GIS 12 MA/002: Increase in the Substantial Home Equity Limit for 2012
To: Local District Commissioners, Medicaid Directors
From: Judith Arnold, Director - Division of Health Reform and Health Insurance Exchange Integration
Subject: Increase in the Substantial Home Equity Limit for 2012
Effective Date: January 1, 2012
Contact Person: Local District Support Unit - Upstate (518) 474-8887, New York City (212) 417-4500
The purpose of this GIS message is to advise local departments of social services of an increase in the substantial home equity limit.
Districts were advised in 06 OMM/ADM-5, "Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 - Long-Term Care Medicaid Eligibility", that individuals applying for Medicaid coverage of nursing facility services or community-based long-term care on or after January 1, 2006, are ineligible for coverage of such services if the equity interest in the individual's home exceeds $750,000. The equity value is derived by subtracting any legal encumbrances (liens, mortgages, etc.) from the fair market value of the home.
Pursuant to federal law, Section 366 of Social Services Law further provides that the $750,000 home equity limit shall be increased beginning with the year 2011. The home equity limit may increase from year to year in an amount to be determined by the Secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, based on the percentage increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), rounded to the nearest one thousand dollars. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has advised that the CPI-U increased between September 2010 and September 2011 by 3.7 percent. Therefore, the home equity limit will increase by 3.7 percent in 2012, rounded to the nearest $1,000.
Effective January 1, 2012, the substantial home equity limit increases from $758,000 to $786,000. (See 06 OMM/ADM-5 for exceptions to this home equity limitation.)
