Practice Areas > Medicaid Planning > Important Facts About Medicaid
Protections for the Healthy Spouse
Medicaid provides special protection for the spouses of nursing home residents to make sure they have enough assets and income to live on.
Here’s how the so-called “spousal protections” work: if the Medicaid applicant is married, the government counts the assets of both spouses, regardless of whether they are jointly titled. The date used is the “snap-shot” date—which is the first day the Medicaid applicant entered a hospital or long-term care facility for at least thirty consecutive days
Generally, the community spouse gets to keep fifty percent of the countable assets that exist on the “snap-shot” date. However, as of 2007, there is a limit of approximately $101,000. If there is a court order providing that additional assets are needed, Medicaid will permit the greater amount. The minimum amount each spouse gets to keep, as of 2007, is approximately $20,000.
Fortunately, the community spouse will be permitted to keep all of his or her income. That income will not have to be used to support the nursing home spouse. In circumstances where the community spouse does not have enough income, and the institutionalized spouse does have income, the community spouse may take some or all of the institutionalized spouse’s income. There is a minimum limit for the community spouse (as of 2007) of $1700 per month. A court may order that a greater amount can be transferred from the institutionalized spouse to the community spouse.
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