• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sinclair Prosser Gasior

Annapolis Estate Planning Attorneys

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Call Now: (410) 573-4818

Attend a Free Workshop Trustee School

  • Home
  • About Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Founding Attorneys
    • Meet Our Team
  • Services
    • Annapolis, MD Asset Protection and Business Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Annapolis, MD Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Annapolis, MD Trust Administration & Probate
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Annapolis, MD Incapacity Planning
    • Annapolis, MD LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Annapolis, MD Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Annapolis, MD Special Needs Planning
    • Estate Planning for Young Families
  • Resources
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law Reports
    • Estate Planning Definitions
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Estate Planning
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid
      • Power of Attorney
      • Probate Avoidance
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills
    • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Probate Resources
    • Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Trust Administration
      • Estate Planning for Niches
    • Top 10 Estate Planning Techniques
    • Newsletters
  • COMMUNITIES WE SERVE
    • Anne Arundel County
      • Annapolis
      • Crownsville
      • Davidsonville
      • Highland Beach
      • Millersville
    • Baltimore County
    • Calvert County
      • Dunkirk
      • Huntingtown
      • Owings
    • Charles County
      • Charlotte Hall
      • Waldorf
    • District of Columbia
    • Howard County
    • Maryland
      • Clarksville
      • Columbia
      • Ellicott City
    • Prince George County
      • Bowie
      • Fort Washington
      • Glenn Dale
    • Queen Anne’s County
      • Grasonville
      • Queenstown
      • Stevensville
    • St. Mary’s County
      • Charlotte Hall
      • Leonardtown
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • BLOG
  • Contact Us
  • Make A Payment
  • Client Portal
Home / Long Term Care Planning / The Importance of Medicaid Planning

The Importance of Medicaid Planning

September 16, 2020 by Jon J. Gasior, Estate Planning Attorney

A well thought out and successful estate plan should do much more than simply determine how your estate assets are distributed after you are gone. One additional component that should be included in your estate plan is a long-term care planning component. To help you understand why, a Waldorf Medicaid planning attorney at Sinclair Prosser Gasior offers five reasons why Medicaid planning is important.

  1. Your odds of needing LTC are high. To understand why you need to consider adding a long-term care planning component, you need to know why such an addition is beneficial. The need to qualify for Medicaid benefits as a senior will come as a result of your need for long-term care (LTC). The need for long-term care is more likely than you may realize. At retirement age (age 65) we all stand close to a 70 percent chance of needing some type of long-term care (LTC) services before the end of our lifetime.
  2. LTC costs are expensive. Across the nation, the average cost of a year in LTC for 2019 was over $100,000. Maryland residents pay, on average, more than the national average. For 2019, the average cost of a year in LTC for Maryland residents was around $120,000. With an average length of stay of almost three years, you are looking at a LTC bill of over $350,000 for an average stay.
  3. You are likely facing out of pocket payments. Although you may rely heavily on Medicare as a senior to cover healthcare costs, Medicare won’t pay for LTC and neither will your average health insurance policy unless you purchased a separate LTC policy. For this reason, more than half of all seniors currently in LTC depend on Medicaid to help cover their LTC expenses. Medicaid will cover LTC expenses; however, you must first qualify for Medicaid benefits.
  4. Qualifying for Medicaid can be complicated. Qualifying for Medicaid benefits requires an applicant to meet Medicaid’s eligibility requirements for seniors. That, in turn, means you have to meet the income and asset tests that impose very low limits on the amount of income you can have and the value of non-exempt assets you may own. The income limit is tied to the Federal Poverty Level and will change depending on which Medicaid category you apply under, your geographic location, and household size. The income limit, however, is not where most seniors encounter a problem. It is the extremely low asset limit that typically poses a problem for seniors who did not plan ahead. In most states, an individual applicant cannot own “countable resources” valued at over $2,000 and still qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid does exempt certain assets, such as your primary residence and a vehicle; however, many seniors have accumulated a retirement nest egg full of non-exempt assets that easily exceed the countable resources limit. If your assets exceed the limit, your application will be denied and you will have to “spend-down” your assets before applying again, meaning you will be expected to use those assets to cover your LTC expenses until the assets are gone.
  5. Planning ahead is necessary. Waiting until the last minute to worry about qualifying for Medicaid puts your assets at risk because of the five-year “look-back” rule. The five-year look-back rule allows Medicaid to check for asset transfers made for less than fair market value within the last five years. If any are found, Medicaid may impose a waiting period during which time you will not be eligible for Medicaid benefits. Planning ahead, however, allows you to protect your assets by putting them out of reach. It is for this reason that long-term care planning should be included in your overall estate plan.

Contact a Waldorf Medicaid Planning Attorney

For more information, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you have additional questions or concerns about Medicaid planning, contact an experienced Waldorf Medicaid planning attorney at Sinclair Prosser Gasior by calling (410) 573-4818 to schedule an appointment.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Jon J. Gasior, Estate Planning Attorney
Jon J. Gasior, Estate Planning Attorney
Attorney/Owner at Sinclair Prosser Gasior
His personal experience with family and the problems that resulted from their failure to create an estate plan resulted in his desire to learn more about this area of the law. From his work in the Elder Law Clinic, he further realized the need to plan not only for death, but also for incapacity during their lifetime.
Jon J. Gasior, Estate Planning Attorney
Latest posts by Jon J. Gasior, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • Helping Your Family Through Estate Planning - September 21, 2022
  • Estate Planning Scams - August 16, 2022
  • What is the Maryland Trust Act? - July 11, 2022

Filed Under: Long Term Care Planning

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Annapolis Medicaid planning attorney
Long-Term Care Planning Tips
Medicaid planning
Medicaid Planning is Not Traditional Estate Planning
Should I Purchase Long-Term Care Insurance?
4 elder friends
Medicaid Planning for Married Couples
Why-Crowdfunding-May-Cost-You-Medicaid-Eligibility
Can You Give Away Your Wealth to Get Medicaid?
Annapolis Power of Attorney
The High Cost of Long Term Care in Maryland – Genworth Report

About Jon J. Gasior, Estate Planning Attorney

His personal experience with family and the problems that resulted from their failure to create an estate plan resulted in his desire to learn more about this area of the law. From his work in the Elder Law Clinic, he further realized the need to plan not only for death, but also for incapacity during their lifetime.

Primary Sidebar

Download our free estate planning worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Testimonials

5 Stars
Client Review
September 3, 2020
    

We initiated estate planning following a presentation by Sinclair Prosser Attorney Jon Gasior. We were so impressed, we contracted with them to complete our estate planning. Subsequently, we assembled information on our assets and Sinclair Prosser Gasior did the rest. Correspondence was communicated to our financial institutions and the estate was established. We were very pleased with the courteous manner of the Sinclair Prosser Gasior staff. However, it was their professionalism that made us satisfied we chose this firm to handle our estate. We have nothing but praise for Sinclair Prosser Gasior .

default image
– Walter K.

Blog Subscription

Sign up for our blog to receive all of our latest estate planning news and updates!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ANNAPOLIS

900 Bestgate Road
Suite 103, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Phone: (410) 573-4818
Fax: (410) 573-2802

BOWIE

4201 Mitchellville Road
Suite 403, Bowie, MD 20716
Phone: (301) 970-8080
Fax: (410) 573-2802

MILLERSVILLE

1520 Jabez Run Rd
Suite 300, Millersville, Maryland 21108
Phone: (410) 573-4818
Fax: (410) 573-2802

WALDORF

Hamilton Centre II
3261 Old Washington Road, Suite 2020 Waldorf, MD 20602
Phone: 800-366-4615

Map

map for office

Footer

footer logo
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The information on this Maryland Attorneys & Lawyers / Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys| Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map