Okay, I am NOT trying to ignite a firestorm here, nor am I looking for a moral perspective (I have a priest already, thank you!).
But REALISTICALLY speaking, do you honestly think that Medicaid has the time, resources, woman power, or even ability, to look into what assets someone has?
Can they REALLY determine if you have a bank account? How do they know if you have stocks?
OBVIOUSLY they can tell from public records that you own a house. However, stockholders names are not made public are they? And I don't think that the bank is either, is it?
I have grave doubts that Medicaid can "find" everything there is to find. After talking with someone who had: a car (and didn't tell Medicaid about this) and a bank account (and didn't tell Medicaid about this) and went to school and got loans (and didn't tell Medicaid), this information was NEVER "caught" by Medicaid. Admittedly, this was about 2 years ago, but still fairly recent, don't you think? I also know someone else who is doing the same thing and hasn't been caught.
No, I am not suggesting Medicaid fraud, I am simply asking a question. Anyone here ever not told Medicaid about an asset they or someone else has, and then either been caught or no?
So the asset is available and you should think about a withdrawal schedule that meets your needs and avoids Medicaid. The biggest problem with Medicaid is that many states require you to give up your MD's and go to managed care.