Note: Medicaid Law Update – October 2021
New York finally adopted several regulations that imposed a major change in Medicaid eligibility. These regulations also introduced a “look-back” period into New York’s state’s Medicaid program.
A 30-month look-back provision gives the state the power to review the financial statements of anyone who is applying for home health care, private nurses, and other kinds of assisted living. By “looking back” at these records during the time period prior to their Medicaid application, the state can limit applicants’ eligibility.
Learn more about these changes if you’re planning to apply for Medicaid. Let our trusted attorney assist you with your Medicaid application.
How to Stay at home and protect your assets and income
In New York, the Community Based Medicaid program will pay for the cost of a home health aide. When applying, the local department of social services considered the applicant’s income and assets and whether the Medicaid applicant requires the assistance with the activities of daily living. The following is a breakdown of how DSS evaluates each for a New York Community Medicaid application.
Activities of Daily Living
An individual over the age of 65 is considered “disabled” and therefore entitled to Community Medicaid benefits if they need assistance with the activities of daily living, These include bathing, dressing, toileting and feeding. For most that are interested in Community Medicaid, this is not a difficult a difficult threshold to reach. Any applicant with the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s or with physical disabilities that limit their ability to live on their own, is sufficiently “disabled” enough to receive Community Medicaid benefits.
Income
Income is calculated by adding the following: Social Security, Pensions, income from rental properties or other investments, and require minimum distributions from retirement accounts. Under Community Medicaid rules in New York, the Medicaid recipient is entitled to keep $787 per month of their income. The remainder of the recipients income is called a “spenddown”. The Medicaid recipient is required spend the remainder on the cost of the aide. Medicaid will pay the difference.
Most of those who can stay at home will have expenses far exceeding the $787 limit. Medicaid understands this and allows for an exception. The often used exception is called a “Pooled Income Trust”.
Clearly, for many recipients of Community Based Medicaid, loss of income would prevent them from remaining in their homes. Enter the Pooled Income Trust. A Pooled Income Trust is similar to a bank account, however it administered by a Non-profit Trust Company, such as NYSARC Trust Services or AHRC.
If Mr. Smith has a monthly income of $2,787 in Social Security and pension income, and he is receiving Medicaid benefits for home care in her Long Island home, he has $2,000 in “excess income” under the current Medicaid rules. As a result, Mr. Smith is required to send a check each month in the amount of $2,000 to his home care agency as a contribution to the cost of his care.
However, when Mr. Smith joins a qualified pooled income trust, his $2,000 check will be sent to the trust instead of his home care agency. The trust will then be able to pay any of Mr. Smith’s expenses, such as his utilities, his food, or his clothing, from his own funds or even the taxes on his Long Island home. Mr. Smith will continue to receive his Medicaid home care, as well.
The pooled income trust contains the funds of many disabled persons and is managed by a non-profit organization that maintains separate accounts for each individual. In order to participate in the trust, the disabled person (or his representative acting under durable power of attorney) signs an agreement with the trust. Under this agreement, upon the beneficiary’s death, if there are any remaining funds they are kept by the trust.
Those who wish to participate in a pooled income trust will have to establish that they are disabled, but findings of disability by the Social Security Administration or by Medicaid are valid for this purpose.
Assets
For Medicaid purposes in New York, assets include any real property owned by the applicant or savings in the form of money markets, CD’s, stocks, bonds, cash values in insurance policies, and other non-retirement investments. When applying for Community Medicaid in New York, the applicant’s total assets must be under $13,800. Clearly, most individuals in New York City, Queens, Brooklyn, and Long Island, are worth more than $13,800.
Many have heard of a five-year look-back period on asset transfers when applying for Medicaid. It is true that a five-year look back period exists – but only for Institutional Medicaid application where the applicant is residing in a nursing home. When applying for Community Based Medicaid applications in New York, there is no five-year look back. Therefore, an applicant can transfer their assets in month and apply for benefits the following month. The best way to transfer assets can only be determined on a case by case scenario. While in some cases it may be appropriate to transfer assets to other family members, including adult children, in other cases it would more advisable to transfer the assets to an Irrevocable Trust.
Most people are not aware of the eligibility requirements for Community Based Medicaid in New York. This is unfortunate because many individuals who could be eligible are spending down their savings on the cost of a home health aide. Whether an individual requires an aide for the first time (perhaps they are leaving a rehab facility) or have had an aide with them and are paying privately, many can eligible for Community Medicaid benefits with the proper planning.
Andrew Lamkin is principal in the law firm of Andrew M. Lamkin, P.C., where he focuses his practice in the areas of elder law, estate planning and special needs planning, including Wills and Trusts, Medicaid planning, estate administration and residential real estate transactions. He is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey.
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