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By Julie Martin 10 Apr, 2024
"The loss of a friend is like that of a limb; time may heal the anguish of the wound, but the loss cannot be repaired. - Robert Southey.
By Julie Martin 19 Oct, 2023
According to my calculations, the 2024 ALTCS Community Spouse Resource Deduction (CSRD) minimum will be $30,828, the maximum CSRD will be $154,140, the Maximum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance will be $3,853.50, and the ALTCS home equity limit will be $713,000. Community Spouse Resource Deduction (CSRD) The CSRD plus $2,000 is the resource limit for a legally married couple applying for ALTCS. Each couple's CSRD is determined by calculating the total assets the couple had when the spouse who needs ALTCS first received paid long-term care services for 30 consecutive days or more and/or when that spouse is determined to be medically qualified for ALTCS, and dividing that total by half. The spouse who doesn't need long term care ("well spouse") gets to keep their half of the total, up to a maximum set by federal law, and the spouse who needs ALTCS gets to keep up to $2,000. It's a bit more involved than that, but that's the gist. Every married couple gets to keep at least the minimum CSRD even if their half is less than the minimum. Maximum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA) The Maximum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA) is used in the share of cost calculation for a married ALTCS recipient. "Share of cost" is the amount that ALTCS determines the ALTCS recipient must pay toward the cost of their care. Not everyone has to pay a share of cost, though. The MMMNA is the maximum monthly allowance the well spouse may receive from the ALTCS recipient spouse's income and is a standard set by federal law. The allowance the well spouse is entitled to receive from the recipient's income is based on a combination of actual expenses and federal need standards minus the well spouse's income and cannot exceed the MMMNA except as otherwise ordered by the court or an Administrative Law Judge on administrative appeal of the ALTCS share of cost decision. Home Equity Limit The ALTCS home equity limit does not apply if the ALTCS recipient's spouse, child under age 21, or blind or disabled child of any age resides in the home, or if a hardship exception applies. If your home equity exceeds the limit and no exception applies, you can obtain a reverse mortgage or home equity loan to reduce your home equity; however, how you receive the loan proceeds and what you do with them may impact your eligibility, so you should seek legal advice before you take any action. Basis of These Federal Standards These standards change each year in January based on the September Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers ("CPI-U") for the prior year. The September 2023 CPI-U was provided in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics press release issued on October 12, 2023. ALTCS 2024 Income Limit The ALTCS income limit will be $2,829 per month in 2024. The ALTCS income limit is three times the Federal Benefit Rate, which is the maximum monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment available to a single individual. The Federal Benefit Rate for 2024 is $943. For more information about the ALTCS resource and income limits and share of cost, please visit our Public Benefits page .
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