As we mentioned a short while ago, there are some very particular federal and state Medicaid requirements to meet if you want to receive Medicaid benefits.

First, you need to be a resident of Mississippi and a US national, citizen, permanent resident, or legal alien.

Second, you need to be at least one of the following:

• Pregnant
• The caretaker of a dependent child or children under nineteen
• Blind
• Disabled
• Over sixty-five years of age

If you’re eligible based on these factors, then it’s time to consider your income and assets and whether they’re low enough for you to qualify.

Tragically, many people who would otherwise qualify for Medicaid give up at this point, thinking they can’t qualify because their incomes or asset levels are too high. But the fact is, with a little strategizing, they could qualify!

How to Qualify

Here are the 2014 Mississippi income and asset eligibility requirements for long-term care patients:

Income cap: $2,163

Asset cap: $4,000

Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA): $117,240

Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance: $2,931

Let’s look at a hypothetical situation:

Hypothetically we have an elderly couple, the wife needs nursing home care and is looking to get covered by Medicaid.

However, this isn’t possible if the couple has a high enough income level or net worth (excluding their primary residence and the value of their car). Medicaid is designed for those who need care and can’t afford it, which is why you have to demonstrate need.

Of course, just because you’ve accumulated a sizable nest egg doesn’t mean you can afford long-term care for years on end with no help. You deserve some financial assistance for long-term nursing care.

The question is, how do you do it? If you currently have income or assets that make you ineligible, you don’t want to just throw all that away in order to qualify for Medicaid assistance. There has to be a better way!

Restructuring Assets

Fortunately, there are many possible strategies for restructuring your finances to qualify for Medicaid, and I’m going to outline one of them here.

Say you have $300,000 in the bank, and your spouse is going into nursing-home care. Based on community property rules, you can’t have more than $117,240, and your spouse can’t have more than $4,000 in assets.

If you came to me with this dilemma, I would discuss with you the merits of turning these assets into income streams that don’t count toward the asset limit.

One way to do this is with an annuity. You can purchase an annuity that pays you an income from that $300,000 lump sum, and the lump sum itself is no longer considered a countable asset.

Another way to shield that $300,000 is with something called a promissory note. Here, you’d essentially loan out your money to someone you trust and collect a small monthly stipend from him or her. As with the annuity, the money would no longer be counted as an asset toward your asset limit. However, it would add to your monthly income, so we’d need to look at it closely to figure out the optimal course of action.

This isn’t intended to be legal advice, but just an example of what can be done if you think you could qualify for Medicaid but aren’t quite there yet. I encourage you to speak with us and see if there’s a way for you to qualify. More often than not, there are ways we can get you the financial support you deserve!

~ Ronald Morton