Medicaid planning to cover long-term care for New York seniors

Long-term care services for senior citizens across the nation may range from costly to extremely costly. According to the New York State Department of Financial Services, long-term care in the Brooklyn region costs between about $124,000 to nearly $143,000 annually.

Most New Yorkers, even corporate executives, worry about these expenses on behalf of their elders. How long will their loved one need long-term care? What if their parents run out of financial options while still needing care? At the same time, elders or their high-net-worth children want quality care services. They refuse to skimp on quality, but this approach requires viable solutions.

How can you ensure quality without wiping out your savings?

One of the most common concerns we hear in our practice is whether seniors with at least some wealth can qualify for Medicaid. The answer is yes, but it involves creating financial strategies we like to call Medicaid planning. Below, you will find three effective Medicaid planning strategies.

1. By placing as much property as you can into one or more trusts, you can preserve family assets. Protecting property in trust can help your senior qualify for Medicaid.
2. Often, creating a paid caregiver agreement with a trusted party reduces the countable income of your elder. Having a lower income on paper increases the odds of Medicaid eligibility for your senior loved one.
3. When possible, developing a strategy called spousal refusal also improves elder Medicaid eligibility. It works this way. The healthy spouse refuses to pay for care that the ill spouse requires. As such, the ill spouse qualifies for Medicaid based on this refusal to pay.

When successful, elders or their asset-rich children can get better than adequate long-term care services while preserving wealth for future generations. However, legal guidance is vital in these situations to ensure that you violate no Medicaid laws when strategizing.

Please, continue reviewing our blog and website content to expand your knowledge of long-term care and Medicaid planning in New York.