New York Medicaid Planning Lawyer

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides a wide range of medical and health benefits, including long-term care for those who are permanently or chronically ill, injured or disabled. With proper legal guidance and effective Medicaid planning, you or a loved one may be able to conserve your life savings, your income, your property, as well as your entire estate and still qualify for Medicaid benefits and/or home care benefits in New York & New Jersey.

Why You Should Prepare for Medicaid Early

The primary benefit of proper Medicaid planning is offsetting the cost of long-term care. Paying out-of-pocket for long-term care can get very expensive very quickly, especially given the cost of nursing homes and assisted living facilities in New York state. Creating a comprehensive plan for how your assets will be structured when you apply for Medicaid can help to avoid the hefty bills that go along with receiving healthcare in your later days. If your assets are inaccessible to Medicaid, that means they can be used for other things like providing for loved ones in need. Getting your Medicaid planning done before the time comes to apply will help you save as much money as possible for the things that matter to you most while preserving your eligibility for low-cost or free long-term care down the line.

What Medicaid Covers

Under federal law, states are required to provide the following Medicaid services:

• Physician’s services
• Inpatient & Outpatient Hospital Care
• Nursing facility Services
• Home health services
• Laboratory and X-ray services
• Family planning services
• Certified pediatric and nurse practitioner services
• Transportation to medical care
• Medications
• Supplies
• Other reasonable and necessary services

Eligibility for Applying for Medicaid

NY Medicaid applications have very strict income and asset requirements. Even if your assets or income are above the legal requirement, an estate planning attorney at our office can help you qualify for Medicaid.

In order to qualify for the Medicaid program in New York you must be:

• A resident of NYS
• In need of health care/assistance with insurance
• Have low income

You must also:

• Be over the age of 64, or
• Be pregnant or have a child 18 or under, or
• Be blind or disabled, or
• Have a parent, spouse, or child in your household who is blind or disabled.

How to Protect Your Assets

• Gifting to family members - while most transfers within the look-back period are penalized, transfers made to a spouse or to a trust for the sole benefit of a child who is blind or permanently disabled or any permanently disabled individual under the age of 64.
• Employing irrevocable trusts - assets placed into an irrevocable trust are not countable assets when determining Medicaid eligibility as long as the trustee does not pay them to grantor or his or her spouse.
• Transferring the home to intended beneficiaries - transferring a home to the beneficiaries listed here will not affect your Medicaid eligibility.
• Establishing a contract for child caregiver - an asset transfer from a Medicaid applicant/recipient to a caregiver under a family caregiver agreement affect your Medicaid eligibility.
• Purchasing immediate annuities - An annuity that meets the requirements listed here will not be considered a transfer by the HRA and thus will not affect Medicaid eligibility.
• Prepaying for funeral expenses - A prepaid funeral contract can be a way to “spend-down” your assets in order to be eligible for Medicaid.
• Paying off a mortgage/purchasing vehicle - paying off debts or replacing an old vehicle are also safe ways to spend down your assets to meet Medicaid eligibility criteria.

Hire a Medicaid Planning Lawyer in New York City Today

Ensure your family’s health and financial well-being and schedule a consultation with Medicaid Planning Attorney Inna Fershteyn.

Call us today at 718-333-2395 to schedule your very own Medicaid Planning consultation!