Medicaid Annuities--Government Help If You Qualify
You probably already know that nursing home costs average more than $66,000
per year, and Medicare only covers short
periods of skilled care after you are
released from a hospital. And maybe you have purchased
a long-term care insurance policy to help pay for such an expense. But
do you realize that that may not be enough to protect your spouse (community
spouse) who is still at home and that there may be a way for you to receive
additional government assistance?
Almost 70 percent of nursing home residents receive help from Medicaid. This program is funded and regulated
by the federal and state governments
and will pay the portion of your nursing home expenses that your income
and long-term care policy don’t cover.
The eligibility requirements vary from state to state so it’s important
for you to understand your state’s rules on spousal protection.
Medicaid will provide funds for care
before insisting you exhaust all of your personal assets and income. Most
states will let your spouse keep between $1,451 per month and the federal
limit of $2,175. And he or she will also be able to keep between $17,400
and $87,000 that represents half of your combined
assets not including your home and some other assets. Anything over that
amount can be attached to pay for your
care. As a result you might have to “spend down” to your state’s definition
of “needy” in order to get assistance,
which could leave the community spouse in financial difficulty. Then when
you get out of the nursing home, you could be left without those assets
that you had previously used to supplement
your income (there are many ways, however, to shelter your assets).
Each state has specific guidelines of what are considered
attachable assets. These generally include CDs, IRAs, money market accounts,
and deferred annuities. However, an immediate
annuity, the kind that starts paying an income immediately,
is usually not attachable provided certain
requirements are met:
· It
must be irrevocable
· It
must be based on your life expectancy
· Payments
must begin prior to you entering a nursing home
If you would like to learn how an immediate
annuity could possibly help you qualify for Medicaid,
preserve assets, and provide an income for your spouse, find an advisor
trained with various types of annuities and who can provide advice in
your local area, click
here
Note that immediate annuity investments
contain fees and expenses and may not be able to be surrendered
for value.
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Learn the truth about annuities. If you
own an annuity or are thinking about investing, get a copy of
this booklet first!
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