Senior Medicaid Isn’t Just for Nursing Home Residents
In Maryland, as in many other places in the United States and the world, we have an aging population. Meanwhile, the generation that is currently approaching retirement age has never known the financial safeguards that their parents’ generation enjoyed. This means that we are likely to see an increase in demand for applications for Medicaid benefits for seniors. Most people never think about this until they are in their 60s and in a desperate financial situation, but it is possible to get Medicaid benefits even when you are old enough for Medicare. There are no age limits for Medicaid; it provides medical care for the poorest people, the ones who have no other way to pay for it. When seniors apply for Medicaid, it is sometimes because their retirement savings have run out, but other times, it is because they were never able to save for retirement throughout their careers. If you are close enough to retirement age that the fact that you will never be a millionaire is beginning to sink in, it is time to think seriously about your plans for long-term care. For help strategizing about your future as a senior Medicaid beneficiary, contact a Washington, D.C. estate planning lawyer.
Which Medicaid Benefits Can Seniors Get While Still Living at Home?
When seniors plan to apply for Medicaid, it is usually the Medicaid nursing home benefits they have in mind. Medicare pays for a maximum of 100 days of care in a residential facility, but they often find ways to stop paying sooner than that. Running out of savings while living in a nursing home is a real possibility, and now that the CFPB has reinstated the policy where nursing homes can refer patients’ accounts to collections, seniors with modest savings have even more to fear. Medicaid nursing home benefits are no one’s retirement dream; when you live in a nursing home on Medicaid’s dime, Medicaid pays itself back with your Social Security check. The only money you will ever see is the personal needs allowance, which in Maryland is $90 per month.
Since Medicaid funds are a scarce resource, and probably about to become even scarcer, Medicaid provides in-home care benefits for seniors who need assistance in their homes but are less in need of around the clock care than some other seniors.
Financial Mistakes That Can Jeopardize Medicaid Eligibility
To qualify for Medicaid, the value of your assets must be vanishingly small, less than $2,500. If you are married, Medicaid assumes that most of your property belongs to your spouse who is still healthy enough to live at home. It looks at applicants’ finances over the five years leading up to the application for Medicaid. If you must spend down your assets to qualify for Medicaid, do it years in advance.
Contact Tobin O’Connor Ewing About Estate Planning in Tough Times
A Washington, D.C. real estate attorney can help you think realistically about Medicaid eligibility after retirement. Contact Tobin, O’Connor, and Ewing in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.
