What Is Medicaid Spend Down in Virginia?

If you are trying to help a loved one apply for Medicaid in Virginia, you’ll discover many different terms and phrases related to this process. One of them is Medicaid spend down.

The term Medicaid spend down refers to families and individuals who would otherwise meet all of the necessary resource eligibility and non-financial requirements to get Medicaid in Virginia, but who have countable income that exceeds the needy income limit for their county or city of residence. It is helpful to think of a spend down as an insurance policy deductible.

For these purposes, you can insert spend down liability in place of the idea of a deductible. Your spend down period could cover you from anywhere from one to as long as six months. After a family or individual owes the amount or incurs the amount of spend down, they can become eligible for Virginia Medicaid services from the date they met the spend down.

If a person who has applied for Medicaid assistance in Virginia has been evaluated but full coverage is denied due to excess income, notification of the denial will be provided to the applicant. Resources will then need to be evaluated with the assistance of a Virginia Medicaid attorney to determine if the family or individual’s countable resources are below the maximum resource limit for their household.

If your countable resources are under the resource limit for your household, you could be considered eligible for a spend down, upon which you will be sent a notice of action regarding the spend down liability amount. These aspects can be confusing for you and your loved ones but having the support of a Virginia Beach Medicaid assistance lawyer can go a long way in answering your questions.