Title 19
Medicaid/Title 19 and Funeral Trusts
Medicaid or Title 19 can pay for health care for Connecticut residents in low income situations. As anyone who has explored the cost of health care in a nursing home can attest, personal assets can be very quickly depleted and families that never thought they would consider Medicaid are faced with that prospect.
Anyone applying for Medicaid is entitled to set aside funds for the purpose of paying their funeral/burial expenses as part of the spend-down process.
Placing funds in pre-funded funeral contracts is permissible by law. Current Title 19 regulations allow an individual to enter into and pre-fund the following types of contracts:
1. Irrevocable Trust
An Irrevocable Trust can be pre-funded up to $10,000, according to Public Act 19-57 that was established in 2019. In addition, Department of Social Services has confirmed that existing $8,000 contracts may be increased to the new $10,000 limit without impacting the recipients Medicaid eligibility.
Selections listed under the Irrevocable Trust include: basic service charges, funeral services, preparation of remains, vehicles, etc.
Note that the $10,000 financial cap may not be sufficient to cover all of the costs to provide for the funeral of your choice.
Once prepaid, an Irrevocable Contract cannot be cancelled or cashed in, but may be transferred to another licensed funeral home.
2. Burial Plot Allowances – Revocable Contract
A Revocable Burial Plot Allowance contract can be pre-funded in an amount for specific burial and cemetery items and services that meet your needs, without any dollar limitation, according to State of Connecticut General Statutes 17b-91(b) that was established in 2004.
This kind of burial plot allowance contract can only include the purchase of the following burial plot items:
• Casket or Urn
• Outer Burial Container or Vault
• Cemetery Expenses (gravesite, opening and closing charges)
• Cemetery Monument, Marker or Mausoleum and Engraving
The family may choose and pre-fund any or all of these burial plot items of their choice. A Revocable Contract can be cancelled or transferred at any time that the person is on Title 19. But, according to law, if the Revocable Contract is cancelled, then the funds must be returned to the State of Connecticut.
3. $1500 Face Value Insurance
You can keep an insurance policy if it has a face value of $1500.00 or less owned by the patient. If the patient is not the owner of the life insurance, it is not their asset, will not count as an asset, and does not need to be listed on application.
If an insurance policy has No Cash Value you may be able to keep this policy, as long as the family continues to pay the premium because the patient will not be allowed to. You can transfer beneficiary of the insurance policy to the funeral home. The funeral home will not pay the premiums and will not guarantee the funeral with life insurance.
4. $1600.00 Patient Needs
This account should be in the applicant’s name as well as their next of kin with the next of kin being listed as a survivor on the account. Monthly checks from Social Security, pensions, etc., should be deposited to this account and you will keep $60.00 a month for the applicant’s personal needs and send the rest to the convalescent home. The State of CT has the right to claim this account upon death of the applicant.
If there is a surviving spouse they will be allowed to keep any funds in the patient needs account. If the convalescent home holds the patient needs account upon death, they are required to send the money left back to the State of CT Department of Social Service. Make sure there are a least one or two names as the next of kin so you have access to that bank account after death. If there is not, you will need to go to probate to obtain these funds and the State will have a claim against for paying for the health care costs.