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Medicaid Trust for nursing home cost

Posted by prettysalad @prettysalad, Feb 26, 2023

I have a mother that is 94 yers old and she lives with my brother and myself. We are hoping that the two of us we’ll be all she needs, but if her condition worsens around the clock attention might be needed. If so a nursing home would be our best bet, but the expense is prohibitive.
I spoke to a friend who had gone through caring for his patients using a nursing home and he told me to a have a talk with a Medicaid Lawyer. The layer could write up a Medicaid trust and then we would have an action plan.
Does anyone in this group know anything about “ Medicaid Trust”

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Mentor
Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Feb 26, 2023

@prettysalad Welcome to Mayo Connect. I'm not sure of the exact context of a Medicaid Trust in your state - it varies across the country. I learned about Medicaid when helping my mother-in-law in her last year of life, and learned a great deal. She had few assets, and her savings were quickly swallowed up by her medical co-pays, so she was eligible for Medicaid shortly after she moved to a nursing home for her care. But learning the rules really helped -I realized I needed to take action to help my Mom as her health declined. When she sold her home, I placed the money into an annuity that we uses to supplement her pension and Social Security. As soon as it was obvious that her needs would regularly exceed her monthly income, we pre-paid for her funeral (working with a Funeral Director to closely follow the Medicaid rules.) Then we converted her annuity to make a monthly payout to cover the services she needed for the foreseeable (24-36 mo) future. By the time she needed skilled care, her assets were gone and she was eligible for Medicaid.

Please let me reiterate, Medicaid and its rules are different in every state. But if your Mom has few assets, you may not need a trust or an attorney. Contact the local Senior Services or Senior Ombudsman for advice. Whatever you do, do NOT transfer assets - real estate, personal property or money, from your Mom to anyone else without legal advice. To do so incorrectly, based on your state rules, can disqualify your Mom from receiving Medicaid funds for a period of time.

Sue

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1 reply
prettysalad | @prettysalad | Feb 27, 2023
In reply to @sueinmn "@prettysalad Welcome to Mayo Connect. I'm not sure of the exact context of a Medicaid Trust..." + (show)
@sueinmn

@prettysalad Welcome to Mayo Connect. I'm not sure of the exact context of a Medicaid Trust in your state - it varies across the country. I learned about Medicaid when helping my mother-in-law in her last year of life, and learned a great deal. She had few assets, and her savings were quickly swallowed up by her medical co-pays, so she was eligible for Medicaid shortly after she moved to a nursing home for her care. But learning the rules really helped -I realized I needed to take action to help my Mom as her health declined. When she sold her home, I placed the money into an annuity that we uses to supplement her pension and Social Security. As soon as it was obvious that her needs would regularly exceed her monthly income, we pre-paid for her funeral (working with a Funeral Director to closely follow the Medicaid rules.) Then we converted her annuity to make a monthly payout to cover the services she needed for the foreseeable (24-36 mo) future. By the time she needed skilled care, her assets were gone and she was eligible for Medicaid.

Please let me reiterate, Medicaid and its rules are different in every state. But if your Mom has few assets, you may not need a trust or an attorney. Contact the local Senior Services or Senior Ombudsman for advice. Whatever you do, do NOT transfer assets - real estate, personal property or money, from your Mom to anyone else without legal advice. To do so incorrectly, based on your state rules, can disqualify your Mom from receiving Medicaid funds for a period of time.

Sue

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Thank you so much for your very speedy reply. That just the kind of information I was looking for. She doesn’t have any assets except the house , so your situation sounds a lot like ours. I’ll contact the senior services or senior ombudsman as soon as I can and and ask some question. I assume asking questions is free ?

The funeral arrangements are already taken care of as well as the Will. Also, she has a living will and designation of health care surrogate. We live in Florida if that makes any difference.

Thank you again

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