Medicaid Spousal Refusal Update
Nobody can ever say I don’t shout from the rooftops that Connecticut has waged war on the middle class that needs Medicaid to pay outrageous nursing home costs. Another year is coming to an end and the legislature has further restricted eligibility.
The sophisticated technique of Spousal Refusal came to Connecticut in 2004 and was affirmed in federal appeals court in 2005. In 2007 we have the wrath of the CT legislature.
As a background, there is a very specific loophole in the federal Medicaid statute which allows the Community Spouse to keep a significant number of assets if the Medicaid applicant assigns his or her right of support to the State.
The legislature decided to attack this loophole by restricting the conditions under which the Medicaid applicant is allowed to assign his or her right of support. This is found in C.G.S. 17b-285 (Effective July 1, 2007).
First, an assignment of support is no longer required if the Community Spouse is unwilling or unable to provide information. Previously the assignment was required.
Second, the applicant spouse must not have resources himself in excess of eligibility standards. This is not a huge change, although it can certainly trip up the unwary.
Third, the Community Spouse must be unable to provide information required to determine eligibility. What did they change? Previously the Community Spouse could be unwilling to provide information and the family could still use an assignment to fit in the federal loophole. It seems that is no longer an option.
This is another attack on crisis Medicaid planning. Pretty soon there won’t be any options for a family once the crisis hits at the rate our legislature is churning out new restrictions. The message is clear, act today to protect yourself tomorrow. Early panning has a much better success rate than crisis planning.
Download your free book on Medicaid Strategies in Connecticut and learn how to protect yourself.
Popularity: 22% [?]
Index Tags: asset protection, estate planning, nursing home, title 19 medicaid
