How do I qualify for Long-Term Care Medicaid? It is important to be able to answer this question in order to make certain that you can get Medicaid coverage if you need it. Many seniors end up dependent upon Medicaid as they get older, as they may need Medicaid to pay for nursing home care or to cover Medicare coinsurance costs and even Medicare premiums. If you do not understand the Medicaid qualification rules, it is possible that you may not get covered when you need it. 
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC provides information on Medicaid eligibility requirements so you can answer, how do I qualify for Medicaid?. We can also assist you in making plans in advance to get Medicaid coverage when you need your care paid for.
One of the key determining factors in qualifying is the monthly income that you have coming in to your house. We can explain income limits, resource limits, and other factors that affect Medicaid eligibility. Our legal team will also help you try to find ways to qualify for coverage while protecting assets. Give us a call today to get started.
What is Considered Income for Purposes of Qualifying for Medicaid?
When you are trying to qualify for Medicaid coverage, your monthly income matters and your resources matter.
The amount of income you are allowed to bring into your home and still qualify for Medicaid coverage is going to vary depending upon family size and depending upon why you are applying for Medicaid. Medicaid for the Aged, Blind and Disabled (MABD), for example, has different criteria than Long-Term Medicaid.
You have to consider monthly income limits and resource limits in determining if you can get covered. This means you must know what actually counts as income when assessing whether or not you will be eligible for Medicaid.
The Economic Services Division of the Vermont Department for Children and Families explains what counts as income for determining Medicaid qualification. Some of the different things that count as income include:
- Earned income: Employment severance pay; salary; commissions; wages; bonuses; and income from self employment.
- Interest and dividend income from excluded resources, such as annuities and irrevocable trusts.
- Unearned income, including income from Social Security retirement benefits, railroad retirement, and private pension plans. Certain veterans administration income and certain other types of pension benefits are not going to be counted when determining Medicaid eligibility, although most types of unearned income are counted.
This is not a comprehensive list, but it does give you an idea of how broad the definition of income is when answering the question, how can I qualify for Medicaid. If your income is above the allowable amount, you likely aren’t going to be able to get covered.
However, your attorney can help you to understand ways to shield income and can assist you in learning the rules that allow your spouse to keep some monthly income if only one of the members of a married couple must go into a nursing home.
How can I Qualify for Medicaid? Medicaid Planning Can Help!
Many seniors are able to get Medicaid by making a Medicaid plan, despite the fact that they might not have qualified for coverage if they had not created a plan in advance. A Medicaid plan is usually focused on finding ways to protect assets that you own so you don’t have to spend down those assets in order to drop below the resource limit for Medicaid. However, you can also talk with a Medicaid planning lawyer about whether it is possible to try to strategically reduce income levels so you do not exceed income limits.
Getting Help from A Medicaid Planning Lawyer
Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC provides comprehensive help to clients in Burlington and surrounding areas throughout Vermont with trying to get Medicaid coverage. To find out more about the ways in which our legal team can help you to get Medicaid when you need it, give us a call at (802) 879-7133 or contact us online today.
You can also download our free Medicaid Analysis Form, which will answer the question, how can I qualify for Medicaid, and which can provide you with additional information you need about getting covered. Reach out now to get the info you need and to begin to make your Medicaid plan.
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