In 2020, if a Medicaid applicant has gross monthly income of above $2,349, they must set up a Medicaid Qualified Income Trust (QIT) and meet all other eligibility criteria to receive Medicaid benefits. This catches many applicants off guard because they may have zero savings but be ineligible for Medicaid solely because their Social Security and/or Pension monthly total is over $2,349.
A QIT (sometimes called a “Miller Trust”) is a legal arrangement that allows the Medicaid applicant to put some of their income into the QIT, which is then generally used to pay for the applicant’s medical expenses. When a QIT is properly set up and managed, the income placed into it is not counted when Medicaid eligibility is determined!
Funds in a QIT may be used to pay for nursing home care, but also for other types of long-term care. These include intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual disabilities, assisted living, and community- or home-based services such as Ohio Home Care or Ohio’s PASSPORT Medicaid waiver program, which helps older Ohio residents stay in their home by connecting them with needed services and support.
A QIT must be:
- Irrevocable
- Funded by income only
- Cannot contain other assets
- Name the State as beneficiary upon death
Once the QIT is set up, a QIT bank account will need to be established. Then, each month the Medicaid applicant will transfer some of their monthly income to the QIT and the Trustee will use the money placed into the QIT to pay for medical expenses (or other permissible expenses) in the same month the money is placed into the QIT.
A Medicaid Qualified Income Trust (QIT) is not very complex to establish, but are an important part of Medicaid planning and can be confusing to implement correctly. If you need assistance establishing and implementing a Qualified Income Trust for yourself or a loved one, contact Golowin Legal today at (614) 453-5208.
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