A.G. Sykes serves residents of Pennsylvania only. If you are applying for Medicaid in another state, consult a legal or financial professional who is licensed to serve your area.

Here are some basic definitions of terms as they as used in this website:

Medicaid – the federal program administered by the states that provides long-term care benefits to the indigent. In Pennsylvania, the program is also called “medical assistance.” We are primarily concerned with that portion of the program that pays for skilled nursing care for the elderly or disabled in a nursing facility. Medicaid should not be confused with Medicare, which provides only limited benefits for nursing home stays.

Community spouse – the spouse of Medicaid recipient. A community spouse may still live in the couple’s home, an apartment, an assisted living facility or personal care home. A person does not meet the definition if he or she also receives skilled nursing care; if a husband and wife both receive skilled care, neither one is a community spouse.
In a technical legal sense, one is not a community spouse until one’s husband or wife is institutionalized. For the sake of readability, however, we will also use the term to refer more broadly to those whose spouses are currently institutionalized or may become institutionalized in the near future.

Annuity – an investment on which one may receive payments of money for a specified period of time, such as for a certain term of years, or for life.

We recommend that you first read Community Spouse Medicaid Planning to gain a basic understanding of the crucial planning process. Then read Community Spouse Annuities to get a better idea of whether that option may work for you, and to find out how to Get a Quote.

This website is designed to provide information to consumers and professionals about the role of community spouse annuities in Medicaid planning. The information is general, so that it can be read and understood by those without legal or financial training.

For that reason, you should not rely on this information as being all-inclusive on these subjects. Neither should it be considered as a substitute for legal advice. For advice in a particular situation, you should consult with a qualified elder law attorney. Due to the complexity of the Medicaid laws, we highly recommend that you work with an elder law attorney before contracting to purchase a community spouse annuity.