HOW CAN I QUALIFY FOR MARYLAND

MEDICAID? “Medicaid is a government health insurance program that can become quite important to people who were never poor, because it pays for long-term care. The Medicare program will not pay for custodial care.”

Jon J. Gasior

Annapolis, Maryland Estate Planning Attorney

The Medicaid program is a health insurance program. It is jointly administered by

the federal government along with each state government, and it is a program

that is in place to provide health insurance for people who have very limited

financial resources.

You may wonder why Medicaid should be on your radar if you have resources

and you are going to qualify for Medicare when you reach the age of 65. The

reason why Medicaid is relevant is because it will pay for long-term care.

Medicare does not pay for living assistance.

This is a very significant fact of life, because long-term care is very expensive.

Genworth Financial has been compiling statistics on the state of long-term care

costs for a number of years, and the numbers for 2016 are in.

We practice law in the state of Maryland. According to the Genworth Financial

survey, the median annual cost for a private room in a nursing home in our state

is $113,328. The median cost for a semi-private room is over $104,208 per year.

People often require care for multiple years, and 10 percent of nursing home

residents stay in the facilities for at least five years.

If you have been taking good care of yourself throughout your life, you may be

under the impression that you

probably won't need long-term

care. The United States

Department of Health and

Human Services maintains a very

informative website called

LongTermCare.gov. According to

the site, seven out of every 10

seniors will someday need help with their activities of daily living.

This 70 percent figure is rather attention-getting. In all likelihood, you will require

living assistance eventually if you are fortunate enough to attain senior citizen

status.

QUALIFYING FOR MEDICAID

By now, you should be able to see why you may want to qualify for Medicaid at

some point in time. It can be challenging to qualify for Medicaid, because there is

a low limit on countable assets. For an individual, the limit is just $2500.

That's the bad news, but the good news is that some things that you own are

not considered to be countable assets for Medicaid purposes. Your home is not

counted, but there is an equity limit. In Maryland, the home equity limit is

$552,000 in 2016, but there

is no equity limit at all if a

healthy spouse is remaining

in the home.

One vehicle that is used as

a primary source of

transportation would not be

counted. Heirloom jewelry,

wedding rings, and

engagement rings are not counted, and you could maintain ownership of your

household belongings and your personal effects.

If a healthy spouse is remaining at home while his or her spouse enters a long-

term care facility, the healthy spouse would be entitled to a Community Spouse

Resource Allowance. This would be equal to half of the shared assets that are

considered to be countable, but there is a limit.

In Maryland, the maximum Community Spouse Resource Allowance during the

current calendar year is $119,220. There is also a minimum Community Spouse

Resource Allowance that allows a healthy spouse to keep no less than $23,844,

even if this is more than half of the shared countable assets.

GIFT GIVING

Many people give gifts to their loved ones to divest themselves of countable

assets before they apply for Medicaid to pay for long-term care. This can be

done, but you have to be

aware of the potential impact

of the five-year look-back

period.

You have to complete your

gift giving at least five years

before you submit your

application if you want to

obtain coverage immediately.

A penalty is imposed, and your eligibility is delayed if you violate this five-your

rule.

SUMMARY

Medicaid is a government health insurance program that can become quite

important to people who were never poor, because it pays for long-term care.

The Medicare program will not pay for custodial care.

Though it is a need-based program, it is possible to qualify for Medicaid coverage

without losing a great deal in the process if you take the right steps in advance.

If you would like to obtain more detailed information about Medicaid planning

and nursing home asset protection, schedule a consultation with a licensed elder

law attorney.

REFERENCES

United States Department of Health and Human Services

http://longtermcare.gov

Genworth Financial

https://www.genworth.com/corporate/about-genworth/industry-expertise/cost-

of-care.html

About the Author

Jon J. Gasior

ABOUT JON J. GASIOR Jon Gasior’s initial interest in becoming an attorney was sparked by the desire to help others. His personal experience with family and the problems that resulted from their failure to create an estate plan resulted in his desire to learn more about this area of the law. From his work in the Elder Law Clinic, he further realized the need to plan not only for death, but also for incapacity during their lifetime. In counseling his clients to devise plans that address lifetime issues, as well as providing for family and loved ones, he recognized that estate planning and elder law were the areas of the law that he was compelled to devote his practice.

EXPERIENCE An established member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Jon offers years of experience in estate preservation and transfer. A strong proponent of the living trust, he also focuses on wills, powers of attorney, living wills, nursing home planning, and special needs planning. He strongly endorses long-term care insurance and, in certain cases, life insurance and some annuities as valuable estate preservation vehicles, and strives to assure the compatibility of her clients’ estate plan and financial plan. Sensitive to the challenges presented by lifestyle and circumstance, Jon addresses each situation with personal attention, wisdom, and skill.

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