Every so often, we hear good news. The New York State Department of Health just released an announcement confirming that the new resource level for Medicaid applicants has been raised from $4,350 to $13,050 for single individuals and from $6,400 to $19,200 for a household of two. These revised resource levels, which apply to Medicaid Nursing Home and Community/Home Care applicants, represent a significant change from previous levels.
Medicaid applicants and recipients are now afforded greater flexibility in terms of eligibility and in terms of access to a greater amount of funds. The new legislation, is retroactive to April 1, 2008, and is based on an amendment to the New York Social Services Law as promulgated through the 2008 Budget Bill. This change was initiated by former Governor Spitzer’s administration to make all categories of benefits standard across the board for all adults.
Applicants for Medicaid with a requested pick up date of April 1, 2008, who have been denied benefits due to excess resources, should reapply for benefits immediately. In addition, many applicants who previously needed to cash in life insurance policies to bring down their resources to the previous resource level of $4,350, or to be considered as a burial fund, can now retain these policies, with the cash value included in the asset totals.
Applicants who decide to take advantage of the higher resource level should make sure that the account in which they hold these funds have a named beneficiary or there is a joint owner on the account. The purpose of this is to avoid estate recovery after the Medicaid recipient dies. If the account passes by operation of law to another beneficiary, it will be protected from Medicaid recovery.
Aside from the financial benefits, there is also the emotional benefit for an applicant to know that he/she can hold on to a greater amount of funds. It allows the Medicaid recipient to feel less impoverished and less dependent on others.
Ronald Fatoullah is the principal attorney of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates, a highly respected elder law and estate planning law firm. He is one of a handful of attorneys to be certified as an elder law attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, and is a recipient of the prestigious Rose Kryzak Senior Leadership Award, for his dedication and outstanding service to the senior citizen community. Fatoullah has been selected as a ”Best Lawyer” in the fields of elder law & trusts and estates, in New York Magazine’s “The New York Area’s Best Lawyers” for three consecutive years. The firm’s offices are located in Forest Hills, Great Neck, Manhattan, Brooklyn, & Cedarhurst, and can be reached at 718-261-1700 and 516-466-4422.
