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Don't Put Off Planning for Long-Term Care & Protecting Your Assets! Frequently we put off making a plan for long-term care, but it's too risky to do so. The average cost of nursing homes can range from $36,000 to over $100,000 per year. The possibility of needing nursing home care is real. Of persons who turn 65, men have a 33% chance and women have a 52% chance of entering a nursing home. Make no mistake, Medicare does not cover most nursing home expenses. This forces many families to use Medicaid. In determining eligibility, Medicaid statutes require a 3-year "look-back" period which begins on the date of entrance into a nursing home. Transfers of property, cash, securities or other assets for less than the market value (such as when you give a gift to your children) can trigger one month of ineligibility for every $2,000 of uncompensated value and the duration of the penalty is unlimited. For example, $100,000 worth of gifts during the 3-year look-back period would incur a 50-month penalty where the individual is ineligible for Medicaid. There are steps you can take to protect your savings, such as long-term care insurance, trusts, and other strategies, but you must take action in your younger, healthier years. Start by learning as much as you can about Medicaid and how to preserve your assets. Visit your local library, book stores, and we highly recommend checking the Internet. Medicaid rules about transfer of assets are continually changing and elder-law web sites frequently carry the most timely Medicaid information. Once you have done some research on the topic, get the professional help of a qualified elder-law attorney. -Editor Recommended Internet web sites: National Senior Citizen Law Center, www.nsclc.org and the Kansas Elder Law Network, www.ink.org/public/keln This article first appeared in Volume 4, Issue 9 of "The Social Security and Medicare Advisor" newsletter (September/1999). To receive future editions of "The Advisor" in its special, free e-mail version, please click here. | ||||||||
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