and not ever needing to apply for Medicaid before January 2022.
You save for your retirement...you save for your old age...you save so you can maintain a particular lifestyle. Why is your health care not considered a part of your old age, a part of your lifestyle? If you want to save your assets to pass on to your children let them pay for your care now so that you can pass money and a building on to them when you pass. I guess what I am saying is if you have money saved why would you expect taxpayers to pay for your medical care when you have assets that can be used.
And why would you want Medicaid to pay for what might be a lesser facility than you might want when you could use your assets and get into a much nicer facility that would probably keep you there once you do have to go onto Medicaid, if you have to.
I second the long term insurance advice. Buy that policy as soon as you can, before age 61 is best and least expensive. It is pricey but can give you peace of mind. There are many kinds out there so get a trusted advisor to help you. Hybrid policies are nice because they can be used as LTC or life insurance should you pass before needing long term care. You are not eligible for Medicaid until you are almost destitute and then there is the 5 year look back...
As one of the Expert Contributors to this site, I happen to have just the book for you: How to Protect Your Family's Assets From Devastating Nursing Home Costs: Medicaid Secrets. I wrote this book for folks like you who need to know both the rules and the planning techniques to save as much money as possible while qualifying for Medicaid. Best of luck in this difficult process!
Please get a good elder care attorney. They will direct you how to spend down your money if you go on Medicaid. My mother was married when I applied for her Medicaid to be in a long term facility and he died before she was accepted. So many things need to be put into place.
You can't. You are expected to use your assets to pay for your own long term care until you have only $2,000 left, and then Medicaid will come into the picture.
If you are "admitted for long term care & put on Medicaid", that means that all of your assets have been used to pay for your care & you've got less than $2,000 in total assets left.
If you're 5+ years away from requiring long term care, you can transfer title to your house & other assets to someone else to get out of the 5 year claw back period. Other than that, there is really nothing you can do.
I always laugh (sort of) when people want to try and beat the system. My neighbor was a crusty old bachelor who didn't want the Gomnent (read Government) taking his money. So, he deeded his house to his nephew to escape his asset being taken by Medicaid or whatever. When he couldn't take care of himself any more, his nephew put him in a cheap, dirty, assisted living, sold the house, took the money and moved to Las Vegas, NV. and never came back to even see the old guy. So, my advice is be careful, very careful, giving your house or other assets to anyone, besides, there is always the gift tax, etc. Get some attorney's help if you go that route. Then, I knew a gal whose husband, thinking she couldn't handle money, had an attorney and the bank be co-executers. They charged so much that she lost 9 rental properties and her home. She basically lost everything. So, be careful in your planning.
Get LTC insurance ASAP! I heard of a guy who was in a nursing home from the age of 68 to 94!! He had over a million dollars in assets that got wiped out by the nursing home bills. Better to be safe than sorry!!
5billion a year spent by the Australian government on overseas aid could be used to help their own grandmothers and grandfathers here. My mother always said ,"you look after your own first" if you then have some left over to help others fair enough, but our elderly have paid taxes all their lives towards rhis country, people in overseas countries have not.
Hi, for this situation you have to contact hospital admin department, check their rules regulation clearify all the things then take decision. If it not possible to you then try to send your family members to them for this. And say them I have some important assets with me it possible to carry in hospital or not. you will get 100% solution if you go in this way.
What I would do first is make sure I have a will. Make sure to cover your assets specifically in that will and make sure to state what you want done with those assets. Deposit the will in probate through a lawyer and see if there are any added protection's such as a trust or anyone or anything else that can help protect your assets. Another thing you can do is fill out a transfer on death of all of your assets. That way, if anyone tries to do anything with those assets while they're covered, they are the ones who will get in serious legal trouble when it's found out. I personally would never mention my assets, I just don't talk about what I have or don't have to anyone. That way, no one can try to pull anything on me and rob me blind or take inheritance away from my rightful heirs. There are many reasons why you should never blab about what you have if you do have anything, don't even say that you own them if you can at all help it, just don't blab about nothing or tell anyone anything
Social Security is an INSURANCE plan. It is not a savings account. It was designed so that tomorrow's workers would pay for tomorrow's elders. Most people who live beyond 70 will receive far more than they paid in. I'm all for Social Security, but the money isn't there by magic. It is through the payments of the still working. You paid INTO it. It is not "your money." It's not charity, but it is insurance.
In spite of the previous rant, I am in the same boat. My husband, 71, is ALZ stage 5 to 6, but healthy as a horse. I plan to keep him home as long as possible, to keep him happy and to hopefully save money. He could also live to age 94.
There's a program in Massachusetts called some kind of partnership. If you get LTC insurance, they will let you keep more of your house or assets. I got it for me, but DH was already too gone to remember 5 animal names, and was turned down.
I have done the will, the POA's, and the trust. My next step is to consult a Medicaid attorney about how to use my assets in the most medicaid-wise manner.
Cry-baby moment: I'm only 69, in great health. Our only child is a daughter, 25, who might need some help, and would sure love to go on a Caribbean vacation with us or with me before we wither up and die. I'm glad - make that willing - to take care of him as long as possible. He's a good guy and deserves it. But I'm a "good guy" too. Don't I deserve a little retirement fun?
Boo hoo. I know I'm luckier than lots of people. I have some money. I'm healthy. We have good insurance. DH is not violent or hard to care for. All he wants is my attention, 18 hours a day. He is often grateful. "I can't complain but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far."
Gianna I'm afraid it's too late to do anything now to protect You assets and money. In My home land Ireland Revenue go back 5-years, hence We should have all of Our assets signed over to Our Family well in advance of old age, and failing health. You might consider hiring a Nurse or Carer to look after You at home.
Johnjoe, for your sake, I hope after you sign over your assets to them, they don't sell them and take a trip to Tahiti. If it is their assets, they could do it. Also, would there be a gift tax involved? Talk to a lawyer.
From what I have read on the forums, and correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Long Term Care insurance only good for a couple of years? It doesn't pay for years and years worth of care?
That's usually true. You decide how long you will be covered, and for how much, and the premium is set accordingly. But three years worth of insurance will fully cover many many people who enter a nursing home. I think of paying a large but not outrageous premium to protect me part way, and if I outlive it, that's just rotten luck.
Some states have a program where you buy a certain minimum level of benefits, and that insurance coverage will shelter some of your assets from Medicaid recapture. So that's another reason. But it is pretty expensive, and you have to keep paying the premium. It doesn't help the average paycheck to paycheck person at all, or even the ones with a modest nest egg. You need an above average income to have it make sense.
What you could do is get a newer vehicle with any extra money you have if you have a substantial amount. You could also put some money into CDs and hide some emergency cash in the safe at home or and a bank safety deposit box. You could sell the house and maybe even go traveling in an RV. I had an elderly friend who actually planned to do just that, he wanted to travel in his RV in his last days. Sadly that never happened because he couldn't find a driver. I didn't have very much experience with very large vehicles and I wasn't willing to leave my home just like most other people he probably asked. Yes, I had a drivers license, but I never drove anything bigger than a minivan so I wasn't willing to take the risk with an RV. What he did though was hide money between two banks, he told me so. He would keep a small amount in one bank and only report that according to what he told me, and he would put the larger amount and another bank and just not report it. He specified one day that he was hiding 40 grand. He was a retired Army medic so I wonder if he may have had a higher limit on what he was allowed to have besides being a self-employed trucker. I'm not sure what his limit was, but I think it would've been most likely higher than some people on federal benefits who only have a low limit on what they can have. I'm not sure if the whole 40 grand was cash or the whole amount was between bank accounts and the RV, I'm just not sure how he had everything set up, but he seemed pretty comfortable in his last days. I don't know how comfortable you feel with trusts, but I would have to say that it would all depend on who the trustee is and how trustworthy they really are. I would think that the people you would want to trust most are the people who don't really need money and not so much someone who needs money because they could more likely steal from you than someone who doesn't need money. That that someone who doesn't need money wouldn't steal, but it seems like it would be less likely but then again I don't know that but it seems to make sense. I personally would be very reluctant to trust anyone with my money or assets, I want control of my own money and assets
I don't know if I mentioned it on this thread, but when my bio dad was still living, he did a transfer on death of his home to protect it from nursing homes grabbing it. You can see if this is available in your state and choose who you want your home to go to along with anything else you want to donate to them and have those items protected for that person or you can even transfer them before you go to a nursing home. Transferring your home to someone else ahead of time will stop any nursing home from grabbing it because it's not longer in your name. Also make sure you have a valid updated will on file in probate. Go through a lawyer to get help with actually protecting those assets if anything happens to you and you get rendered incapacitated enough to still be alive but need nursing home care. Make sure those promised assets and valuables are actually protected legally
1RareFind it is very important to emphasise also that Your Property must be transferred over to Who ever You choose,5 years before A Person kneed's to go into Nursing Home Care.
What about a spouse being responsible for bills and credit cards for their spouse when they pass, if their name isn't on any of these or they have no charges on them?
" My neighbor was a crusty old bachelor who didn't want the Gomnent (read Government) taking his money. So, he deeded his house to his nephew to escape his asset being taken by Medicaid or whatever. When he couldn't take care of himself any more, his nephew put him in a cheap, dirty, assisted living, sold the house, took the money and moved to Las Vegas, NV. and never came back to even see the old guy. " So what happens in cases like this? Did Medicaid fund the cheap, dirty AL place? Did they pursue the nephew to get the money?
5 year look back basically means having everything done before the end of this year and not ever needing to apply for Medicaid before January 2022.
It is not a program that one is entitled to...it is EARNED
I paid for 51 years. It is my own money.
If you want to save your assets to pass on to your children let them pay for your care now so that you can pass money and a building on to them when you pass.
I guess what I am saying is if you have money saved why would you expect taxpayers to pay for your medical care when you have assets that can be used.
And why would you want Medicaid to pay for what might be a lesser facility than you might want when you could use your assets and get into a much nicer facility that would probably keep you there once you do have to go onto Medicaid, if you have to.
There are rules that are followed for a reason
If you are "admitted for long term care & put on Medicaid", that means that all of your assets have been used to pay for your care & you've got less than $2,000 in total assets left.
If you're 5+ years away from requiring long term care, you can transfer title to your house & other assets to someone else to get out of the 5 year claw back period. Other than that, there is really nothing you can do.
So, my advice is be careful, very careful, giving your house or other assets to anyone, besides, there is always the gift tax, etc. Get some attorney's help if you go that route.
Then, I knew a gal whose husband, thinking she couldn't handle money, had an attorney and the bank be co-executers. They charged so much that she lost 9 rental properties and her home. She basically lost everything.
So, be careful in your planning.
their own grandmothers and grandfathers here.
My mother always said ,"you look after your own first"
if you then have some left over to help others fair enough, but our elderly
have paid taxes all their lives towards rhis country, people in overseas countries have not.
for this situation you have to contact hospital admin department, check their rules regulation clearify all the things then take decision.
If it not possible to you then try to send your family members to them for this. And say them I have some important assets with me it possible to carry in hospital or not.
you will get 100% solution if you go in this way.
Thank you
I'm all for Social Security, but the money isn't there by magic. It is through the payments of the still working.
You paid INTO it. It is not "your money." It's not charity, but it is insurance.
There's a program in Massachusetts called some kind of partnership. If you get LTC insurance, they will let you keep more of your house or assets. I got it for me, but DH was already too gone to remember 5 animal names, and was turned down.
I have done the will, the POA's, and the trust. My next step is to consult a Medicaid attorney about how to use my assets in the most medicaid-wise manner.
Cry-baby moment: I'm only 69, in great health. Our only child is a daughter, 25, who might need some help, and would sure love to go on a Caribbean vacation with us or with me before we wither up and die. I'm glad - make that willing - to take care of him as long as possible. He's a good guy and deserves it. But I'm a "good guy" too. Don't I deserve a little retirement fun?
Boo hoo. I know I'm luckier than lots of people. I have some money. I'm healthy. We have good insurance. DH is not violent or hard to care for. All he wants is my attention, 18 hours a day. He is often grateful. "I can't complain but sometimes I still do. Life's been good to me so far."
Yes
Some states have a program where you buy a certain minimum level of benefits, and that insurance coverage will shelter some of your assets from Medicaid recapture. So that's another reason. But it is pretty expensive, and you have to keep paying the premium. It doesn't help the average paycheck to paycheck person at all, or even the ones with a modest nest egg. You need an above average income to have it make sense.