2023 Medicaid Numbers

Last month in this blog I updated you on some of the new Social Security and Medicare numbers for 2023. The recently announced cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 8.7% has resulted in another big jump in benefits for the second year.

Many other federal programs are tied to the Social Security COLA. These include Medicaid and the VA Aid and Attendance programs. This week we will review the 2023 Medicaid numbers.

Medicaid’s programs that cover long term care have a strict income cap or limit. For 2023 that number is $2742 per month. Anyone with more than $2742 per month of gross income (before taxes, Medicare and health premiums are deducted) must use a Qualified Income Trust in order to qualify for Medicaid.

Medicaid recipients must also have less than $2000 of countable assets. A home is an exempt asset up to a certain limit as long as the applicant is living in it. In 2023 the limit is $1,033,000 of equity. Anything above that amount is countable. For a married couple where at least one of the spouses is living in the home there remains no limit. In other words, the home is exempt in that case no matter the value.

In the case of a married couple where only one spouse is applying for Medicaid, the healthy or “community” spouse is entitled to keep a certain portion of the couple’s countable assets (the primary residence and one car being exempt). This is known as the Community Spouse Resource Allowance or CSRA.

The CSRA is 1/2 of the couple’s countable assets up to a certain limit. For 2023 that limit will be $148,240. If a couple has $196,480 of assets or more the healthy spouse will be able to keep the maximum amount of $148,240

There is also a minimum CSRA which in 2022 will be $29,724. The community spouse will be able to keep the first $29,724 of countable assets even if total assets are less than $59,448.

Next week I’ll review the important numbers for 2023 for the VA Aid and Attendance program.