Nevada Division of Assets to Qualify for Medicaid for a Married Couple
Medicaid administers many services, both entitlement, and non-entitlement services. Both federal and state money fund Medicaid with a wide range of programs and services. Determining Medicaid eligibility for Nevada residents over the age of 65 for long-term care is one of those services.
Along with assisted living and nursing home assistance, Nevada Medicaid also includes certain support services that can allow an individual to remain in their home while receiving nonmedical support services. Each Medicaid program has varying financial and medical eligibility requirements and benefits. Marital status also affects Medicaid criteria and eligibility.
Regular Medicaid assistance to the elderly, blind, or disabled is an entitlement program like nursing home care (MAABD)—anyone who qualifies and is financially eligible receives assistance. Long-term care benefits that include adult day care or personal care assistance could be available through this program. HCBS (Home and Community Based Services for Medicaid Waivers) is an entitlement program with a limited number of participants allowed.
Typically, you will get placed on a waitlist before receiving HCBS assistance. The goal of HCBS waivers is to delay the necessity of nursing home care, providing adult day care, home care, or assisted living care. Nursing home Medicaid is an entitlement program, meaning anyone who is financially eligible will receive nursing home assistance.
Eligibility Requirements for Medicaid Assistance
As of 2022, the following income limits apply for Medicaid nursing home assistance and Medicaid waivers:
- Single individual–$2,523 per month
- Married, one spouse applying–$2,523 per month
- Married, both spouses applying–$5,046 per month
The following asset limits apply as of 2022:
- Single individual—$2,000
- Married, one spouse applying—$2,000 for the applicant and $137,400 for non-applicant
- Married, both spouses applying–$4,000
Regular Medicaid has an income limit of $841 per month for a single individual, along with a $2,000 asset limit. For a married couple with only one applying, the income limit is $1,261 per month, with a $3,000 asset limit. For a jointly-applying married couple, the income limit is $1,261 per month for each spouse. The asset limit for each spouse is $3,000.
What Qualifies as Income?
Virtually any income you receive counts toward your financial eligibility limits. Wages from employment, alimony payments, Veteran’s benefits, SS disability income, SS income, pension payments, stock dividends, and IRA withdrawals are all considered income under Medicaid requirements. Income like stimulus checks or restitution payments for Holocaust survivors will not be considered income by Medicaid. Therefore, it will not influence your eligibility. When only one spouse applies for Medicaid, they do not consider the other spouse’s income.
If, however, the spouse who is not applying for Medicaid depends on the applicant spouse’s income, they may be eligible for the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA) from the applicant spouse. The MMMNA is $2,288.75 from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. This means if the non-applicant’s income is under $2,288.75 per month, you can transfer income from the applicant to meet this amount. The spousal income cannot exceed $3,435 when adding non-applicant income, including the shelter standard when utility and housing costs for the spouse remaining in the marital home exceeds $686.63.
What Are Considered Assets Under Nevada Medicaid?
Assets include cash—and virtually anything that can get converted to currency. Non-exempt assets include checking and savings accounts, real estate (other than the marital home), stocks, bonds, investments, and credit union funds. Exempt assets include:
- The primary home, when the Medicaid applicant lives in it or intends to return, and the home equity interest is less than $636,000. When a non-applicant spouse remains in the home, the home is exempt, regardless of equity interest or where the applicant lives.
- Personal belongings, including an automobile, household furnishings, clothing, and irrevocable burial trusts.
Although your home is generally exempt from the asset limits under Medicaid, it may not be exempt from Medicaid’s estate recovery program. When a Medicaid beneficiary dies following long-term care, Medicaid is allowed to recover the costs through the remaining estate of the decedent—usually the home. Proper planning strategies can ensure the house goes to family members as an inheritance rather than falling under the estate recovery program.
Like all states, Nevada has a 60-month look-back period for Medicaid (60 months from the time of the Medicaid application). Medicaid will look through your financial transactions for 60 months to determine whether you transferred or sold assets under fair market value. If they find that you violated the look-back period, you may be penalized with a period of Medicaid ineligibility—they will ask you to pay for nursing home care out-of-pocket.
Married? Our Law Firm Can Help Divide Assets For Medicaid
Unfortunately, many couples did not pre-plan a Medicaid trust five years in advance. Now, their spouse needs to obtain Medicaid benefits and they’re at a loss. Fortunately, there are ways our law firm can still help!
If you’re married, you need a Medicaid planning attorney that can divide your assets to help you obtain Medicaid benefits. Through the Nevada guardianship courts, we can protect the non-Medicaid spouse’s assets under the law (NRS 123.259).
Nevada Medicaid laws are complex and difficult to navigate on your own. For this reason alone, you need a Medicaid planning attorney in your corner. At John Park Law, we can investigate all possible ways to protect your assets and help you or your spouse obtain the benefits you need.
Looking for a Medicaid Planning Attorney?
If you have questions regarding Medicaid and asset protection, we can help. Our Medicaid planning attorneys can help you determine what is right for you, call our law firm immediately.
At John Park Law, we prioritize asset protection and employ a wide range of estate planning strategies to protect your wealth and help you obtain the benefits you deserve. Do not leave your assets vulnerable to Medicaid spend-down. Call us at 702-857-7879 to start the process today, or fill out our confidential contact form
John Park is a highly experienced attorney in estate planning, probate, business law and guardianship to help people organize the elements of their lives through careful estate planning and asset protection measures.