Medicaid planning is important for a high percentage of American seniors. The primary reason why Medicaid is relevant to people who are enrolled in the Medicare program is because Medicare won’t pay for an extended stay in a nursing home or an assisted living facility.

Many people would feel as though they were responsible if they retired in possession of $200,000. Unfortunately, not everyone is capable of putting together this type of money. The average stay in a nursing home could realistically consume this amount, and this is for one person, not a couple. And, the costs have been rising over recent years by around 5% per year.

Medicaid does assist with long-term care expenses if you can stay within the very low upper asset limit of $2000. It should be noted that when you are considering this figure your home does not count up to a minimum equity limit of $536,000 (in 2013). And, the healthy spouse who does not need long-term care could retain half of assets up to $113,640 (once again, this is a 2013 figure).

Medicaid planning involves positioning your assets optimally so that you can keep resources in the family while still gaining Medicaid eligibility.

Some people who are in good health when they enter retirement understand the fact that Medicare doesn’t cover long-term care, but they don’t worry about Medicaid planning. They feel as though the fact that they are in good health makes it unnecessary.

Many of the same individuals are further bolstered by the fact that there is no history of dementia in their families.

In truth, Medicaid planning may be more important to someone like this than it is to someone who is not in good health. The older you get, the more likely it is that you will need living assistance. Approximately 45 percent of people who are at least 85 have Alzheimer’s disease. Even if you have never had a history of dementia in your family, it is hard to ignore these odds.

Another thing to consider is the fact that dementia is not the only reason why someone may need long-term care.

There is no reward to be gained through overconfidence. The best way to proceed is to learn all you can about the eventualities of aging and ultimately take the appropriate actions.

We have a resource available to you that you may want to tap into as you are gathering information. Our firm has been able to produce a number of free special reports on various different estate planning and elder law topics.

One of these reports takes an in-depth look at Medicaid planning. This report is available to you free of charge at the present time. To gain access, simply click this link and follow the instructions: Iowa Medicaid Planning Report.

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Ryan M. DenmanandDennis D. Duffy

Duffy Law Office, PLLC