The Vegas Voice 11-19

Medicaid - No Longer a Benefit
By: Jerry Creed / Trust Jerry
Can you have Medicaid pay the high price of
a skilled nursing or memory care facility
and keep most of your Nest Egg intact? Yes, with
proper planning.
A brother and sister came to my office. 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.
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
received no inheritance and had lost years of work.
Few people can afford the $8,000 monthly cost of a skilled nursing or
memory care 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.
Had this family met with an Elder Law attorney much earlier, the
house could have been saved for the two children, and probably half of
the remaining community property could have been used to improve
their father’s quality of life while still having Medicaid pay for the
expensive care.
Failing to plan is planning to fail. Contact and Elder Law attorney
today.
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