How Does Medicaid Planning Involve Asset Protection?
Whether you have parents who are getting to the age where they could soon require some form of long-term care, or you are starting to think about retirement in the next decade or so yourself and how to make financial plans for the future that take into account potential health needs, it is important to understand the importance of Medicaid planning for asset protection.
If you have never considered Medicaid planning before — either for an elderly parent or for yourself and your spouse — it might not be immediately clear why you would need to engage in Medicaid planning at all, or what it could have to do with protecting your assets. Yet, as our Connecticut elder lawyers can explain, Medicaid planning is critical to protect the hard-earned assets you have earned during your lifetime.
Understanding the Connection Between Medicaid Planning and Asset Protection
What is the connection between Medicaid planning and asset protection in Connecticut? In short, everyone of a certain age should be thinking about Medicaid planning, for elderly parents and often for themselves, as well. You might know that Medicaid is a federal benefit for lower income individuals with limited assets, but it is often a necessity for older adults — even if they were moderate or even high earners during working years — to pay for long-term care. By engaging in Medicaid planning, you can protect your assets. In other words, your assets will not need to go toward the high costs of long-term care, especially nursing home care, if you have planned ahead for Medicaid to help cover these costs.
High Costs of Long-Term Care in Connecticut
You might be wondering: will I really need to have Medicaid cover long-term care, or will my elderly parent actually need to rely on Medicaid? You might not realize just how expensive nursing home care usually is, and how often older adults must rely on it for a period of time in their lives.
According to CT Insider, the average cost of nursing home care in Connecticut as of 2021 — and that cost has likely increased — was nearly $14,000 per month for a semi-private room, and more than $15,000 per month for a private room. According to US News & World Report, the average length of time that long-term care is required is between 2.2 and 3.7 years, depending on gender, and about 20 percent of adults aged 65 and older require five years or more in a nursing home. Only about one-third of the elderly population will never require any support from a long-term care facility, meaning that about two-thirds of the population will require long-term care. On average, older patients stay an average of one year in a nursing home.
Even if an older adult stays only the average length of time in a nursing home, the cost in 2021 would have been about $180,000. Rather than paying those costs out of pocket with decades of savings, older adults can work with a lawyer on Medicaid planning and asset protection.
Contact an Elder Law and Asset Protection Attorney in Connecticut
Medicaid planning and asset protection can be complicated, both in terms of the practical aspects of the law and in terms of having these discussions with elderly parents who are not eager to think about their own vulnerabilities. Yet Medicaid planning and asset protection are critical for older adults and their families. Whether you have initial questions or need help with your own case or with your elderly parents, you should contact an experienced Connecticut elder law attorney at the Law Office of Brian S. Karpe today. We have years of experience assisting clients with various aspects of elder law and asset protection.
Sources:
ctinsider.com/best/senior-living/nursing-home/nursing-home-cost-ct/
portal.ct.gov/-/media/opm/hhs/ltc/cost-of-ltc-in-ct—2021.pdf
health.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes/articles/nursing-home-facts-and-statistics
