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Hi I'm Stan. I recently retired, and I'm 63 years old. The cash from the sale of my house is in an account, and will barely (but perhaps not) cover the cost of building a new home. I live in a primitive cabin without electricity or running water. I have only SSI to live on, with no savings other than the account which will be spent down to build my new house. My SSI is less than 12,000 yearly. I don't have health insurance, and recently had an accident (I'm fine now) which resulted in a $6,000 medical bill. Can I qualify for Medicaid medical assistance? I have no other savings or assets over $2000.00, but am afraid that my account will cancel my eligibility for medical assistance.

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Have you talked to Medicaid?

This is a state ran federal program, meaning your state has it's own set of rules and regulations that you have to meet to be eligible.

Your best bet would be to go in and talk with someone.

I would also think that you are stuck with the bill you already created.

Just curious, if you can not afford to live with all your needs met, why would you retire?
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StanArt Jul 2019
Read the responses above.
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The cash from the sale of your house is an asset and will disqualify you from qualifying for medicaid if it’s over $2k or $15k if you are in NY. You’ll need to spend down your assets before you can qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid usually only goes retroactive for 3 months so they won’t pay your $6k bill. Use money from the sale of your house to pay the bill. You can almost always negotiate a lower payoff if you are paying cash with no insurance.
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If you don't build at once, another medical incident could easily wipe you out. Get on an insurance plan at once; catastrophic insurance isn't that costly with low income. You cannot go insured. My brother's recent hospitalization cost 144,000 for hospital alone. That would wipe you out. I would buy a home, myself, with this money in the account. Frankly the only way to keep it safe. It is an asset and it is counted as your income from sale of house.
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There is a big difference between the qualification for Community Medicaid (medical insurance) and Nursing Home Medicaid. In many states, there is NO asset test for Medicaid insurance, only an income means test.
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You might consider purchasing a manufactured home to quickly reinvest the money from your house sale. If you go that road, make sure your contract includes everything needed in the setup including water, sewer, electrical connections, all the porches, and any driveway you will need. I added a clause to my modular home contract that final payment was not due until a occupancy permit had been issued. Manufactured and modular homes now meet the same national and regional building codes as onsite built homes and can be customized just like an onsite home. You can even purchase some reprocessed homes at a large discount. No one walking into my bricked modular home ever considers it was not built on site.
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AlvaDeer Jul 2019
What a GREAT idea. New home, safe and well constructed and everything to go with it.
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I don’t think you would qualify for Medicaid with the money in your account from the sale of your home.

That said, why, at age 63, would you want to saddle yourself with the responsibility of a new home? Upkeep and taxes cost $. Have you considered buying into a senior community? I am 61 and my next move is to downsize. Those senior communities take care of the landscape as well as plough the snow, etc.

Insurance coverage is the only reason I still work full time. I want to avoid not having to pay exorbitant premiums and deductibles during that 3 year period before being covered by Medicare & a supplement.

If I were you I would obtain health insurance with the $ you have from the sale of your home.

Right now you are living in a “primitive” cabin with no electricity or water. I am wondering why you chose this as a way to live. How do you cook? How do you keep your groceries from spoiling?

I am thinking you are worried about insurance coverage. When you retired were you given the option for Cobra coverage? (I am not sure if this is even a possibility). That will cover you for 18 months but you will have to pay the entire premium ( what your employer paid + your premiums). That can be costly - when I had my hip done it was $800 out of pocket every two weeks.

Why retire at 63 without insurance instead of at 65 What is your full SS date? You can still collect SS at 62 but will receive 70% of your full SS benefit. You will not be eligible for Medicare.

Medicaid for insurance is not an option for you with the money from the sale of your home as an asset sitting in a bank. You are in that vulnerable period where obtaining health insurance is possible but will be expensive through the state exchange.

Good luck to you!
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StanArt Jul 2019
Hi Shane, I've lived my entire life in the city (Colorado Springs) and am tired of the hustle, bustle and chatter of the city. I've owned my land for a long time and have always planned on retiring there. I retired at 62, but even if I retired at 65, I could not afford to live in my house in Colorado Springs because of the runaway utility bill costs, taxes, trash service, along with other basic necessities. Retirement facilities are also expensive, and I don't really need that type of community existence. Once the home is built on my land, it will be much cheaper to live, since I'm putting in an off the grid solar system, and the home will be passive solar and very energy efficient. I also have quite a few friends in the area. It's also a very beautiful area, and I'm in great physical condition compared to many my age. The small cabin I'm living in has propane, which I used to cook, operate the refrigerator and the heat. It also has a wood stove that I can use as backup head with the abundant amount of firewood in the area. My only concern is that my SSI will be inadequate to live on if I'm paying premiums for health insurance. It will take a good 2 years to finish the home, since I'm doing much of the work myself, which will correspond with medicare kicking in for medical coverage. The concern is making it until then while building the house. Using the cash for the home to cover medical expenses, and insurance could result in running out of funds before completion.
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Long term care Medicaid's eligibility is based on assets and income. Community based Medicaid is for those still living in the community, not in a nursing home. Community based Medicaid is for those that cannot afford the cost of medical insurance based on income.

Talk with Medicaid to file an application. It is not normally retroactive unless there is a somewhat major medical event.

If you are disabled then you may qualify for Medicare.

Medicare and Medicaid are two very different programs.
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Why not look for medical insurance through the Marketplace? There's no asset test for that either, only and income test, and you could qualify for huge subsidies due to your low income. Sure, apply for Medicaid (I have no idea if you'll get it). But don't go without insurance in the meantime. You've already seen what a mistake that can be.
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Just curious, why did u retire before Medicare kicked in. At least you would have had the majority of ur hospital bill paid. And by not waiting till 65 (better 66) to collect SS (SSI is something different) you have lost 25% at least of ur SS. Were there health reasons?

Hopefully it was health reasons you retired so early. You need to go to ur Social Service Office. With ur income u may qualify for Medicaid. You also may qualify for SSI, which stands for Supplimental Security income. If u qualify for SSI I think Medicaid health insurance is automatic. You get vision, dental and prescriptions too.

Good Luck
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worriedinCali Jul 2019
He’s not going to qualify for SSI as long he still has the money from the sale of his house. His countable resources cannot exceed $2000.
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I think you should not get to suck my tax dollars because you decided that you want to live a different life than the city life for the next part of your life.

Public assistance is intended for those that truly can not make ends meet, not to subsidize your lifestyle choices. You are supposed to be a grown man taking care of yourself, not using funds that truly needy people could use. You are not in need, you are trying to hustle the system to pay for your choices, NOPE!

Yeah, yeah I am a mean biotch, I still think that you don't deserve taxpayers help. Live with the consequences of your choices.
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StanArt Jul 2019
I paid for the insurance of many while working over 50 years, while almost never seeing a doctor or getting services. The two year window from the time I retired until medicare kicks in is a vulnerable period for many who need to retire early. The "difficult period" will be building my house-a lot by myself , during those two years. Since I signed up for health insurance yesterday, I'll be fully covered. That will mean using grocery money, so it will be bread and water. I've never been a leach for taxpayer money, and again, I've paid in a hell of a lot more into Social Security, than I'll ever get back. Anyone can have a situation within a lifetime where they can be vulnerable. It's those that leach off the system in a habitual manner, or those that aren't citizens and leaching that need the "bitching."
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