Medicaid helps those receiving long-term care with their expenses. It is important to understand the various myths associated with Medicaid. Continue reading to learn more and reach out to our skilled Washtenaw County estate planning attorney today.
What are the most typical Medicaid myths?
- In order to qualify for Medicaid, you should assign your assets to your children. Medicaid puts a fine on an applicant who shares or gifts assets out of his or her name to another person or entity without obtaining fair market value in return. The penalty set is a stretch of time that Medicaid will not pay for the applicant’s care. The length of the penalty period is defined, based upon the number of assets transferred within five years of the date of the application for Medicaid. Yet, proper planning and consideration must be exercised if you or your loved one are considering transferring assets.
- Medicare will cover my long-term care expenses. Medicare’s coverage of long-term care expenses is rather limited. Medicare covers only up to 100 days of “skilled nursing care” per illness. To fulfill these requirements, you must join a Medicare-approved “skilled nursing facility” or nursing home within thirty days of a hospital stay that lasted at least three days. Further, you must be exhibiting signs of progress while in the facility or your Medicare coverage will be terminated. The care supplied in a nursing home must be for the same condition as delivered during the hospital stay. Once Medicare coverage for your nursing home expenses is completed, you will need to either personally pay for long-term care expenses or qualify for Medicaid.
- You need to be broke to qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid helps disadvantaged individuals pay for their long-term care costs, but you do not need to be completely impoverished to qualify. A single Medicaid applicant can have no more than $2,000 in assets in order to be entitled to receive Medicaid, but there are some assets that are considered noncountable.
- A prenuptial agreement will cover my assets from being counted if my spouse needs Medicaid. A prenuptial agreement does not keep your property separate for purposes of Medicaid eligibility. The goal of this agreement is to keep spouses’ property personal, in the event of death or divorce. Medicaid does not honor the words of prenuptial agreements.
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Sometimes, divorce, family, and estate matters are difficult to navigate. Fortunately, they do not have to be with the assistance of a compassionate, knowledgeable attorney who is willing to guide you every step of the way. If you need a seasoned firm to help you with any divorce, family or estate-related matter, please do not hesitate to contact Collis, Griffor & Hendra today to schedule a consultation.
