By Diana Palmieri

Most people do not plan properly when it comes to Medicaid. Americans are living longer; couple that with the fact that 80 million Americans will be over the age of 65 by 2040, and Medicaid planning should become a major facet of future financial and elder care planning for you and your parents. I’ve come up with some frequent Medicaid points below as a guide to general understanding, but it would be most prudent to consult a Medicaid attorney. Laws and individual situations can be quite complex, and an attorney specializing in this field will be well worth the money.

Here are some general concepts:

• The journey with Medicaid begins with determining what assets are considered exempt and countable. Exempt assets are what Medicaid will not include in the asset total to determine eligibility. Countable assets can include CDs, brokerage accounts, and property that can be converted to cash. Homes, vehicles, and insurance policies are examples of what could be exempt assets depending on certain qualifying criteria.
• To qualify for Medicaid, the amount of countable assets cannot exceed $2,000 (not missing a zero!).
• 医疗补助有一个所谓的“回顾”时期。回顾期是医疗补助计划寻找或转移的那些可计数资产的时间范围。时间时间为60个月（5年）。在这个60个月内赠送或转移的资产可能导致申请人在其医疗补助援助上有罚款期。罚款期仅意味着申请人必须等待，才能获得医疗补助的资格，而这是及时计算的，而不是金钱。他们将不得不使用自己的资产来支付疗养院护理费用，直到他们超越了该罚款期。
• There is an income limit to qualify for Medicaid, but it varies by state. The calculation used includes the federal poverty level, modified adjusted gross income, and other factors.
• Just because one becomes eligible and receives Medicaid assistance does not mean it doesn’t have to be paid back. One who receives Medicaid and then dies will have the government looking toward the estate for payback of nursing care. However, with proper estate planning, which includes Medicaid, one might avoid Medicaid Recovery, possibly allowing assets to pass on to heirs.

Medicaid and Medicare are often confused. To clear up some of that confusion, Medicare is an entitlement program that is paid for through payroll withholding. Medicaid was designed to help people in need and is a form of social welfare. Medicaid was created in part to pay for expenses pertaining to long-term health care expenses once an applicant’s funds and assets are exhausted. Since rules and regulations vary by state (in some case even by county), it is very important to consult with an attorney specializing in this field. I’m just skimming the surface with the above points, but there really is so much more to this type of planning. For additional information, visitwww.medicaid.gov.

Diana Palmieri在范德比尔特证券有限责任公司和H Beck Inc.中进行双重注册，该公司没有附属。通过Vanderbilt Securities LLC，SIPC/FINRA/MSRB成员提供的证券。