QUESTION
will an elderly person be denied mainecare if he gave away 15,000 4 years before he requires it.
Asked on Mar 08th, 2020 on Estate Planning - Maine
More details to this question:
Say there is an elderly man in a nursing home and he is paying for his care, but runs out of money. He applies for mainecare but is denied because he gave away $15,000 three years prior to a family member. Do they kick him out onto the street?
1 ANSWER
2 Awards
If the person who received the money returns it, Medicaid will disregard it.
If not, the applicant will not be eligible for Medicaid until a certain time period has passed. The length of this penalty period is determined by dividing the $15,000 by the amount which Medicaid determines is the standard daily cost of nursing home care in your state, about $200. This means that the applicant will not be eligible for nursing home Medicaid for about 75 days. The family can pay. The applicant can go to a board and care home which will take him (but provide no nursing) in exchange for his Social Security. There may be other alternatives, such as "Mason manor." To explore these you may want to contact an elder lawyer using the Find a Lawyer function of the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org)
Answered on Mar 09th, 2020 at 5:24 AM
This is general information. It cannot substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. It is not intended to be legal advice or imply an attorney-client relationship.