How Elderly New York Millionaires hide their assets to qualify for Medicaid
Thelma, 85, has almost $1 million in assets, including the house she owns in the tony neighborhood of Roslyn Heights, and $75,000 in bonds and $50,000 in savings she hopes to leave to her two daughters. She also collects her late husband’s pension and her own Social Security.
Yet Thelma is poor enough to qualify for Medicaid.
That’s because in 2008, an estate planner advised her to go broke — at least on paper — by divesting herself of almost all of her assets. That way, if Thelma ever needs to enter a nursing home, it would be paid for by the state.
To qualify for Medicaid, individuals over 65 must show that they have not had an annual income or more than $9,200 for the past five years. This is called the “look-back” period (the window was expanded from three to five years in 2006 to make it slightly more difficult to qualify for Medicaid).
Any assets transferred before the “look-back” period are not counted, and any funds in an IRA are not considered an asset.
“You could have $1 million six years ago, and you put it in a trust for your kids and then it looks like you have nothing.
At the Coler-Goldwater hospital on Roosevelt Island, the city’s largest nursing home facility, all but nine of the 1,389 nursing home beds are occupied by residents, who pay a median day rate of $277.55. That’s $101,306 a year per person, and about 80% of residents are covered in full by Medicaid.
New York is expected to spend $8 billion on nursing homes this year — far more than any other state in the country. Florida, by way of comparison, spent $2.8 billion on nursing homes last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com
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