"You're gonna get it..."
Posted on 11/13/2013 3:31:42 PM PST by Vince Ferrer
“So here’s the deal: since 1993 there has been a federal law requiring states to recover at least some of the costs of Medicaid-covered medical care for anyone 55 years old and up, from the estates of those covered. States enforce this law, with their own laws and policies added in, differently in every state. But the general principle is there. Up until now the usual consequence has been things like this: Medicaid puts a lien on the house of someone in a nursing facility who has run out of money, and after they die, the heirs find they have to buy the house back from the state if they want it.
We haven’t had lots of people younger than 65 on Medicaid, because in most states simply earning less than the Federal Poverty Level did not qualify one for Medicaid.
And we haven’t had many people with lots of assets on Medicaid, because in most places you have to have less than around $2400 to your name before Medicaid will cover you. You can keep your house and your car, but Medicaid reserves the right to put liens on them and take them when you die.
But now we have the Affordable Care Act, and its expectation that everyone in the lower tier of income will end up in the Medicaid system. To accomplish this, they have dropped the asset test. So now we will have lots of people ages 55-64, who have assets but not a lot of income right now, for whatever reason, on Medicaid.
The kicker of it is, if you make the right amount to qualify for a subsidized health insurance plan, your costs are going to be shared and subsidized by the government. But if you go on Medicaid, you owe the entire amount that Medicaid spends on you from the day you turn 55.”
i’m working on that. i think it is a good idea. in my case i want my gf to be secure but not to allow my assets to pass to her relatives. They are very well off and just want her to work just not in the family business.
I did. It does. The house is mine and can’t be touched.
Bump for reference.
Header wrong——It’s Medicaid,not Medicare.
Big difference.
.
In my state, they passed a law that eliminated the protection of a life estate and they now freeze the value of the life tenant’s interest as of the date of death, and then they claim a lien on that percentage.
So if a 84-year old dies, and say he would be assigned 37% of the value based on his life interest, that is the extent to which the lien would be effective.
It totally changed common law which previously did not allow a lien on a life interest, because the life interest disappears on the death of the life tenant.
Strange times.
If you go on Medicaid at 80 you could lose your house.
It’s been that way for years.
Medicare is another thing entirely.
.
In my case, they don’t go after the assets, they merely take the average monthly nursing home cost, say $7,000.00, and divide that by the value of the asset transferred out without getting fair compensation.
So if the house is worth $140,000.00, they would not receive benefits for a period of 20 months. Makes it hard to deal with if there aren’t other assets.
Everyone has their own personal circumstances and I have to say there is a need for a safety net of sorts. Most people are not exhausting their options before turning to government.
Personally, my family is faced, has faced, the retirement of many family elders. At the same time, my family is also faced with our juniors making their way into the world. We don’t take government assistance. We help each other. It is difficult because my generation is less numerous than previous generations. Those previous generations, with 8 to 12 siblings, are being supported by the current generation of 2 to 3 siblings.
At my age, nearly 50, I have to deal with my own children going to college and getting into the world. My wife and I are helping her brother (her junior by 12 years) hold on to his independent trucking business, as well as care for my parents and my wife’s parents. We are holding things together, at least for now. We are not looking for handouts.
Not too long ago we were helping our grandparents. They have all past. None of them ever spent time in a nursing/retirement home. We (the family) made sure their needs were met. Our grandparents made it into their 90’s and died at home. They had healthcare till the end. But more importantly they had family with them every day. Literally, we took shifts.
They died with grace. They died with love. They died with family. It didn’t cost taxpayers anything. My family is stronger because of it.
"You're gonna get it..."
sounds like BS. have not heard of anyones house seized by medicaid.
I here ya, brother. God bless your family.
I believe the author meant Medicaid instead of Medicare. I thought they could seek reimbursement on Medicaid.
I believe the author is correct.
I find it difficult to trust any economist who does not understand that Medicare and Medicaid are separate programs.
Here’s just one article. Google is amazing. The money quote in the article is from an elder care attorney. He reports many calls a day from people in this situation.
“Should it read Medicaid and not Medicare.”
Yes, he headline is grossly incorrect. It should indeed read “Medicade”.
Don’t know if this is so, but I heard even if you have a living trust, if the husband or wife is headed to a nursing home, that spouse should do a quit claim on their grant deed, allowing the other spouse to protect the home from a lien when that spouse passes on for 1/2 the value of the home, or up to the medical expenses incurred.
Well yes and no...
If you create an "irrevocable trust" the state can not seize its assets. If you create a "revocable trust" however, the state can and will force a change in the trust document to allow seizure of trust assets.
Why would you pick a revocable over an irrevocable trust? Lets say that one or more of the beneficiaries of your trust seem likely to drink and party their way through the assets once you die. A revocable trust allows you to make changes to the trust document and in essence write them out of the trust or perhaps have the trustee keep them on an allowance.
If you create an irrevocable trust no subsequent changes are allowed. When you sign off on the trust document, it is what it is and anything you didn't anticipate is now cast in stone for better or worse.
Regards,
GtG
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