Is your social security check considered income or savings when qualifying for QMB Medicaid?

Social Security is an income not an asset. Pension is an income. Now that 2k he got for the car is income if he does not buy another car. That will effect the asset cap your state has. So if it takes over the cap, you need to find a way to spend it on him. Must be for something personal.

Medicaid knows the difference between SS and xtra money on the acct. I suggest opening up a savings acct and put the assets allowed in there. That way his SS acct shows the money coming in and going out each month. With my Mom, her SS just covered her living costs. Her assets were in CDs. She had a small $200 pension she used for her personal needs. I think by separating the two, it will be easier for you to keep track.

Newbiewife is accurate. I used to enroll people all the time when I worked for the state I live in.

I think the monthly social security check is considered income, not assets. I agree with the OP that so long as that income is being spent each month there shouldn't be a problem. The QMB program is not Medicaid -- it's a Medicare program for low income individuals. It's the "Qualified Medicare Beneficiary" program. Granted, recipients may also qualify for their state's Medicaid program. The income and asset requirements for the QMB program are set at the federal level and are the same in all states, and are likely different different than state Medicaid ones. Quoting from the federal Medicare website:

"The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program provides Medicare coverage of Part A and Part B premiums and cost sharing to low-income Medicare beneficiaries. . . . Federal law forbids Medicare providers and suppliers, including pharmacies, from billing people in the QMB program for Medicare cost sharing. Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the QMB program have no legal obligation to pay Medicare Part A or Part B deductibles, coinsurance, or copays for any Medicare-covered items and services."

Medicaid is run by each state, so your state's app may be different than others. Go to the website for your county's Dept of Health and Human Services and search for the Medicaid app. You can download the app and review what it requires to qualify.

You can consult with a Medicaid Planner for your state, or an elder law/estate planning attorney for the most legally accurate answer. You don't even say what state your dad lives in,