I don’t know if it is the economy or what. Several people have had the misconception that a Medicaid recipient has to give up everything to be on Medicaid. While this article would be too long if you had the total regulation, I can tell you some basic facts.

You always get to keep your residence, car and at least $2,000 per individual. This includes cash value of life insurance that is not designated to funeral expenses. A married couple with one person going on Title XIX, for example, who has $75,000, has to spend 1/2 of the $75,000 down to $2,000.

The State will allow you funds to continue to pay for a supplemental health policy.

After the death of the Medicaid recipient (and spouse) the State will expect proceeds from the sale of the house, car etc. to be sent to the State to offset the amount the State had paid.

The other misconception is on skilled care.

No one is guaranteed skilled care. Generally, if you spend three overnights in the hospital and go to a skilled facility, you will be eligible for up to 100 days of care. There are specific days we, the facility, review your skilled care: day 5, day 14, day 30 and day 60. Each of these periods require the resident to show improvement, whether it be with therapy or wound care. During your skilled stay your bills are ‘bundled’. Garden View pays the care rate, medications, therapy, x-rays, lab, etc. We bill Medicare each month and Medicare then bills your supplemental insurance for the balance. Supplemental insurance is an important part of the plan. Without it, you could be responsible for thousands of dollars that Medicare won’t pay.

The last part of this equation is nursing home insurance. You can elect 1st day coverage or after 90 day stay coverage. You can buy 1 year to lifetime coverage. Most new policies have an inflation factor built into the policy. Age and the amount of coverage effect the cost.