Answer: Assets do not count, only income.

What does it mean to spend down assets?

To qualify for Medicaid, you may have to first spend down some of your assets. The process of reducing the value of your assets to qualify for Medicaid is referred to as “spending down.” One misconception is that the only way to reduce the value of one’s assets is to spend them on the Medicaid applicant’s medical care.

What is a spend down plan?

What Is a Medicaid Spend Down? A Medicaid spend down is a financial strategy used when an individual’s income is too high to qualify for Medicaid. To be accepted into the program, some of the individual’s income must be spent down to ensure his or her income is low enough to qualify for Medicaid.

What does spend down mean for Medicaid in California?

Medicaid is referred to by different names in different states. So spend down in California is called “Medi-Cal Spend Down”. In Illinois and other states “Medical Assistance Spend Down”. “Medicare Spend Down” is simply a misnomer. Medicare has no asset limit and therefore Medicare spend down does not exist.

What’s the legal way to spend down assets?

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Can a spend down program refer to both income and assets?

While the “spend down program” can refer to both income and assets, it is much more common when discussing assets. Therefore, the majority of this article will focus on that subject. Income and asset limits for Medicaid do not remain consistent across the United States, nor do they remain the same even within each state.

When do I need to spend down my assets for Medicaid?

If the applicant’s income or countable assets exceed Medicaid’s financial limits in their state, it is possible to become eligible by “spending down” one’s income or assets to the point where they become financially eligible. However, there are Medicaid spend down rules about how one can legally spend down their financial resources.