My parents, their pension now exhausted, have only SS income to rely on, about $2,500 monthly, this appears to be $900 too much to qualify for Medicaid. There biggest expense is healthcare/insurance; can those be taken into account when determining Medicaid eligibility. Thx in advance .....
Of course, as BarbBrooklyn states, an Elder Law attorney who knows Medicaid rules is the best route to ensure you know what is required.
I do recall reading that there are Medicaid rules for couples, as opposed to just a single person. And are they trying to get Medicaid medical or long term care? From what I've read, the income allowance for those who are deemed "disabled" such as are blind, handicapped, have dementia, etc. , may be higher to still qualify for long term care than that of a non-disabled person. This is for purposes of long term care, specially Assisted Living or Memory Care AL.
I hope others who have more information about this will chime in.
Also, rules vary by state. In NY, you can offset income with medical expenses. BUT some other states don't allow this. Check your state rules.
Your profile does not show which state you are in.
Our Blue Cross Medigap Plan covers Medicare deductibles, so we only have the monthly premium costs. You might consider Part D for medication assistance, but you'd have to spend time reviewing the plans as not all of them are helpful. I did a cost-benefit analysis years ago and found that med costs are cheaper for my father without Plan D - the premiums were just too high and his med costs are very nominal.
AARP and Blue Cross and I believe other insurances offer dental plans. Community colleges with dental programs offer lower cost basic services such as cleaning. Even that can save some money. The college programs don't get involved with higher end procedures such as extractions or dentures though.
VA, if your parents are eligible, can cover glasses and hearing aids as well as meds.
I'm not sure what insurance premiums you would be paying unless it's something like long term care.
Sometimes you have to do a lot of research to figure out how to cut costs.