It is true that couples don’t have to spend every last dollar in order to have the cost of skilled nursing covered by governmental benefits. Remember, Medicare does not cover the cost of custodial care in a skilled nursing facility. Medicare only covers short periods of time for rehab after surgery, an accident or other covered pre-admission conditions.
In many states, there are benefits that allow spouses to quality for governmental support of long term care costs in a skilled nursing facility. There are many exempt assets and in California, the well spouse, can keep up to $109,560 (2009) and still qualify to have his or her spouse in a Medi-Cal covered skilled nursing facility.
The spouse receiving these benefits, may need to cover some of the costs with his or her retirement benefits. This will differ from couple to couple and allowances are made if the spouse who stays at home needs more income for their health and wellness.
It can be confusing to understand what is accepted and what counts towards the total allowed for the well spouse. Consulting with a Certified Geriatric Care Manager for an hour or two is all you will need. If you have to move assets in order to qualify, we recommend that you consult an Elder Law Attorney who is a member of The National Association of Elder Law Attorney’s (NAELA.org).
Learn all you can about your benefits. Sit down with someone skilled in helping you make long term decisions, such as a Professional Geriatric Care Manager. Knowing about your benefits doesn’t need to be hard.