Success Stories

family times Client Comments
"My mother has been in skilled nursing since November when we realized that she was quickly coming to the end of her resources. We mentioned it to the social services person and she gave us a brochure referring us to Bill Ruffing's company, Medicaid Information Resource. We contacted him and he came to see us right away.

"We learned from him that her amount of remaining assets could be preserved and that she could become eligible to apply for Medicaid. He was very patient and helpful and explained every detail of their process to us. He helped us fill out the applications and presented the case to the proper government agent. The process was underway when we had to return to our home in Delaware and he continued to attend to what had to be done in Florida and keep us informed by mail and phone. He was very thorough, considerate, and kind in the several trips to see us while we were in Florida. He did everything that could possibly be done to bring the matter to a timely and satisfactory conclusion.

Success Story: Asset Preservation for a Single Person
Three months ago, Van and Elaine Hughes placed Elaine’s mother Mary into a nursing home. They had been privately paying for Mary’s care for three months when they found out about Medicaid Information Resource. When they heard that strategies were available to preserve assets, they were interested, but had many questions and concerns.
The Hughes were reassured when they learned that every strategy we use to preserve assets are completely in keeping with the Florida Medicaid Guidelines. Here were the specifics of their situation:

Mary’s funeral arrangements had been prepaid, so all they had to do was sign an irrevocable designation form in order for the funeral contract to be excluded as an asset. Since there were excess assets of $58,800, these assets were restructured to get below the $2,000 maximum for a single person. A Medicaid Friendly Annuity was purchased in Mary’s name. Mary is the annuitant and owner, and Van and Elaine are beneficiaries. Since Mary is the owner, there is no “gifting” of assets, thus Medicaid’s “three-year look back” period does not apply to assets placed into the annuity.

If Mary were to die in the next few years, Van and Elaine will receive all $58,200 of Mary’s assets.

Thus, the Hughes were able to accomplish the following:
- Have Mary approved immediately for Medicaid
- Preserve the entire amount of Mary’s assets
- Rest easy knowing that they have a little nest-egg coming their way

Success Story: Spousal Example
John Abernathy, a World War II veteran, was recently admitted to a nursing home. Emotionally, this was a very difficult time for his wife Doris and their children. In addition, financial pressures were mounting because of the high cost of John’s care. Doris was worried that she might not have enough money to live on, that her life savings would be used up and that there wouldn’t be anything left to pass on to the children. Here are the specifics of their situation:

Initially, the Abernathy’s countable assets exceeded the spousal asset limit by $52,280. We implemented the following strategies to help them to preserve the excess assets:
Burial Accounts were set up for both of them - $2,500 each for a total of $5,000. Medicaid did not count these burial accounts as assets.

Since they still had excess assets of $47,280, they still needed to restructure assets to get below the $113,640 maximum. To do this, CD’s were cashed in and a $48,000 Annuity was purchased. We made Doris the owner of the annuity so interest income from the annuity would go to Doris, not the nursing home. Doris is the annuitant and owner, and their children are beneficiaries. Since Doris owns the annuity, there is no “gifting” of assets, thus Medicaid’s “five-year look back” period does not apply to assets placed into the annuity.

Over the next few years, Doris will receive almost all the $48,000 back in the form of monthly income payments. In addition, Doris was allowed to receive a portion of John’s income as “spousal diversion” to allow her meet her monthly expenses.

Thus, the Abernathy's were able to accomplish the following:
- Have John approved immediately for Medicaid
- They preserved virtually the entire amount of their excess assets ($48,000)
- Doris receives interest payments from the annuity each month
- Some of John’s income was diverted to Doris to help her meet expenses

Needless to say the Abernathy’s were very pleased with the end results.