The document discusses Medicaid planning and strategies for qualifying for Medicaid benefits to pay for long-term care. It notes that long-term care costs have risen dramatically and Medicaid is an important program to help low-income seniors pay for nursing home care. However, there are strict asset and income limits to qualify, so Medicaid planning is recommended to protect assets using tools like trusts, gifts, and spending down savings in allowed ways. Experienced attorneys can help individuals develop comprehensive Medicaid plans tailored to their unique situations and ensure all rules are followed to avoid penalties.

1. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
NAVIGATING MEDICAID: PART
2

2. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
In recent decades, long-term care costs for
seniors have dramatically risen.

3. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Today, the average senior can expect to
spend around $7,500 each month for a
room in one of the state’s nursing homes.

4. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
When ongoing care is needed, that cost
is almost always too much for seniors
to bear on their own.

5. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Fortunately, Medicaid can help.

6. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
The Medicaid program is the result of
a partnership between the federal
and state governments, and provides
aid for low-income people –
including seniors, the blind, and the
disabled.

7. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Today, the program is the largest
payment source for nursing homes
across the country.

8. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Because Medicaid is a means-tested program,
however, there are strict qualification guidelines that
must be met by those who want to qualify for benefits.

9. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
As a result, your assets must be
below the limits provided for by law.

10. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Medicaid planning can help you to ensure that
you qualify for Medicaid when you need it most.

11. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Medicaid planning involves preparing
your estate to ensure eligibility, while
still protecting your assets from loss.

12. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
For a variety of reasons, Medicaid planning
should begin as early as possible.

13. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Medicaid’s five-year look-back
provisions will examine all asset
transfers you make within a five-year
period prior to your application for
benefits, and count those assets
when calculating your estate’s actual
worth.

14. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
As a result, your planning should
ideally begin at least five years
before you apply for the program.

15. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
There is no law that says that you cannot attempt
Medicaid planning on your own.

16. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
However, it is important to recognize
that there are eligibility penalties
attached to any asset transfers
Medicaid identifies in its five-year
review.

17. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
In addition, many people struggle to
adequately plan in a way that
secures eligibility while still allowing
them enough money to enjoy life
prior to entering a nursing home.

18. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
The good news is that you do not have to spend
down all of your assets.

19. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
That is why Medicaid planning is
such an integral part of estate
planning: it is the most effective way
to actually protect many of your
assets without leaving yourself
barred from program benefits.

20. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
If you are more than a little confused by all of this,
you’re not alone!

21. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Millions of Americans rely on
experienced Medicaid planning
attorneys to help them navigate
through the Medicaid maze.

22. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
You should too.

23. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
An experienced attorney with expertise in this
area of estate planning can help you to safeguard
assets using a variety of different strategies.

24. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
These strategies include the use of
gifts, trusts, spending down assets,
and long-term care insurance.

25. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Things like annuities and promissory
notes can also be helpful, depending
on your unique circumstances.

26. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Gifts are a commonly used tool in Medicaid
planning, but they must be used properly.

27. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
While some people confuse the
gifting limits with the annual gift
limits permitted under the federal
gift tax rules for purposes of
determining estate tax, the Medicaid
gifting limit is much smaller: only
$1,200 in total gift value annually.

28. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
The key to making any gift strategy
work, therefore, is to start is as
early as you can.

29. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
A Medicaid trust can be a fantastic option for
preserving the value of your estate while still
qualifying for Medicaid.

30. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
When you transfer your assets into
a trust in this manner, you ensure
that they will still be there for your
heirs when you are gone, and help
to avoid having them included as
wealth when Medicaid calculates
your eligibility.

31. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Just be sure that those transfers
take place outside of the five-year
look-back period.

32. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Spending down your assets can be a tricky thing to do
when you have even a moderate amount of savings
and wealth, or income that puts you at just over the
eligibility limit.

33. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
An experienced attorney can help
you to determine the best strategy
to use to utilize the spend down
technique properly.

34. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Relatively few Americans have long-term care
insurance.

35. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
In Indiana, however, the state has
its own Indiana Long-Term Care
Insurance Program that involves a
partnership between the
government and various private
insurers who offer long-term care
coverage.

36. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
The coverage can help pay a
minimum benefit of $115 each day.

37. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Sometimes, seniors end up being forced to
pursue long-term care before their planning is
done.

38. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
In those instances, there are very
few strategies left to them. One
involves the promissory note.

39. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
This technique basically involves a
loan made by the senior to another
person right before the senior enters
a nursing home, in return for
monthly income payments.

40. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
For many Medicaid planning efforts, the key to
making everything work is to use a variety of
these tools in a more comprehensive way.

41. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Your Medicaid planning strategy
should be as diverse as needed to
accomplish your goals.

42. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
At the same time, it is vital to remember that even
the smallest of errors can result in costly
penalties.

43. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Just missing one asset could
potentially result in months of
program ineligibility – leaving you
liable for those nursing home bills.

44. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Careful attention must be paid to all
plan details to ensure that you avoid
those penalties.

45. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Need Help?
The best way to avoid those mistakes is to rely
on experienced legal experts who understand the
Medicaid planning process.

46. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
Your long-term care is too important
to leave to chance.

47. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100

48. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
At Frank & Kraft, Attorneys at Law,
we have the expertise you need to
make sure that your Medicaid
planning accomplishes all of your
long-term care goals.

49. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
We can work with you to protect
your estate assets while also
providing you with the assurances
you need to know that your
program benefits will be available if
you ever need them.

50. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100
To learn more about how we can
help you with all your Medicaid
planning needs, call us today at
(317) 684-1100, or visit us at our
website.

51. 135 N. Pennsylvania Street Suite 1100 Indianapolis, IN, 46204-2485
Phone: (317) 684-1100