According to a new Med Comm issued by Medicaid, the new base allowance for a community spouse will increase from $2,002.50 to $2,030.00 per month. The new standard for determining the excess shelter costs of the community spouse will increase from $600.75 to $609.00. Therefore, the community spouse’s shelter costs in excess of $609.00 shall be added to the base allowance of $2,030.00 per month as part of the calculation in determining the total spousal allowance. If the community spouse is paying directly for their utilities, a utility allowance is also added as a shelter expense. The utility amount remains $501.00 per month unless a new amount is announced by the federal government later this year. The community spouse’s own gross income then would need to be subtracted from the overall allowance to ascertain the amount that may be deducted from the institutionalized spouse’s income prior to applying that income to their cost share of institutional care.

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