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just about every state has partnership plans . but the terms vary . new york has 100% asset protection and income protection as a perk in their state partnership plans .
so you take what appears to be a normal long term care plan , in this case it gives us 3 years in a skilled nursing facility or 6 years in home or assisted living care .
once the insurance runs out a special version of medicaid takes over all bills .
unlike regular medicaid which has both asset and income requirements , this has none .there is no spend down , no income limit for the stay at home spouse and no look back .
most states do not have total asset protection , they use a dollar for a dollar plan which is cheaper , ny offers that type too .
if medicaid spends a dollar , you get a dollar protected in assets .so if medicaid spends 200k then 200k is protected .
the plans are not cheap though . but the dollar for dollar ones are cheaper than total asset .
remember ,this does not happen with regular ltc insurance , only if you buy a partnership plan .
ocnjgirl, Oh I think I'm totally clear now. I misread something. When you said:
...I thought you meant YOU personally out of your OWN funds were sending the facility money to make up some difference. But you meant you were sending your mom's money (the Soc. Sec. -$40.00). That makes sense.
But this has helped me get clear on some of the process. I thought the family HAD to sign over the Soc Sec. with it going right to the facility (with the facility "keeping on account" the amount the elder is allowed to keep.)
But I do see that it CAN be arranged so the POA still gets the check and sends the facility the required amount. And I DO SEE that IF the elder for some reason had to be moved to another facility, that payment arrangement would certainly be "less complicated" money wise. Who knows how long it could take the Soc Sec amount to be "re-routed" to the new facility. God forbid the old facility is still being paid, and the new one isn't....sure it would eventually be straightened out. But why even set up that "glitch" as a possibility.
I know I'd much prefer your way. Thanks.
Yes I wouldn’t want to try to have to change it. Much easier this way if she ever has to move.
new jersey has a partnership plan . it is not total asset though . like most states it is a dollar for a dollar . which is still a good deal .
total asset is the best though but only ny and i think Illinois offer it .
"Long Term Care Partnership Policies allow consumers to keep some of their assets that they would most likely spend down in order to qualify for Medicaid when needing Long Term Care. Most Partnership Programs work on a Dollar-for-Dollar basis, for every dollar that a policy holder would use in their benefits, that is how much of your assets you can keep. Example, if you have a LTC Insurance Partnership Policy and you are using your Long Term Care Insurance benefits and you use $100,000 worth for care and your benefits run out so you need to go on Medicaid, $100,000 of your assets will be exempt from Medicaid spend down."
here in ny we get up to a 1600.00 dollar state tax credit for having our partnership plan . that is a 1600 dollar rebate . i am not sure what other states do as far as tax credits for plans .
new jersey has a partnership plan . it is not total asset though . like most states it is a dollar for a dollar . which is still a good deal .
total asset is the best though but only ny and i think Illinois offer it .
"Long Term Care Partnership Policies allow consumers to keep some of their assets that they would most likely spend down in order to qualify for Medicaid when needing Long Term Care. Most Partnership Programs work on a Dollar-for-Dollar basis, for every dollar that a policy holder would use in their benefits, that is how much of your assets you can keep. Example, if you have a LTC Insurance Partnership Policy and you are using your Long Term Care Insurance benefits and you use $100,000 worth for care and your benefits run out so you need to go on Medicaid, $100,000 of your assets will be exempt from Medicaid spend down."
But you still have to buy LTC insurance, correct? My mom would never have done that. It’s a catch 22 because when she was home she was not planning to go to an ALF, she wanted to be home. And her small income wouldn’t have allowed her to stay home and pay for. LTC policy.
absolutely , you not only need to buy insurance but qualifying is tough . but if you have the assets to protect it is woth tit can be worth it .
the guy we bought the policy from can't qualify because he is to over weight .
they came to the house and ran full blood and urine tests , hiv test and drug testing , plus a bunch of memory tests .
they had access to every blood test i ever took . they saw a few years earlier i tested high in my A1C and was diabetic , but through running 4 miles every other day ,diet and weightlifting i am on no meds and prediabetic levels . i got a 1k surcharge forever .
so the time to get these are before something goes wrong .
My mother, 92, is in a nursing home. She was in an assisted living previously but a fall recently put her in a situation that she needed more care. For double the cost! She was pretty savvy with her money and I always admired her understanding investments, etc, but was dismayed years ago when she realized she “missed the boat” on LTC. By the time she looked into it the company wanted $13,000 to insure them. She felt she’d “ self insure” instead. Dad had a heart condition that rendered him uninsurable and mom has lots of medical issues. It’s unfortunate that she’s had to use up all of her money for her care, but sometimes people are luckier in that they don’t need these kind of homes at the end of their lives, hence, preserving money for inheritance.
The nursing home mom is at is decent, I’m pleased with it. It’s a 15 minute drive from me and I stop in daily. They told me that you need to be a paying resident for six months before they’ll accept Medicaid. Mom has about a years worth of money left I started the Medicaid preparation and it’s not easy. In fact, I hired an elder care attorney. The Medicaid caseworker’s job is to go back over all financial records for past 5 years and make sure she didn’t gift any money. Well, of course she gave gifts...birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, holidays, but nothing out of ordinary. She gave some money to her religious organization. Paid for her grandchildren to visit occasionally. Normal stuff. But the caseworker highlights all these amounts. They’re not allowed. Heck, she put gas in my car cause I was driving her to drs constantly. Nope, not allowed. Which means that once she does get approved next year, when she’s down to $2000, then she’s penalized for the amount she gave in gifts. There’s a formula. So I would have to pay for a couple of months until that amount is covered.( at $8,000 a month)!! I asked them if they kick her out for that time. They said no, but next of kin (me) gets billed. And although I didn’t sign anything for financial liability they said I’ll get a bill and could be taken to collection.
Once approved, they can only bill for the SS amount plus any pension, etc money a person receives. Mom only has SS.
My mother, 92, is in a nursing home. She was in an assisted living previously but a fall recently put her in a situation that she needed more care. For double the cost! She was pretty savvy with her money and I always admired her understanding investments, etc, but was dismayed years ago when she realized she “missed the boat” on LTC. By the time she looked into it the company wanted $13,000 to insure them. She felt she’d “ self insure” instead. Dad had a heart condition that rendered him uninsurable and mom has lots of medical issues. It’s unfortunate that she’s had to use up all of her money for her care, but sometimes people are luckier in that they don’t need these kind of homes at the end of their lives, hence, preserving money for inheritance.
The nursing home mom is at is decent, I’m pleased with it. It’s a 15 minute drive from me and I stop in daily. They told me that you need to be a paying resident for six months before they’ll accept Medicaid. Mom has about a years worth of money left I started the Medicaid preparation and it’s not easy. In fact, I hired an elder care attorney. The Medicaid caseworker’s job is to go back over all financial records for past 5 years and make sure she didn’t gift any money. Well, of course she gave gifts...birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, holidays, but nothing out of ordinary. She gave some money to her religious organization. Paid for her grandchildren to visit occasionally. Normal stuff. But the caseworker highlights all these amounts. They’re not allowed. Heck, she put gas in my car cause I was driving her to drs constantly. Nope, not allowed. Which means that once she does get approved next year, when she’s down to $2000, then she’s penalized for the amount she gave in gifts. There’s a formula. So I would have to pay for a couple of months until that amount is covered.( at $8,000 a month)!! I asked them if they kick her out for that time. They said no, but next of kin (me) gets billed. And although I didn’t sign anything for financial liability they said I’ll get a bill and could be taken to collection.
Once approved, they can only bill for the SS amount plus any pension, etc money a person receives. Mom only has SS.
While your mom's money can only be used for her from now on, Medicaid is not going to deduct small amounts she gave you for gas or gifts. My mom always gave checks to her grandchildren for holidays and birthdays, you won't get penalized for that as long as they are under $500.00. The only things they required explanations for were any amounts over $500.00. I'd send the statements, then the lawyer would e-mail me "What was check number 334 for $830 for on June 11, 2012? They didn't even ask about lesser amounts let alone deduct them. My mom was approved with no delays in payment.
One thing I did when my mom was spending down, was buy her gift cards for stores like Walmart or Target, and her grocery store. This way when she needed new clothes, or Depends, or the Lubriderm lotion she likes, I could order it for her without having to cover the cost. Now they are long gone, and I have to pay when she calls me and asks to have some groceries delivered (she likes to have bread, cheese, peanut butter, crackers, etc) or to tell me she's out of vitamins or face lotion. I can't really afford it either, but I can't bring myself to tell her she can't (she calls and asks me in a little mouse voice "Am I allowed to get some groceries?".
We also bought her a lift recliner during the spend down, which is good to have even in a nursing home.
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