For purposes of determining eligibility for Medical Assistance, all of the couple's non-exempt resources are considered available to the institutionalized spouse except the amount considered to be the community spouse's share. Income Protection Rules. The income protection provisions allow institutionalized spouses to set aside some of their own income for the benefit of their community spouses, without affecting Medical Assistance eligibility. These income protection rules are necessary because of the way Medical Assistance allocates income between the spouses. For example, payment of income made solely to one spouse is considered available only to that spouse.
Examples are social security benefits and pensions.
One-half of the income made in both spouses' names is considered available to each of them. An example is interest and dividends on assets held jointly. Some relatively simple preplanning can help the community spouse make the most of the impoverishment protections. A couple can increase assets by taking out a loan before nursing home admission and then repaying the loan after admission and before application is made for Medical Assistance. Annuities are considered income and not principal assets, and therefore, if paid solely to the community spouse, the monthly payments will not be considered available to the institutionalized spouse.