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Nursing Home Medicaid Qualifications

Release Date: 04/02/2024

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In this episode, attorney Bill Miller breaks down the topic of nursing home Medicaid. He shares a case study of a couple dealing with dementia and the financial challenges they faced. Bill touches on the qualifications for Medicaid and addresses common misconceptions about nursing homes and Medicaid. He also highlights problems people encounter when applying for Medicaid, including the income and asset limitations that need to be considered.

The conversation continues with a discussion about the 60-month look-back period and strategies to speed up Medicaid qualification.

Takeaways

Nursing home Medicaid is an important topic that often causes confusion.
Many individuals and families struggle to pay for nursing home care, leading to the depletion of their savings.
Medicaid is a means-tested program and requires individuals to meet certain income and asset qualifications.
Misconceptions about nursing homes and Medicaid can lead to misunderstandings about who pays for care.
The two major problems with Medicaid qualification are having too many assets or too much income, and the look-back period for asset transfers.
Medicaid determines the assets on the snapshot date, which is the first day of the month when someone enters a hospital or nursing home facility and doesn't return home.
Assets that count towards Medicaid qualification include IRAs, real estate, investment accounts, savings accounts, and cash value life insurance.

Chapters

(00:00) Introduction

(01:01) Case Study: Retirement and Dementia

(02:28) Transition to Nursing Home

(03:27) Qualifying for Medicaid

(05:38) Misconceptions about Nursing Homes and Medicaid

(06:14) Problems with Medicaid Qualification

(08:36) Income and Asset Qualifications

(12:02) Snapshot Date for Asset Evaluation

(14:33) Problem Assets in Medicaid Qualification

(16:31) 60-Month Look-Back Period

(19:44) Strategies to Speed Up Medicaid Qualification