Can Medicaid Take Your House? Many seniors worry about what will happen to their home when they apply for Medicaid, especially if they need nursing home care or other long-term services. The rules can be confusing, and the answer depends on your family situation and where you live.
Medicaid has a program called the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP). This program requires states to try to recover the money they spent on long-term care for Medicaid recipients after they pass away. This includes costs for nursing homes, assisted living, and in-home care.
The main target for recovery is often the person’s home. There are some exceptions. For example, if a surviving spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child of any age lives in the home, it may be protected.
Is Medicare Part B Free? What You Need to Know About Costs and Exceptions
Can Medicaid Take Your House? Different Scenarios
1. Single and Living Alone
If you live alone in your home, Medicaid won’t count it as an asset as long as your home’s value is below a certain limit. For 2025, this limit is either 730,000 or 730,000 or 1,097,000, depending on your state. Medicaid can’t force you to sell your home while you’re alive. But after you pass away, they may try to recover costs by selling the home unless an exception applies.
2. Single and Moving to a Nursing Home
If you move to a nursing home, you can submit a written “Intent to Return Home” statement. This keeps your home exempt as long as its value is below the limit. If Medicaid decides your stay is permanent, they may place a lien on your home. This doesn’t force an immediate sale, but the state will get paid when the home is eventually sold.
3. Single with Grown Children Living in the Home
If your adult child is blind or disabled and lives in your home, the property is protected. Also, if your child has been your caregiver for at least two years before you moved to a nursing home, the Child Caretaker Exemption may apply. This allows you to transfer the home to them without penalty.
4. Married with One Spouse in a Nursing Home
If one spouse moves to a nursing home and the other stays in the home, Medicaid won’t count the home as an asset. You can also transfer the home to the spouse living at home without penalty. This protects the home from estate recovery even after the spouse at home passes away.
5. Both Spouses Passed Away
If both spouses are deceased, the state may try to recover costs by selling the home. However, if an adult child who is blind, disabled, or meets other exemption criteria lives in the home, it may still be protected.
Can You Sell Your Home While on Medicaid?
Yes, you can sell your home while on Medicaid, but it could affect your eligibility. Once you sell the home, it’s no longer exempt. The money from the sale could push you over Medicaid’s asset limit, which is usually $2,000. You’d need to spend down the money before you can qualify for Medicaid again.
Medicaid Gym Membership: What You Need to Qualify for Fitness Benefits?
How to Protect Your Home from Medicaid Estate Recovery
There are ways to protect your home from Medicaid estate recovery:
- Create an Irrevocable Trust: Putting your home in an irrevocable trust can shield it, but you must do this well before applying for Medicaid.
- Use Long-Term Care Partnership Programs: These programs let you protect assets equal to the value of benefits paid by a qualifying insurance policy.
- Apply for Caregiver and Sibling Exemptions: In some cases, you can transfer your home to certain family members without breaking Medicaid’s rules.
- Work with a Medicaid Planner: Medicaid rules are complicated, so consulting an expert can help you protect your assets.
