Medicaid is a health insurance program for low–income individuals and families who cannot afford health care costs. In order to qualify for this program, you must be a New York State resident a U.S National, Citizen, have satisfactory immigration status and in need of health care / insurance assistance.

Medicaid offers a program called the Excess Income program which is sometimes referred to as the “Spenddown program” or the “Surplus Income program”. Here we will refer to it as the excess income program. The amount your income is over the Medicaid level is called the excess income. It is like a deductible. You can either pay this amount directly to Medicaid every month, submit paid or unpaid Medical bills to Medicaid that are equal to or greater than your “excess amount” or you can set up a pooled income trust.

A pooled income trust is a legal option to become fully eligible for Medicaid without having to pay your excess amount directly to Medicaid on a monthly basis. The trust will enable you to safe guard your money. You will pay the excess amount to the trust instead of Medicaid and the trust organization will utilize your money to pay your own bills. You will no longer have excess income and will be fully eligible.