Protect You or Your Client’s Medicaid Eligibility with a Pooled Trust

If your monthly income exceeds Medicaid’s financial limits, you may still be able to qualify for Community Medicaid and long-term care services through a Pooled Supplemental Needs Trust. A pooled trust allows eligible individuals with disabilities to deposit excess income into a trust account.

Funds deposited into the trust may not be counted when Medicaid determines financial eligibility, helping individuals maintain needed benefits while preserving money for approved living expenses such as rent, utilities, and other supplemental needs.

A pooled trust can be an effective tool for individuals seeking to maintain Medicaid eligibility while meeting their monthly expenses. For example, a recent client received a notice from DSS informing her that she had a $210 spenddown amount due to earning over the Medicaid income limit. Legal Services of Long Island’s Public Benefits Paralegal, Diana Amaya, assisted the client in establishing a pooled trust, which allowed the client to use the $210 to pay for part of her rent and keep her Medicaid eligibility.

For more information about whether a pooled trust may be right for you, please contact the Public Benefits Unit.

The Public Benefits Unit provides legal assistance to persons who experience problems with public benefits programs that are administered by the local Departments of Social Services, including:

• Welfare (TANF and Safety Net)
• Medicaid
• Food Stamps (SNAP)
• Child Care Assistance
• HEAP
• Emergency shelter for the homeless
• Unemployment insurance appeals and overpayments
• Other emergency assistance programs

We also assist low-income households in establishing Supplemental Needs Trusts to eliminate the Medicaid spend-down and assist homeless families in obtaining rent supplements from DSS to enable families to leave the shelters or retain permanent housing. Nassau residents can call 516-292-8100, and Suffolk residents can call 631-232-2400.