A Medicaid professional consultant helping an elderly woman to protect her assets and money from the nursing home spend down.

Medicaid penalty period

Many people applying for Medicaid will be penalized with the Medicaid penalty period

How to Pay For Nursing Home Costs During Penalty Periods

Many individuals who have filed an application for Medicaid benefits will find that they will enter a penalty period. This could be for many reasons, but in most cases it is for the transfer of assets in order to reduce their asset amount so they can qualify for Medicaid. If there is a penalty period, it will result in a Medicaid private-pay period. This means that the individual will have to pay for their own costs in the nursing home for the duration of the penalty period. For example, it the individual has a monthly income of $1,500 and the nursing home costs are $7,000 per month, the question is how to make up that difference and pay for these costs.

This is a common concern for many people who have too much income or other assets that disqualify them from receiving Medicaid benefits at that time. If they are in a penalty period and have to go into a nursing home, this could bring about some serious financial hardships. So, how do these people pay the balance during this penalty period?

In addition to this concern, these individuals will also be unable to pay for insurance, taxes, utility bills and any other bill that comes in on a monthly basis. All of their income is being given to the nursing home, so none of the other bills are being paid. These are some serious problems that can have an effect on the whole family. While this may seem like a dire situation, there are some options that are available to individuals dealing with the shortfall of finances due to the Medicaid penalty period.

On a side note, clients should be aware that if there is a homecare application under Medicaid, then all of the income from the individual will stay in the home. However, they must still abide by the income limits that are set forth by the state in which they reside. In the following sections (please peruse our Medicaid articles section here:Medicaid sitemap), some Medicaid strategies will be discussed. These can be used when a client faces this problem. Many people make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to pay for nursing care. These people should seek the advice of a Medicaid planner to help them prepare for what they can do. The Medicaid income limits and guidelines can be difficult to understand. Not to mention, many Americans will not fall within the range of allowed income. This can leave millions of older Americans struggling to find ways to pay for the nursing home costs during their Medicaid penalty period in which all of their income is already going to the nursing home. Call Medicaid consultants if you are in this predicament toll-free at 1 (877) 21-Medicaid or 1 (877) 216-3342.