Posted on 11/13/2013 3:31:42 PM PST by Vince Ferrer
So heres 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 havent 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 havent 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.
All a homestead does is give you a break on taxes, they are less if you homestead the place. It wouldn't have anything to do with Medicaid. If this guy is right, anything spent on you through Medicaid is repaid as much as possible by taking your house after you die.
This needs to be checked out to see if it is true. A person without insurance and no money to buy a plan because they are unable to work, could get coverage through Medicaid and that's a good deal but if his/her house is taken after he/she dies, that's really bad. If he/she doesn't care what happens to the house after death, okay, but if he/she does care, it's a problem.
I think search the Medicaid website to find out for sure or one could contact one’s US representative or Senator to let him/her find out. It think this is important enough, a Rep or Senator would want to know.
I know for sure the IRS can take money out of your bank account so it may be the IRS who would actually take ownership of the house. Lots of people are signing up for Medicaid so they need to know if this is true or not.
If Obamas Socialized Health Insurance Tax, (OSHIT), has little or no chance of financial success in 5 years, then why do Federal politicians in both political parties try to fix or replace instead of ABOLISH Obamacare?
Don’t affect anybody here. I can’t imagine a single conservative especially FRiends being on Medicaid as they would never allow themselves to have been so desperate to accept such a nonsense program. So in this case it is a “screw” on liberals and I say GOOD.
Another work-around in MN is, if there is a care person who lived with (I think lived with) and devoted at least 2 years of time caring for the elderly owners, the owners can deed the house/land to that care person with no liability to care costs, at all!!
/johnny
Dying is still free.
/johnny
That would apply to me as well but I don’t think it was a necessary condition of the ownership workaround. Either would stand on its own.
In California’s MediCal, which Is Medicaid, they are not allowed to have assets except a car. There are even some regs on the car. It is welfare and the whole reason for welfare is that you are poor, and poor people don’t have assets.
So........I have no clue what this guy is talking about unless he IS talking about Medicare.
I can tell you that my gf received news that she had a $5000 inheritance from a deceased grandmother, but before she could collect, she got a note from Social Services stating they would seizing the funds to cover a $145,000 lien for services rendered. There are very few
Pools of money left that the government has not got its hands on.
That is true. I don’t understand the desire to live forever. I think if you trust in God, you should not mind dying at all. So many people are so scared of dying even good Christians. It is amazing. Now I don’t want to check out tomorrow, but I do not want to be a veteran aged 107 being looked at during a Veterans Parade either.
That is state law, not federal law. In Texas, if you declare bankruptcy, and you own a house, that cannot be taken from you if you homesteaded it. This Medicaid thing is federal law which supersedes state law.
I have now read everything on this thread and it appears the feds will take a house if the person gets Medicaid since all that is given for free until the person dies, then the assets go to the govn. to help pay back what was spent on that person but if there is a spouse in the house, the feds wait until the spouse is gone. I didn’t know about this fact of Medicaid.
If one has no money, Medicaid is free until they get the money from the assets after the person dies. It doesn’t include Medicare as we pay for the insurance and the drug insurance and I have a supplement plan for which I also pay.
Study Bump ! !
Depends on the girls in the parade. I remain, resolutely, and un-reconstructed, a red-blooded American male.
/johnny
There are some Freepers who are sick, can't work, some have cancer, and have little money and they would be eligible for Medicaid and I'm fairly sure some are on it. If that was the only way you could get medical care, you would do it. If you wouldn't, then you would just die. Maybe you would make that choice.
California has approved Expanded Medicaid which requires no asset test.
In fact, many states removed the Medicaid asset test several years ago as did mine (Washington State).
I’d be surprised if California didn’t as well.
Good point....lol.
Absolutely, at least four have stated as much. Many others no doubt are on it or going on it but don't advertise the fact. Besides the circumstances you have outlined, one factor practically forcing people onto Medicaid is that the exchange subsidies are not available once your income drops below a certain level. Thus it is full-price, totally unaffordable health insurance or Medicaid. Not really a choice.
This D a i l y K O S thread has been posted here before on the subject of Medicaid estate recovery and is worth a read even if the source is objectionable:
Back in 1989, I saw how expensive it was to have a nurse care for someone in a home, so I bought a Long Term Care insurance policy and still have it. It will pay for a nursing home for me to be there or it will pay for a nurse at my house. That policy is no longer issued but those of us who had it, still have it - I pay the premium every month.
The way this govn. medical care is going, I’m very glad I have that private insurance long term care policy.
have already checked this out with two lawyers, living trust will not work.
People over 64+ going onto Medicaid/Medicare shouldnt be in jeopardy of having their homes seized to pay for their medical care.
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Medicaid has been seizing assets for thirty years in my state.
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