| Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) is a joint
federal and state program for the poor. If your client has failed to
plan ahead for a long term care expense, he or she will have to pay
out-of-pocket for their own care. This spend-down occurs until most
of one's assets are exhausted.
When your client applies for Medicaid, proof will
need to be offered that all 'countable' assets have been exhausted down to
the level of a maximum of $2,000 in assets and $35 a month income.
Upon death, each state is mandated by the federal government to have an
'estate-recovery' system in place to recover funds spent for a Medicaid
recipient. Each state varies as to how this is accomplished and to
what degree the funds are recovered.
If your client is married, for 2006, the at-home spouse is
allowed to keep one home, one car, income in his/her name and a
maximum of $99,950* in countable assets. If the at-home spouse has
income less than $2,489* per month, then the spouse applying for Medicaid
can allocate their own income to bring the at-home spouse up to the
allowable monthly income.
*These amounts differ for each state and
increase from year-to-year.
Be careful about advising your client in these
matters. Some agents mislead clients by recommending that the
client protect funds by placing them in an annuity. Income generated from the annuity may be subject to the income limits.
The most important thing to remember about
Medicaid is that unless you are a CPA or tax©2000-2006 LifeStyle Insurance Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
