Medicaid Eligibility

MEDICAID-062216

We offer:

• Onsite DHHS worker 3 days per week
• Assistance with Medicaid application
• Assistance with retro Medicaid applications
• Assistance with Medicaid Redeterminations

Michigan’s Resource Limits for Medicaid For a Single Person
To qualify for Medicaid in Michigan, an unmarried person must have no more than $2,000 in resources. Resources are assets like money and property. Some property does not count toward the resource limit. In Michigan, one car is exempt, and household goods are exempt. Your primary residence and any attached acreage is an exempt resource. However, if you need Medicaid for long-term care, then you cannot have more than $552,000 in equity in your home for a single person. Please note that you may keep a home and a care but you are not allowed to pay upkeep, insurance or taxes on these items.

If you qualify for Medicaid and live in a nursing home, you will be expected to spend almost all income on your care. Michigan allows nursing home residents receiving Medicaid to keep only $60 per month as a personal needs allowance.

These same rules apply after Medicaid is open. A re-determination will be performed once a year to re-qualify for Medicaid.

Please do not five any assets away, this is called divestment and could cause you to pay a penalty. Examples of assets include: automobile, cash, house, property, large equipment, camper, travel trailer and motorcycles. Medicaid has a five year look back for divestment (giving assets away).

Michigan’s Resource Limit for Medicaid For a Married Person
When a married person is applying for Medicaid and plans to be a resident in a long term care facility and has a community spouse there is a significant amount of documentation required to verify the assets and needs of the community spouse and resident. A community spouse is a husband or wife not living in a nursing facility. The community spouse is allowed to keep additional assets called “protected spousal amount”. The protected spousal amount is calculated by taking the amount of “countable assets” owned by the couple on the “snapshot date” and dividing it in half. The snapshot begins upon the first 3 day hospital stay or the first day of long term care stay. The minimum protected spousal amount is $23,844. The maximum protected spousal amount is $199,220. One Medicaid has opened for the resident, assets can be transferred to the community spouse for one year only.