Medicaid Income and Resource Limits Ring in the New Year with a Big Increase

By Stuart H. Schoenfeld, Partner and Monica P. Ruela, Associate

Beginning on January 1, 2023, the Medicaid income and resource limits will see a big increase.  The income limit for a single individual will be $1,563 (up from $934) and for a couple it will be $2,106 (up from $1,367).  The resource limit for a single individual will be $28,133 (up from $16,800) and for a couple it will be $37,902 (up from $28,133).

For those that are already Medicaid recipients and utilize a pooled income trust to protect excess income or income over the current Medicaid income limits, you may be wondering how you can have your excess income adjusted or even eliminated all together under the new income rules. You have two (2) choices:

1. Wait until your next Medicaid renewal. Generally, a recipient of Medicaid must recertify his/her eligibility every year.  However, since March 2020, Medicaid renewals have been suspended because of the Public Health Emergency (PHE) created by COVID-19.  Once the PHE is declared over, the annual renewal of Medicaid applications will begin again.  At that point, your excess income will be automatically recalculated at each annual renewal.  There is some talk that the PHE will be declared over in April 2023.

2. Make a request to your local Medicaid office to rebudget your income. The Department of Health is presently sending out notices to all Medicaid recipients advising that beginning January 2023, they can reach out to their local office to request that their income be rebudgeted.  Further, in January 2023, the NYC Medicaid office will be sending out notices to NYC Medicaid recipients with a form in which the recipient will be able to state and attest to their current 2023 income and deductions.  Upon receipt of the completed form, the NYC Medicaid office will rebudget the recipient’s excess income.

It is important that a Medicaid recipient not make any changes to the monies deposited into their pooled income trust account without written instructions from the Medicaid office.  Please feel free to call us with any questions about these important changes.