Video
How to Keep $150K+ While Qualifying for Medicaid Nursing Home Care
Protect $150K+ in assets from nursing home costs with Medicaid-compliant annuities. Learn key strategies from elder law expert Harry Margolis.
Medicaid Annuity Planning: How Married Couples Can Protect $150,000+ from Nursing Home Costs
Facing nursing home costs of $9,000–$15,000 per month? Medicaid annuity planning offers a powerful, legal strategy that allows married couples to protect $150,000 or more in assets while still qualifying for Medicaid coverage.
In this video, estate planning attorney Harry Margolis, author of Get Your Ducks in a Row, explains how Medicaid-compliant immediate annuities work—and why Medicaid annuity planning can prevent families from losing their life savings to long-term care costs.
🔑 KEY POINTS
-
Why Medicaid forces a spend-down to $2,000 for the nursing home spouse
-
How Medicaid annuity planning protects assets for the healthy spouse
-
How immediate annuities convert countable assets into protected income
-
Why the 5-year lookback rule does NOT apply to properly structured annuities
-
Which assets count—and which don’t—under Medicaid rules
-
Why gifting assets to children can trigger severe Medicaid penalties
-
The critical rules an annuity must follow to qualify under Medicaid annuity planning
-
How retirement accounts create hidden tax traps during spend-down
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
-
0:00 – The Medicaid spend-down crisis
-
1:15 – What is an immediate annuity?
-
3:22 – How Medicaid annuity planning protects $150K+
-
5:40 – The 5-year lookback rule explained
-
7:18 – Countable vs. non-countable assets
-
9:45 – Single vs. married Medicaid strategies
-
11:30 – Costly mistakes to avoid
-
13:15 – Why you need a LOCAL elder law attorney
💰 THE BOTTOM LINE
With proper Medicaid annuity planning, the healthy spouse can maintain financial stability through guaranteed income while Medicaid covers nursing home costs. Get it wrong, and families risk losing everything.
⚠️ IMPORTANT Medicaid rules vary by state. This video is for general information only. Always consult a qualified elder law attorney in your state before implementing Medicaid annuity planning strategies.