Amid the worldwide Pandemic, New York State has included a Major Change to the Medicaid Landscape in the 2020 Budget. This Major change relates to Community Medicaid. Currently there is no “look back” to qualify for Community based Medicaid (i.e. Home Care) under New York State Medicaid. This means that you can essentially transfer your assets and qualify for Medicaid the following month.
This is going to change! The changes are slated to take effect July 1, 2021. This change will create a 30 month (2.5 year) look back for all Community Medicaid applications. This lookback will be phased in over the next 2 years with the change starting in July and then looking back on all transfers made after October 2020. This means if you file in July 2021, you will have to provide records for the previous 9 months. An additional month will be added each month until we are at the full 30 months lookback in April 2023. All applications filed prior to JULY will be processed based on the old rules. In addition, all assets transferred prior to October 1, 2020 will be protected from this change
In the coming months I anticipate new strategies will emerge to help people continue to protect some of their assets. However, this is a game changer! This is going to have a huge impact on the ability to protect your assets for in-home services. My best advice to families anticipating long term care needs for aging loved ones, is to consider moving towards a filing sooner rather than later.
As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and owner of Medicaid Solutions, I have worked for years helping families and their aging loved ones meet their ongoing and changing care needs.
My primary goal is to listen to the families and make those plans based on their desired outcomes. This entails a lot of education as to resources and strategies to best utilize those resources. If you are interested in learning more and exploring these options, please contact Medicaid Solutions.
Contact: Colin Sandler, LCSW
914-924-2566
Medicaidsolutions.com
