What Are The Resource Limits For Medicaid In Virginia?
You have worked hard to save for your retirement and to ensure that you have the financial security you want for you and your family. You have also tried to plan for whatever life may bring in the future. But, even the most well thought out plans may not be enough to prepare you for the high costs associated with long-term care, if and when you or a loved one needs it.
Most people are shocked to find out how much it’s going to cost them when they or a loved one requires long-term care. In Virginia, the average cost per day for long-term care in a private room in a nursing home is approximately $300/day.
The cost of a room in an assisted living facility or for in-home care is a little less expensive, but still much more than the average family can readily afford for an extended period of time. Therefore, most individuals and families who are looking for ways to pay for long-term care turn to Medicaid for assistance.
Medicaid Resource Limits
Medicaid will cover the cost of long-term care in a nursing home or rehabilitation facility and even in your own home, if you qualify. However, to qualify, you must meet certain needs-based eligibility requirements. These requirements are generally as follows:
- Income – You must not earn more than 300% of the SSI amount for an individual, or $2,349 per month (as of January 2020).
- Assets – You must not have more than $2000 in countable assets.
If you are married and your spouse is not applying for Medicaid, there is a different set of resource limits based on Medicaid’s “anti spousal impoverishment standards”. These standards allow the non-applicant spouse to be allocated a portion of the applicant spouse’s resources so that that the non-applicant spouse can maintain his or her life at home while the applicant spouse is institutionalized.
An experienced Medicaid planning attorney can explain the anti spousal impoverishment standards to you in detail during your consultation.
Medicaid’s Look-Back Period
When you apply, Medicaid has a 60-month Look-Back Period for all gifts and transfers made for the purpose of qualifying for Medicaid to cover long-term care.
In other words, in the 60 months prior to applying for Medicaid to cover long-term care, you cannot have transferred or gifted away any substantial amount of money.
Any gifts or transfers made with the 60-month Look-Back Period will trigger a penalty period during which you will be ineligible for Medicaid coverage.
So, for example, if you gifted $10,000 to your daughter one year before you applied for long-term care assistance, Medicaid will attribute a penalty period based on this $10,000 gift. During this penalty period, you will be required to pay the cost of long-term care yourself.
After this penalty period has elapsed, Medicaid will step back in to cover the cost of your long-term care going forward. Again, an experienced attorney can explain Medicaid’s look-back period and its implications more thoroughly during your consultation with them.
Contact An Experienced Virginia Medicaid Planning Attorney Today!
To learn more about Medicaid and long-term care and how we can help you qualify, please feel free to contact Speedwell Law, PLLC at (703) 553-2577 or [email protected] to arrange a consultation. We will be happy to answer all of your questions and help you and your family navigate this challenging period in your lives.
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The information on this site is for general informational purposes only. The information presented in this site is not legal advice or a legal opinion. You should seek the advice of legal counsel of your choice before acting upon any of the information in this site.