Medicaid Support Group
This community is dedicated to the pros and cons of Medicaid, and how to best take advantage of Medicaid to improve one's health. Medicaid is the US health insurance program for individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.
After living a vibrant and independent life, my mother at age 94 is failing fast and had to be admitted to skilled nursing care yesterday. She almost certainly will remain here.
Medicare and her BCBS for retired federal employees will cover her for 30 days and after that ...? Her retirement annuity and death benefit from my dad have been great, but it's half the cost of the nursing home. We are being advised to start the process of having her qualified for medicaid here in NC.
I'm really nervous about this. I'm trying to get as much documentation together as I can, including finding her 94 year old birth certificate (I did!). But they want "pay stubs" and I don't know how to get pay stubs when her SS and retirement checks are direct deposited. Anyone have similar experiences? I have her tax returns and W2 forms. Will that suffice?
I hope I can get this all pulled together on my own.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Medicare and her BCBS for retired federal employees will cover her for 30 days and after that ...? Her retirement annuity and death benefit from my dad have been great, but it's half the cost of the nursing home. We are being advised to start the process of having her qualified for medicaid here in NC.
I'm really nervous about this. I'm trying to get as much documentation together as I can, including finding her 94 year old birth certificate (I did!). But they want "pay stubs" and I don't know how to get pay stubs when her SS and retirement checks are direct deposited. Anyone have similar experiences? I have her tax returns and W2 forms. Will that suffice?
I hope I can get this all pulled together on my own.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
deleted_user
I'm probably late, and maybe it is different in NC then PA. But, first, we had to spend down moms $$$. To 2500!!!! We got an irrevocable funeral fund for starters. To prove her check stubs, we made copies of her bank statements, which should tell where the deposits come from. We paid what we could and had to pay the nursing home "private pay" for a while, till the $$$ was spent down. Also, do not give money out as medicaid will count that. If your mom owns property, god forbid she passes away, you must pay back the medicaid!!! We had to sell moms property as she had medicaid for 3-1/2 months and the nursing home was paid 7500 a month!!!! PLUS they added in all the prescriptions she needed as she couldn't take her own in. Hope this helps.
ShannonA
I'm from NC. Her tax returns should suffice. You can always tell them that she receives SS and retirement and give them the numbers to call to verify. That is what I have had to do (similar situation). You can also give them the number and name to the bank that she banks at, and that can help as well.
denise1265
I would recommend seeing an elder law attorney that specializes in Asset Protection. I just went thru this with my Dad and we were able to get a lot of money out of his accounts and protect it from the "spend-down to $2500.00" process. For example....he did not have a car, and Medicaid allows a person to own a car, so we went out and bought a new car in his name with his money...It also allows him to "gift" some money to a family member but this will incur a "penalty Period" with Medicaid, but the lawyers have a formula to figure all this out. You can also pre-pay all the funeral expenses. It's a lot of work and money but worth it in the long run!
denise1265
Oh and the big thing is to make sure you have Power of Attorney for all of your Mom's financial accounts. The banks and Insurance agencies will not talk to you until they see that paper!
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