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Equal Access To Justice
MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY FOR LONG-TERM CARE
(ASSETS)
When you apply for Medicaid coverage for long-term care, the Medicaid office will take a "snapshot" of your assets. If you are married, the snapshot will include your spouse's assets, even though your spouse plans to remain in the community.
The Medicaid office will generally split the couple's assets in half and assign one-half to the institutionalized spouse, and the other half to the spouse remaining in the community. However, there is a minimum amount (currently $25,000) and a maximum amount (currently $80,760) that can be assigned to the community spouse. The best way to illustrate this is by example:
EXAMPLE #1: If the couple has combined assets of $100,000, then $50,000 will be assigned to the community spouse, and the other $50,000 will be assigned to the institutionalized spouse.
EXAMPLE #2: If the couple has combined assets of $30,000, then $25,000 (the minimum) will be assigned to the community spouse, and the remaining $5,000 will be assigned to the institutionalized spouse.
EXAMPLE #3: If the couple has combined assets of $180,760, then $80,760 (the maximum) will be assigned to the community spouse and the remaining $100,000 will be assigned to the institutionalized spouse.
Assets over $2,000 assigned to the institutionalized spouse must be "spent down" before the spouse will be Medicaid eligible.
Other rules pertaining to Medicaid eligibility for long-term care will be covered in future editions of the Help From ELP bulletin.
The Elder Law Program is a service partially funded under the Older Americans Act through the Delaware Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities.