Basically, once the home is sold, the sales proceeds will take you over the asset cap (only $2,000 for a single person, for instance) and this can take you off of Medicaid. But, if the family/applicant acts to protect the proceeds, (i.e., spend down), the Medicaid applicant will not lose their Medicaid.

Do I lose my benefits if I sell my house?

As a direct answer to the question being raised here, once a qualified housing benefits recipient has decided to sell his/her house, the government will presume that you earned a large enough amount of money to no longer be eligible to receive housing benefits.

Can you sell your house while receiving Medicaid?

If you sell the house while receiving Medicaid, the actuarial value of your life estate will be an available resource.

What happens to your home if you die from Medicaid?

It is via estate recovery that the state attempts to be reimbursed its cost, and often the only asset a deceased Medicaid applicant still has of any significant value at the time of death is his/her home. To be very clear, estate recovery does not apply when a Medicaid recipient is still living.

Can a home be transferred to a Medicaid spouse?

This holds true regardless of the equity value in your home. However, the best way to handle this situation is to have the title of the home in solely your name. As the spouse of the Medicaid applicant, the home can be transferred to you without violating Medicaid’s look back period.

Can a single person get Medicaid for their home?

Single and live alone in the home As long as you live in your home, and your equity interest (the value of your home in which you outright own by yourself) is under a specified limit, Medicaid cannot take it. In other words, it is not counted towards Medicaid’s asset limit, which in most states is $2,000.