Vegas Voice 10-18

Impoverished by Medicaid
By: Jerry Creed / Trust Jerry
A brother and sister came to my office. Their
mom had passed years earlier and dad, dying from
Parkinson’s disease, was entering hospice. He had
been in a skilled nursing facility for the last ten years.
The two kids had worked extra jobs to keep dad’s house, hoping for him
to return home one day. Worst case the kids figured, when dad died they
could recover their funds by selling the house.
Unfortunately Medicaid has changed and went from being a benefit to
a loan. Every dollar spent by Medicaid on you is tracked and when you
die, Medicaid expects to be paid back from your Estate.
In addition, the rules to qualify for Medicaid changed so that instead
of 200,000 people on Medicaid in Nevada, we now have over 600,000.
In effect, while reducing the Estate Tax, they created a huge hidden tax,
without politicians calling it a tax, simply a “recovery” so more people
can benefit from the program.
I had to explain to the brother and sister that Medicaid was no longer
a benefit, but a loan. In their case, dad was in a skilled nursing facility -
$8,000 a month (average cost in Nevada), 12 months a year, $96,000 for
10 years or $960,000.
End result, dad’s home was sold to pay Medicaid back. The kids got no
inheritance and had lost years of work.
It should surprise no one that when the Federal Government raised the
Federal Estate Tax threshold to 11.2 million dollars appearing to reduce
their supply of our money, Congress had already found a new source of
funds by stealing the life savings of our seniors. The method for capturing
these funds - changing Medicaid.
While most people can afford the cost of assisted living for a spouse,
few people can afford the $8,000 monthly cost of a skilled nursing facility.
In order to qualify for Medicaid assistance, a single person is allowed to
keep $2,000 in assets, and if both spouses need assistance the amount
increases to $3,000.
If you can’t pay the $8,000 a month, you’ll be forced to reduce your
life savings to impoverishment levels and have no safety net in order to
receive Medicaid’s help. There is a better way.
Contacting an Elder law attorney and planning for Medicaid as part of
your estate plan now can save financial and emotional heartache for you
and your family. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
I urge you to not let this happen to you and your family. Protect yourself
and find an elder law attorney to speak with today.
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October 2018