Lookbacks & Asset Transfer Rules Are Different For Medicaid & Veterans Long Term Care Benefits

Veterans, here's some important information you didn't learn in boot camp.

If you are a veteran who is over 65 or disabled, you may be eligible for V.A. benefits to cover assisted living, at-home care or nursing home care expenses -- even if your disability did not occur as a result of your military service. Veterans widows may be eligible for benefits, too. In my Florida Elder Law Practice I advise many veterans and families who are struggling to pay for the long-term care assistance they need, but who are completely unaware of the existence of these V.A. aid and attendance benefits!

To get benefits, you'll have to meet certain income and asset criteria... which leads me to another set of little-known but important facts for veterans: Although the V.A. does not have a lookback period when it assesses your assets, Medicaid - which many elderly veterans will want to apply for after applying for Veterans benefits - does. Knowing this distinction could make the difference between losing your nest egg to nursing home expenses or saving a significant portion of your assets. Let's illustrate with an example.

Veteran and Florida resident Bill needs help caring for himself at home. His income and unreimbursed medical expenses qualify him for veterans aideand attendance benefits that cover some of the cost. But with $200,000 in savings, he is over the asset limit ($80,000 limit at this writing on 4/26/10). So Bill transfers his assets to his children. They next day, he applies for V.A. aid and attendance benefits and is approved. So far, so good -- but read on.

Bill's health continues to deteriorate, and two years later, he needs full-time custodial nursing home care. Facing astronomical expenses, Bill applies to Medicaid for long-term care benefits. Bill is surprised to learn that unlike the V.A., Medicaid has a lookback period and examines his prior asset transfers. Medicaid deems Bill ineligible for a penalty period and he now faces paying those enormous nursing home bills out of pocket. It's going to cost the family dearly.

The V.A. and Medicaid are separate agencies. They don't "work together." The V.A. won't tell you about Medicaid's requirements, and Medicaid won't tell you about the V.A.'s requirements. Yet for Florida veterans who want to preserve assets and protect themselves against the crushing costs of long-term care, both types of benefits must be considered together. Veterans benefits and Medicaid benefits are two pieces of the same complex puzzle. For help putting those pieces together, consult a Florida certified elder law attorney with experience in this area.