Bonnie Kraham: Avoiding the Medicaid asset spend down for nursing home costs,” by Bonnie Kraham, Times Herald-Record

“The Medicaid asset ‘spend down’ refers to divesting yourself of assets so you can qualify for Medicaid to pay for nursing home costs. … The best way to avoid the Medicaid asset spend down is to buy long-term care insurance. If you do not have or cannot qualify for long-term care insurance, the next best plan is to create the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) that protects assets from nursing home costs after the assets have been in the trust for five years. … It is never too late in New York to save assets from the Medicaid asset spend down.”

 

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):

Translation: we all know you don’t have LTC insurance. Why would you when I, and thousands more Medicaid planners all around the country, have been writing articles like this one for 38 years? So get your MAPT and let your neighbors pay for your nursing home care.