What is likelihood that you will need long-term healthcare?

Recent reports have estimated that 43% of individuals currently 65 or older will require nursing home care

Qualifying for Medicaid to Pay for Long-Term Care

Why plan ?

To preserve lifetime savings and qualify for eligibility for Medicaid benefits to subsidize the skyrocketing cost of long-term care in North Carolina. If you don’t plan, lifetime savings will be used, perhaps in their entirety, to pay for nursing home care.

 Principal Rules of Medicaid

1)   Assets – Qualifying for benefits

1. $2,000 asset limit for Medicaid recipient
2. Protections for Community spouse are available if medicaid applicant is married

2)   Income – All but $60 of the senior’s monthly income and medical insurance must go to nursing home

1. Protections for community spouse if medicaid applicant is married

3)   Transfer Penalty – Any transfer of assets for less than their fair market value will cause a period of Medicaid ineligibility

1. Medicaid applicant is ineligible 1 month for every $6,300 transferred within “60 month look back period” (5 years)
2. Period of eligibility begins when “otherwise eligible” for Medicaid and living in nursing home
3. Few Exceptions to Transfer penalty, one notable one is: No period of ineligibility will apply to asset transfers to spouse.

4)   Estate Recovery –  Process where government seeks to recover assets from Medicaid recipient’s probate estate for nursing home care

1.  The government keeps the meter running while Medicaid is paying for a senior’s long term care and has been extremely aggressive in lobbying the State Legislature to expand estate recovery. However, North Carolina remains a favorable jurisdiction for Elder law attorneys to protect a senior’s assets through proper Medicaid planning.

A Charlotte, North Carolina Elder Law Attorney is a great resource to evaluate your assets and provide you with proactive solutions to qualify for Medicaid in North Carolina. Even if you are faced with a medical crisis where nursing home is imminent, it is not too late to seek help!

Countable and Exempt Assets

All assets owned by applicant (or Spouse) are countable assets (including: checking and savings accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 401Ks, and IRSAs), other than the following list of exempt assets:

1)   Principal Residence (still subject to estate recovery)

2)   Household belongings

3)   One Automobile

4)   Personal belongings (jewelry & clothing)

5)   Prepaid Funeral

6)   $1,500 special burial account

7)   Inaccessible Assets (disputed claims or some types of joint property)

8)  Life insurance policies with a combined face value of $10,000 or less

The best way to find out more information about Long Term Care and Medicaid Planning is to speak with Charlotte elder law and estate planning lawyer, Thomas C. Jeter III. Call Nosal & Jeter, LLP at (704) 608-3429 to schedule a consultation. We provide elder law and medicaid planning services to the Charlotte metro area including, Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Concord, Gastonia, Mooresville, and Monroe, NC.

NC Medicaid Planning Attorney

Call (704) 608-3429 or E-mail info@nosaljeterlaw.com to speak to a knowledgeable Charlotte, NC Medicaid Planning and Elder Law Lawyer