The Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA) is an amount of money a spouse in entitled to from the income of a spouse receiving Long-Term Medicaid benefits.
Understanding How Medicaid Eligibility Is Determined
The financial eligibility for Medicaid benefits requires monthly income to be less than the private pay rate in the nursing facility plus your monthly medical expenses.
The income of a Medicaid applicant spouse must be less than the facility’s private pay rate plus his or her regularly recurring monthly medical expenses. The applicant spouse’s income is determined by first seeing what income comes in the name of that spouse. If this amount exceeds the eligibility standard, under certain circumstances, he or she may still be eligible for benefits if one-half of the income of both spouses combined is less than the applicant spouse’s eligibility standard.
The Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA)
Medicaid law requires that an applicant use available extra income toward paying for Long-Term Care expenses. However, if the non-applicant spouse does not have enough income to live on, then he or she may be able to keep a portion or all of that income through the minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA).
The MMMNA ranges from $2,003 to $3,023 per month. The precise amount of income retained by the well spouse is determined through a complex calculation performed by the State. In exceptional circumstances, the MMMNA may sometimes be increased through obtaining a court order.
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