Is My Elderly Parent Currently Eligible for Nursing Home Medicaid Coverage?
Except for the extremely wealthy, most older adults in Connecticut who require long-term care in a nursing home will want to have Medicaid cover these very high costs. The price tag for even a semi-private room in a nursing home in Connecticut in 2024 was more than $15,000, and the average cost of a private room was $16,577. Although Genworth’s data is not yet updated to include 2025 figures, with inflation and other rising costs, the price of nursing home care has increased and likely will continue to do so. After just one year in a nursing home, the price for a semi-private room would total more than $180,000. For two years at the 2024 rates, the total would be $360,000. In three years, the total would be more than half a million dollars. Given the costs, most older adults will want to become eligible for Medicaid so that they are not paying these costs out of pocket or retirement savings.
If you are currently providing some care for your elderly parents or assisting them with estate and long-term care planning, it is critical to find out if they will be eligible for Medicaid, and if not, how they can become Medicaid-eligible while protecting their assets.
Understanding Medicaid (HUSKY) Eligibility in Connecticut
Connecticut’s Medicaid program is known as HUSKY. In order to be eligible for Medicaid coverage for nursing home care or other forms of long-term care, there are income and asset limits.
For a single person or a married person when only one spouse is applying, the Medicaid applicant’s monthly or regular income must be less than the monthly or regular cost of the nursing home care. The asset limit is $1,600. When one spouse in a married couple is applying, the non-applying spouse has an asset limit of $162,660 for 2026. If the applicant or their spouse exceeds the asset limit, they will need to “spend down.” When both spouses in a married couple are applying for Medicaid coverage for nursing home care, the income limit is the same as the above but the asset limit becomes only $3,200 total ($1,600 per applicant).
Spending Down and Protecting Assets
There are many different ways that older adults can plan ahead for Medicaid eligibility without having to “spend down” on nursing home care payments. The first step will be working with an attorney to determine which assets are “countable.” Once you have identified “countable” assets, you may be able to do one or more of the following to reduce those countable assets while still protecting them:
- Create a Medicaid asset protection trust;
- Consider a pooled income trust; and/or
- Spend countable assets on non-countable assets.
The important thing to remember is that you cannot gift assets (such as to your adult children or other family members or friends) in order to spend down to be Medicaid eligible. You will incur a penalty for any gifts made during the 60-month “lookback” period.
Contact a Canton Elder Law and Asset Protection Attorney for Help with Your Elderly Parent’s Situation and Long-Term Care Needs
Many adult children in Connecticut are now finding themselves in the situation where they are having to think about their elderly parents’ health and long-term care needs. If you have an elderly parent or other loved one who has not yet considered Medicaid planning or other asset protection strategies with help from an attorney, it is important to seek legal help as soon as you can. An experienced Canton elder law and asset protection lawyer at the Law Office of Brian S. Karpe can discuss your elderly loved one’s needs and financial circumstances with you today, and we can assist them in planning for the future or protecting their assets as much as possible in the present if they require long-term care immediately. Contact our firm to learn more about how we can help you and your family.
Sources:
cthealth.org
carescout.com/cost-of-care
