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Frankee218 Asked January 2017

My mom has been on Medicaid for awhile, and she will be going to a nursing home shortly. Will the nursing home take her insurance policy?

Policy is $20,000 from 2013, and is endowment rider. Surrender value is only $1,000. We live in NJ. Premiums are $58 a month. Should I take over the payments?

EXPERT John L. Roberts Jan 2017
In my state (Massachusetts), the life insurance policy would be a countable asset, since the face value is over $1,500.

But the Medicaid agency would only count the cash surrender value: $1,000. The nursing home resident would be eligible for Medicaid if she had other countable assets + the cash surrender value that totaled less than $2,000.

Talk with an elder law attorney in your state to learn how to the regulations apply to your Mom, and do check the death benefit beneficiary designation on the policy.

pamstegma Jan 2017
You would have to buy the policy for the $1k, then make the payments. This is an asset that must be accounted for.

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wvavet Jan 2017
Not sure about your state but in mine the nursing home said my mom could have a "burial policy" only with medicaid funding. I would have had to make the payment tho if she had stayed in there after her medicare days ran out - they only let her keep $50 a month.  Of course I would have had to pay for burial anyway so it is cheaper to pay insurance for her.

Frankee218 Jan 2017
So...nursing home will take and I will need to pay for her burial out of my pocket if there is no money in her checking account anymore? Her premiums are taken out of her ss every month(her only income). Probably best to let in lapse I suppose. She has nothing, and I can't pay for her burial either. Not sure what I should do.

Frankee218 Jan 2017
Thanks for the help! I'm 49 and now I'm worried about my future :-)

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