In order to qualify for Medicaid benefits to help pay for nursing home costs, certain asset and income guidelines must first be met. A single or widowed individual must have less than $2,000.00 in “countable” assets to qualify for Medicaid. Countable assets consist of, but are not limited to: balance in checking, savings, certificates of deposit, savings bonds, cash value life insurance, stocks, investment accounts, and retirement accounts. One vehicle of any value is not
Once your spouse has been approved for Medicaid to help pay the nursing home expense, you may wonder what will happen to your income. As the non-Medicaid-recipient spouse (“community spouse”) who is residing at home or with relatives, in an apartment or condominium, or in assisted living, you may be eligible to receive a portion of your spouse’s income each month. According to The Indiana Long Term Care Partnership Program page on the Indiana Medicaid website
Once your spouse has been approved for Medicaid to help pay nursing home costs, he or she will likely owe a portion of his or her income to the nursing home each month; this is referred to as the “liability” to the nursing home. The monthly liability owed to the nursing home is calculated by reducing the gross income of the Medicaid recipient by the following monthly costs: health and dental insurance premiums, Medicare supplemental
In most situations, transfers of assets that have taken place within five years of filing an application for “Nursing Home Medicaid” result in a penalty period, or period of Medicaid ineligibility based on the fair market value of the asset that was transferred (gifted). Since Indiana’s current penalty divisor is $6,682.00 (effective July 1, 2019 — this figure changes on July 1 each year), the transfer of a home with a fair market value of
The Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) Program is a new advance care planning tool designed for those individuals with a disease that is life-limiting or terminal. People with these life-limiting conditions experience diminished benefits from treatments and increased burden as their condition progresses. The Indiana POST form is a standardized form containing orders by a treating physician based on a patient’s preferences for end-of-life care. The POST form documents an individual’s treatment