The expense of skilled nursing home care in Pennsylvania ranges from $6,000 to $11,000 a month and, at those rates, can quickly reduce the lifetime savings of elderly couples to zero. There are federal laws in place to protect the financial well-being of a spouse at home when their husband or wife enters a nursing home. These rules of law are intended to prevent what is often referred to as “spousal impoverishment”. The anti-impoverishment laws help ensure that the spouse at home (“Community Spouse”) will be able to live in their home and will be able to take care of themselves financially.
Assets For Spouse At Home: Under the Medicaid spousal impoverishment provisions, a certain amount of the couple’s combined resources is protected for the spouse living outside of the nursing home. The general rule states that the spouse at home can keep the family home, a car, their own IRA/Retirement Assets and the lesser of one-half of the couple’s other financial assets or a statutory maximum, whichever is less. That statutory maximum for 2017 is listed below as the Maximum Community Spouse Resource Allowance ($120,900).
Income For Spouse At Home: Depending on how much of his or her own income the Community Spouse actually has, a certain amount of income belonging to the spouse in the institution can also be set aside for the Community Spouse’s use.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released its Spousal Impoverishment Standards for 2017.
The official spousal impoverishment allowances for 2017 are as follows:
- Minimum Community Spouse Resource Allowance: $24,180
This is the minimum amount of the marital assets that the spouse at home is permitted to retain when their spouse goes to a nursing home and qualifies for Medicaid. - Maximum Community Spouse Resource Allowance: $120,900
This is the maximum amount of the marital assets that the spouse at home is permitted to retain when their spouse goes to a nursing home and qualifies for Medicaid. - Maximum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance: $3,022.50
This is the maximum portion of the marital income that the spouse at home is permitted to retain when their spouse goes to a nursing home and qualifies for Medicaid . - The Minimum Monthly Maintenance needs allowance for the lower 48 states remains $2,002.50 until July 1, 2017.
This is the minimum portion of the marital income that the spouse at home is permitted to retain when their spouse goes to a nursing home and qualifies for Medicaid.
Home Equity Limits:
The law allows for the spouse at home to keep their primary residence without disqualifying their husband or wife from Medicaid. As long as the house value is under the minimum below, there is no issue or concern. Should the property value exceed the maximum value listed below, you would need a special exemption to retain the residence and have your spouse qualify for Medicaid.
- Minimum: $560,000
- Maximum: $840,000
These are all very important numbers for 2017 and should help you plan for your particular situation. Remember, there are many great planning opportunities to help save you and your family tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Read more of our site and get in touch with your specific concerns!
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For assistance developing a comprehensive nursing home asset protection plan in Pennsylvania, please contact Douglas L. Kaune, Esquire at (610) 933-8069 or email him at dkaune@utbf.com. Doug’s entire practice is focused on Elder Law, Medicaid application, estate planning, trust planning, estate administration and protection of clients’ assets from nursing home spending and estate and inheritance taxation. Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees, P.C. is a full service law firm which has three convenient office locations in Phoenixville, West Chester and Paoli, Pennsylvania. The firm primarily services clients in Chester, Montgomery, Delaware, Philadelphia, Bucks and Berks Counties, but can represent clients throughout Pennsylvania.
