Wellness

[4kitties]

So when all of the assets are "hidden" who pays for the Medicaid?

[proudlyfromNJ]

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@bmorechick wrote:

My parents were always concerned about a LTC facility draining their savings and the equity in their home. They turned the house over to my siblings and I with lifetime rights. That way the home belonged to us on paper. Nothing changed for them other than it was deeded to us.  They also put every monetary investment or bank account in our names. They had one bank account that their soc sec checks went into so they were literally "Poor on paper".  That would have allowed Medicaid to pay for any LTC if needed, which didnt happen. My dad is still with us at 95 and manages all his own monthly bills. If he ever needs LTC, all his lifetime assets will remain, with his children as equal recipients which is what both of them always wanted. You have to protect your stuff, but this plan doesnt work for all families. We are grateful it has with ours.

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@bmorechick  We went through this with my parents. If you are without money and have Medicaid pay, you won't have a very good choice of places who accept it. ETA my parents paid seven thousand a month for assisted living. 

[mimps]

I had a relative who had to go to a nursing home after his spouse died suddenly. He had no savings, but had a home and a few other assets. There was not enough monthly money to pay around $7,000, but he couldn't qualify for Medicaid until all assets including life insurance were liquidated, spent down and only $2,000 left. Funeral arrangements were allowed to be prepaid out of the original amount. We learned that Medicaid looks back five years so arrangements to transfer assets has to be done before then if applying. He had to remain private pay until he passed away. 

[Carmie]

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@bmorechick wrote:

My parents were always concerned about a LTC facility draining their savings and the equity in their home. They turned the house over to my siblings and I with lifetime rights. That way the home belonged to us on paper. Nothing changed for them other than it was deeded to us.  They also put every monetary investment or bank account in our names. They had one bank account that their soc sec checks went into so they were literally "Poor on paper".  That would have allowed Medicaid to pay for any LTC if needed, which didnt happen. My dad is still with us at 95 and manages all his own monthly bills. If he ever needs LTC, all his lifetime assets will remain, with his children as equal recipients which is what both of them always wanted. You have to protect your stuff, but this plan doesnt work for all families. We are grateful it has with ours.

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Medicaid goes back five years to check to see if you gave away any assets.  If you did, they will not cover your expensives until you have paid up to the market value of those assests out of your pocket.

[Shawnie]

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@skatting44 wrote:

Had a relative that paid tens of thousands of dollars into LTC  insurance  through Federal  Gov employee plan and it paid Nothing ! She became very ill and went into rehab with an endstage disease, she had to pay  6 months out of pocket before the LTC insurance would pay  anything. She passed away  within a month. No refund on any of the money . insurance is a racket

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I agree!  I had a similar plan.  I stopped paying on it when i realized that it was going to be essentially useless.  The waiting period is a big joke.  

[bmorechick]

They are not hidden. The deed is a legal transfer, facilitated by a lawyer. The accounts are simply giving your children their inheritance before your death. Medicaid is a federal program that everyone of us who has worked in our lifetime pays for. My parents worked like dogs for decades to be entitled to that benefit to protect their lifetime savings from going to a nursing home corporation. And this was all done with advice of financial advisors. We will do the same for our children.

And yes there is a look back period. That's why my parents did it when they were in their early 60's. Mom died at 92 and as I said, my dad is still alive and healthy at 95.

[Mary Bailey]

We have LTC insurance  Through my employer we (suposedly) got a discount. 

This year it went up 11%  I lowered our "bank" from $115K to $100K so we could afford the premiums.

[Wiscfan3]

This really is a concern for all of us, no matter what age, and something we need to think about and try to plan for. Long term care policies are so expensive, as others have said, so the alternative is to save, save, save. Also, to stay as healthy as possible as long as possible, and to live as frugally as you can so you can stay in your home as long as possible and take care of yourself and your spouse, if you have one, as long as possible. Nobody knows how things will be for them near the end, so anything you can do now to help with health and finances, will only help at the end. 

[sandy53]

My DH (age 72) and I (age 67) both have LTC insurance and have had it for many years.  I was in charge of the care for both my mother (assisted living) and my aunt (nursing home).  I decided then that our only child should not have to worry about paying for our long term care if it is ever needed.  Those decisions are hard enough without having to worry about money. 

I hope we never have to use it, but the peace of mind means a lot to me.  We would never qualify for medicaid because we are blessed to have substantial assets.  The LTC insurance protects our assets, too, so our son can inherit something.

[CelticCrafter]

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@Carmie wrote:

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@bmorechick wrote:

My parents were always concerned about a LTC facility draining their savings and the equity in their home. They turned the house over to my siblings and I with lifetime rights. That way the home belonged to us on paper. Nothing changed for them other than it was deeded to us.  They also put every monetary investment or bank account in our names. They had one bank account that their soc sec checks went into so they were literally "Poor on paper".  That would have allowed Medicaid to pay for any LTC if needed, which didnt happen. My dad is still with us at 95 and manages all his own monthly bills. If he ever needs LTC, all his lifetime assets will remain, with his children as equal recipients which is what both of them always wanted. You have to protect your stuff, but this plan doesnt work for all families. We are grateful it has with ours.

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Medicaid goes back five years to check to see if you gave away any assets.  If you did, they will not cover your expensives until you have paid up to the market value of those assests out of your pocket.

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What @Carmie said.  My f-i-l thinks he's slick trying to give it all away so a nursing home won't take it.....