HCS employees can explain Medicaid rules but are not able to
give you personal, nancial, or legal advice. You may want to
talk with an attorney who understands Medicaid rules if you
need help with a decision.
Staff at your local Senior Information and Assistance Ofce can
help you locate legal assistance. See page 17 for how to contact
them.
Income and resource eligibility limits
You must meet various income and resource requirements to be
eligible for Medicaid. Income and resource limits are set by law
and change each year.
Income
Medicaid income limits vary depending on the services you
need, your living situation, and your marital status. The HCS
ofce will have current information.
Resources
You must declare all resources you have when applying for
Medicaid. Resources include money, assets, or property you
have such as cash, bank accounts, stocks and bonds,
retirement plans, trusts, annuities, life insurance policies,
sales contracts, vehicles and land. If you are married,
resources of both spouses will be used to determine your
eligibility for Medicaid.
Certain “exempt” resources are not counted toward the
resource limits. Exempt resources can include your home,
household goods and personal effects, some real estate sales
contracts, a car, life insurance with a face value not more than
$1,500, burial plots, and most prepaid burial plans.
Transferring resources
Under state and federal law, the HCS nancial services
specialist must review any transfer of resources that took place
60 months before the date you apply for Medicaid.
If resources were transferred within that timeframe and you did
not receive fair market value for them, you may not be eligible
to receive long-term care Medicaid services for a period of time.
Federal law states that
certain gifts or transfers
made to qualify for
Medicaid are subject to
penalties. State law also
contains penalties for
the person who receives
resources transferred for
less than fair market value.
You must declare all
resources you have when
applying for Medicaid.
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Medicaid and Long-Term Care Services for Adults