Medicaid
Sep 28, 2011OUTCOME: The wife was approved for Medicaid and the husband was able to keep the house and the $250,000 in assets.
A couple who had worked hard all their lives and who had owned their own businesses, came to me after the wife (who had a dementia diagnosis) was admitted to a nursing home for long term care. The hus ... band (who had recently been diagnosed with cancer himself) was told by the nursing home that he would have to spend all their money to pay for his wife's care until they had less than $2,500, at which time the nursing home would help him apply for Medicaid. As you would imagine, the husband was very distraught because the nursing home was charging $8,500 per month for his wife's care and he needed money to pay for his cancer treatments and living expenses. With only a house and $250,000 in assets, he estimated that he would be "broke" in 2 1/2 years, as his income alone would not be enough to cover his monthly living expenses. I counseled him not to worry and that we would put a plan together that would not only qualify his wife for Medicaid, but would preserve all their assets for his future care needs. With my assistance, we were able to qualify his wife immediately for Medicaid so he only had to pay her income to the nursing home. At the same time, we used a portion of their money to create an income stream for him so he could pay his monthly living expenses and have enough to cover his cancer treatments.
