Elder Care & Medicaid Planning

Do you or a loved one need nursing home care for an extended period of time?

Does the nursing home resident need Medicaid coverage for nursing home expenses?

If yes, you may wish to engage in Medicaid planning.

The cost of nursing home care and availability of Medicare

The average cost for a nursing home stay in Georgia is $155 per night. This represents a significant expense to an elderly person on fixed income. Medicare only provides coverage for 100 days of nursing home care with a requirement that the patient pay a $141 copayment for each day of the stay beyond 20 days. It can be difficult to pay for nursing home stays that routinely extend for several months or even years.

The availability and requirements of Nursing Home Medicaid

Nursing Home Medicaid is one of the many types of Medicaid available to residents of Georgia. If an individual qualifies, Medicaid will pay for a large percentage, if not all, of the cost of a nursing home.

Along with rules governing the level of care provided by the nursing home, there are two financial requirements:

Asset test: To satisfy the asset test, a individual seeking to receive Nursing Home Medicaid can have countable assets of no more than $2,000. If the individual seeking Nursing Home Medicaid is married, the couple may have assets of $109,660 and one or both of the spouses can still qualify for Medicaid.

Income test: To qualify for Nursing Home Medicaid, an individual must have income less than $2,022 per month. Only the income of the resident of the nursing home is considered when qualifying for Medicaid; the income of a spouse is disregarded.

Qualifying for Nursing Home Medicaid if you currently exceed the financial limits

With proper planning, an individual’s assets and income can be reduced to qualify for Nursing Home Medicaid. Medicaid only considers certain types of assets in determining whether an individual qualifies for Medicaid. Proper planning involves converting assets from those that are countable in determining Nursing Home Medicaid to those that are excluded.

Merely spending your income as received is no longer sufficient to satisfy the income test for Nursing Home Medicaid in Georgia if an individual has income in excess of the $2,022 allowed. A trust can be created to shelter any additional income over the amount permitted by Medicaid. Any money deposited in the trust can be used to pay medical expenses not covered by Medicaid.

William Nabors Jr. will take the time to understand your need for Medicaid benefits and recommend the appropriate method of qualifying for benefits.