Elder Law - Medicaid Planning - Wills - Trusts - Probate - Guardianship

 

DHS INCREASES INCOME LIMIT FOR MEDICAID INCOME TRUST

     Effective February 1, 2007, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services has increased the income limit for use of a Medicaid Income Trust from $2,500 to $3,000. The rule has not yet been changed in the Oklahoma Administrative Code, but the caseworkers have been instructed to use the $3,000 amount immediately.

     If you have a client, a patient, a friend or a relative who has been denied Medicaid benefits because his/her gross income was over $2,500, please implement a Medicaid Income Trust and re-apply immediately for benefits.

     You should also know that Senate Bill 882 is pending in the Oklahoma Legislature which would completely eliminate the $3,000 income limit on use of the Medicaid Income Trust. The same Senate Bill would also raise the Minimum Community Spouse Resource Allowance from $25,000 (set in 1988) to the maximum, now $101,640.

REVISED

2007 Medicaid Income and Spousal Impoverishment Figures
Maximum Community Spouse Resource Allowance:
Maximum CSRA is ½ of countable resources or $101,640, whichever is less*		 $101,640*
Minimum Community Spouse Resource Allowance:
Minimum is all countable resources up to $25,000. If countable resources are less than $25,000 at snapshot date then the CSRA is limited to the actual countable assets and cannot be increased later.		 $25,000
Maximum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance: $2,541*
Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance: $2,541*
Medicaid Institutional Income Cap without Trust: $1,869
Medicaid Income Trust - Maximum Monthly Income: $3,000*

* Without legal assistance

WARNING: Understand that these amounts are maximums and minimums without legal assistance. Amazing amounts can sometimes be saved through proper legal assistance. Do not evaluate a situation on your own without first discussing in-depth Medicaid planning with a qualified elder law attorney to learn about planning strategies Congress has allowed. Sometimes the Community Spouse Resource Allowance can be increased. (The above information does not constitute legal advice.)

Medicaid amounts are as of 2-1-07 and are subject to change by state law or policy changes.

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Holmes, Holmes & Neisent P.L.L.C.
501 NW 13th Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73103
Phone: (405) 235-8455 Fax: (405) 235-8454

© 2007 Holmes, Holmes & Neisent P.L.L.C.