Although there has been no official pronouncement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, we think we know what next year’s spousal impoverishment thresholds will be for Medicaid long-term care applicants.
The annual adjustments to the figures are based on the consumer price index for urban consumers for the September prior to the year in question, in this case September 2012, a figure that was just released. Pennsylvania ElderLawAnswers member Jeff Marshall extrapolated from that number and published the results in his blog. Marshall cautions that his projections may differ slightly from CMS’s ultimate figures if the agency rounds differently, but we feel certain that the figures are no doubt very close to the final ones, if not exactly right. CMS has not replied to our request for confirmation; we’ll let you know of any changes.
Marshall’s projections for the new spousal impoverishment allowances for 2013 are as follows:
Minimum Community Spouse Resource Allowance: $23,184
Maximum Community Spouse Resource Allowance: $115,920
Maximum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance for the lower 48 states: $2,898
The minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance for the lower 48 states remains $1,891.25 until July 1, 2013.
Marshall’s blog post details how he arrived at these figures.
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