Farmland Not an Available Resource for Medicaid Purposes

Even though Alice Vaughn did not physically work on her farm, the farm produced income for her. When she entered a nursing home, the state counted her farmland as an available resource and denied her Medicaid benefits.

Missouri regulations provide that if real property is used “directly” in the course of business, it should not be counted as a resource. The state found that Alice did not directly use her farmland and counted it as an available resource. The trial court reversed, and the Court of Appeals of Missouri affirmed, holding that Alice’s farmland should not be counted as an available resource. Therefore, the fact that Alice profits from the business done on her farmland is enough to prevent the land from being counted as an available resource.

See Medicaid Applicant’s Farm is Not an Available Resource, ElderLawAnswers, Sept. 7, 2010. See also Vaughn v. Missouri Dept. of Social Services (Mo. Ct. App., E. Dist., No. ED94196, August 31, 2010).