Spent Down? Not So Fast
Some months ago I wrote about the couple who, not understanding the peculiarities of the Medicaid rules, did not spend down in a timely manner and, as a result, lost six months of Medicaid eligibility. Even though the money was eventually spent those lost months could not be recovered and the wife was stuck with a nursing home bill of $60,000 she should not have had. (See 10-5-08 blog post)
The ins and outs of Medicaid are complex and confusing. Another example which we recently addressed in our office highlights that point. Mr. Jones was in a nursing home and we were applying for institutional Medicaid. Under Medicaid rules the applicant needs to be below $2000 in assets as of the first moment of the first day of the month in order to qualify for Medicaid for that month. We tell clients that they must be below this number as of the last day of the preceding month.
Spending down means making transfers for value, that is to say, a purchase of goods or services for fair or equal value. Very often this spend down occurs right up until the last day of the month. So, what happens if I write a check to pay a bill on the 31st of the month but the person or business I give it to doesnât cash it until the next month? As long as it is dated the 31st (or earlier) and you give it to that person or business no later than the 31st, then it is counted as being spent even though it will not clear your checking account until the next month.
Now, this all sounds very trivial, and I would agree with you, but donât think for a minute that the State will overlook these transactions. They wonât. They scrutinize them very carefully. If youâre over the Medicaid limit by a dollar, youâre over for that month and have to wait until the next month. (See above)
Letâs go back to Mr. Jones. His son was spending down Dadâs assets. He had credit card, rent and utility bills to pay. We spoke on the 31st and Son confirmed that Dadâs 3 accounts totaled $1200 after accounting for payments. Now, we didnât have statements yet for one of the accounts so we had to rely on Sonâs statement. We filed the application and several weeks went by before we heard from the Medicaid office. They wanted missing statements from one of the accounts at an out of state bank. With some difficulty (because the bank at first balked at accepting the power of attorney Dad had executed in Sonâs favor) we obtained the statements but were surprised to learn that some of the bills were not paid by check, but rather by electronic transfer on the first of the month. So, while Son kept telling us that Dadâs accounts totaled $1200 that was not, in fact, true. He was counting these electronic debits which Medicaid would not.
As it turned out, we still were under $2000 in Mr. Jonesâ case, but not by much. (We tell clients we want them to be well below $2000 to leave room for just these types of surprises.) The next case may not work out so favorably. Just another example of how tricky the Medicaid rules really are and why you donât want to go it alone.