Medicaid Spend Down: Implications for Long-Term Services and Supports and Aging Policy

For people who have been independent all of their lives, transitioning to Medicaid means depending on a means-tested welfare program for their health and long-term care services. Moreover, people transitioning to Medicaid are a substantial portion of state Medicaid expenditures. In an effort to avoid exhausting their resources and relying on Medicaid, others depend on unpaid family support or go without needed services.