“PLANNING AHEAD: Are inheritances protected and other Medicaid myths [Column]”

“PLANNING AHEAD: Are inheritances protected and other Medicaid myths [Column],” by Janet Colliton, Times Herald

 

Quote:

“Not only is planning possible during the five year ‘look back’ and when you are considering nursing home care, but this is where most of our planning is done — provided there are sufficient assets left to develop a plan. If it is possible, you do not want to approach a nursing home requesting admission for you or your spouse or parent when there are no, or very little assets left. The plan also has to consider what kind of care you need and when. If you do not know how the rules fit your circumstances, our office schedules appointments to listen to your background and describe how the rules apply to you.”

 

 

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

Read this article and ask yourself again: “Why don’t people buy LTC insurance?” This Medicaid planning attorney advises not worry about planning early. There are plenty of ways to qualify for Medicaid at the last minute. But hold back enough “key money” so you can get Mom into a decent nursing home—one that won’t take new Medicaid residents—until we flip the legal switch to qualify her for Medicaid. When you hear the analysts insisting people are “spending down” into impoverishment, that’s what is really going on. Most wealth gets sheltered with enough cash held back to “spend down” in a nursing home you bought Mom’s way into with a few months of private pay.