Monday, July 14, 2008

Housing assets should help finance long-term care

By Peter Nelson

Categories: Long-term care, Minnesota

A recent decision from the Minnesota Supreme Court documents how the average senior can qualify for Medicaid long-term care financing while still maintaining a substantial amount of assets in there home. In a commentary published on MinnPost today, I recount the facts of that decision and how federal Medicaid law can actually restrict states from recovering housing assets from the estates of certain married couples. More broadly, the case highlights maybe the last substantial Medicaid long-term care qualification loophole and reminds us that our public long-term care financing system is plainly not working.

While the case is only binding in Minnesota, the case represents a sound interpration of federal law and will likely influence how other states interpret federal Medicaid estate recovery law. In fact, the message here is actually more important for other states to heed because Minnesota happens to be one of the few states that actively pursues assets from the estates of Medicaid recipients.