Medicaid Eligibility
Medicaid is a health care assistance program designed to help low income people receive the care they require. Each state has established a limit on how much income and assets people who are on Medicaid can have.
Assets include such things as bank and credit union accounts, CD and trust deposits, stocks, bonds, annuities, and the cash value of some life insurance policies.
If your total assets are more than your state allows, you will be required to either spend them down or move them into asset types that are considered exempt - that is, types that do not count against you for the purpose of qualifying for Medicaid. Funeral accounts, when set up according to state guidelines, can be exempt and protected.