When many local families take their parents financial information and meet with a caseworker, they are told their parents do not qualify for public benefits because their income is too high. Their parents may have worked for an employer that provided their parents with a pension like the Navy, the State of Connecticut, or Electric Boat. Because their income exceeds poverty levels, their parents can’t get Title 19 (Medicaid), Veterans Aid & Attendance or the Medicare Savings Program. Their parents own nothing other than a home and a beat up Buick and yet they do not qualify for benefits? It leaves those families scratching their heads.
Families want Title 19 because it pays for medical assistance. Veterans Aid & Attendance can provide a monthly check that helps the veteran and his spouse remain safely at home. The Medicare Savings Program, sometime referred to as the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary Program, helps a parent pay for Medicare Part B health insurance premiums.
Our message to families is don’t give up. There is a trust that can reduce your parents income to the level that parents will qualify for Medicaid, Veterans Aid & Attendance or the Medicare Savings Program (QMB). It is called a Pooled Trust and it is administered by a non-profit corporation in Hartford, CT, called Planned Lifetime Assistance Network (PLAN) of CT.
Let’s take an example. Dad is 80 and lives at home. He wants to get Medicaid on the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders. This program has an asset limit of $1,600 and a monthly income limit of $2,163. Dad has monthly income of $3,200 from his years in the Navy. He initially was told that he could not get Medicaid because his income was too high. His daughter set up an appointment with an elder law attorney. The attorney recommends that Dad create a Pooled Trust and place Dad’s excess income into the Trust on a monthly basis. Dad places his excess $1,000 into the trust monthly and PLAN as Trustee pays any unreimbursed medical expenses, additional caregiver services, and other living expenses such as his mortgage (if any), property taxes, utilities, etc. Dad now gets approximately 72 hours of assistance a week through the Program, which includes companion care, homemaker services, and home health aides. This Medicaid program also covers co-pays, deductibles, and prescription drugs. Problem solved.
If your parent’s income is too high to qualify for public benefits, call Jack Reardon or Joseph Cipparone. They can help you create a Pooled Trust.
