Community Trust II

Medicaid Pooled Trust

Pooled Trust for Monthly Income

Community Trust II is a pooled supplemental needs trust (SNT) that allows people with disabilities and older adults seeking Medicaid home care and other community-based services to spend-down monthly income that exceeds the Medicaid financial limits.

This trust program enables people with disabilities to utilize this portion of their income, which Medicaid would otherwise require to be “spent down on medical needs”, to pay for living expenses such as rent, utility bills, food, clothing, and other personal needs that are for the primary benefit of the beneficiary.

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Steps to Establish

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Why join a pooled income trust?

Medicaid in New York provides health benefits and home care services. It will cover medical services that your Medicare benefits do not provide and allow you to receive those services from the comfort of your own home.

If your income is too high to qualify for Medicaid benefits, putting those funds into a pooled trust allows you to use that money for non-medical expenses like your monthly bills. This makes it possible for you to get the care you need, while the trust helps pay your expenses so that you can live at home for as long as possible.

The ultimate goal being to help New Yorkers live in the community, among their families and loved ones, rather than going into a nursing home.

Benefits of a Pooled Income Trust

Qualify and maintain financial eligibility for Medicaid home care and other community-based services

Use trust funds to pay monthly living expenses and make life-enhancing purchases

Live independently in the community for as long as possible

Receive care and therapy services from the comfort of your home

Get assistance with activities of daily living

Medicaid pays for medical expenses that Medicare does not cover

Provide respite and financial relief to family caregivers

David’s Medicaid Spend-down

David lives at home with his wife Mary. He has Parkinson’s disease and mild cognitive decline. Mary wants to keep him home as long as possible, but she is struggling to provide the care he needs without some support.

By establishing a pooled trust with NYSARC, David is able to qualify for Medicaid to pay for home care services even though his income is too high to qualify. The funds he deposits into the trust can then be used to pay his monthly living expenses so that he can live at home with his wife for as long as possible.

Spend-down Assets and Monthly Income

Michael lives independently and receives Medicaid community services. He is retired and his monthly income from Social Security and his retirement account are too high for Medicaid.

He establishes a Community Trust II account and makes monthly deposits electronically from his bank account. This meets his Medicaid spend-down requirement and allows him to use that money to pay his monthly living expenses and make purchases that will give him a better quality of life.