If your older parent/spouse is on Medicaid, you can lose the family home

[MillCreek]

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/10/when-medicaid-takes-everything-you-own/596671/

Medicaid is a loan, and the Government expects to be paid back.  Even if they have to force a sale of your house to do it.

[dogmush]

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/10/when-medicaid-takes-everything-you-own/596671/

Medicaid is a loan, and the Government expects to be paid back.  Even if they have to force a sale of your your parent's house to do it.

While a sad story, and it sucks for her, that's not Mrs. Rhodes' house.  I wonder what the law would have said if they had transferred the house she intended to live in into her and her husband's name before her mom died.

[Ben]

While a sad story, and it sucks for her, that's not Mrs. Rhodes' house.  I wonder what the law would have said if they had transferred the house she intended to live in into her and her husband's name before her mom died.

There's a whole industry for that. My mom was in a nursing home for a while before she passed, and the nursing home administrator had an entire step by step, plus consulting attorneys, for legally transferring all assets totally to my dad to reduce my mom's assets to zero.

She didn't stay in the nursing home, and passed at home, but had she stayed, it would have been tempting to do the asset transfer, because a few years in a nursing home, and you've got family selling everything they own to pay the bills. It might be cheaper in other parts of the country, but CA prices were really high.

[brimic]

There's a whole industry for that. My mom was in a nursing home for a while before she passed, and the nursing home administrator had an entire step by step, plus consulting attorneys, for legally transferring all assets totally to my dad to reduce my mom's assets to zero.

She didn't stay in the nursing home, and passed at home, but had she stayed, it would have been tempting to do the asset transfer, because a few years in a nursing home, and you've got family selling everything they own to pay the bills. It might be cheaper in other parts of the country, but CA prices were really high.

My grandparents did that years ago, my parents are considering that now. I remember something about my Grandmother being able to keep up to $100 in a personal account while she was in the nursing home and hospice.

[Hawkmoon]

While a sad story, and it sucks for her, that's not Mrs. Rhodes' house.  I wonder what the law would have said if they had transferred the house she intended to live in into her and her husband's name before her mom died.

They would have had to transfer the house at least two years before her mother first entered the nursing home.

[Chester32141]

The date of one’s Medicaid application is the date that one’s look-back period begins. In 49 states and D.C, the look back period is 60 months. In California, the look back period is 30 months. As an example, if a New York resident applies for Medicaid on Jan. 1, 2019, then their look-back period extends back 60 months to Dec. 31, 2014. All financial transaction during that time period will be subject to review.

https://www.medicaidplanningassistance.org/medicaid-look-back-period/

[dogmush]

They would have had to transfer the house at least two years before her mother first entered the nursing home.

Yet another part of life where the axiom "Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance" holds true.  Reading the article, it seems Mrs. Rhodes liquidated her and her husbands savings to save Mom's house, without checking to see if they could, in fact, save the house.  It is a sad story.

That said, reading the link that Chester posted, I don't see anything unreasonable in there.  Medicaid is a program to help folks without means.  It's reasonable for the assets of the estate to help offset those costs.

ETA:  Corrected the program, thanks Hawkmoon.  Doing retirement planning so I have Medicare on the brain.

[Hawkmoon]

Correction:

That said, reading the link that Chester posted, I don't see anything unreasonable in there.  Medicare Medicaid is a program to help folks without means.  It's reasonable for the assets of the estate to help offset those costs.

[Pb]

I agree with dogmush.

If a person has assets (like a house) why should the taxpayer pay their bills?

If you want to keep your mom's house after she dies, why don't you pay her medical bills, instead of demanding taxpayers do it?

[Northwoods]

This is old news.  It's always been like that.  As it should be.  It's pretty scummy to demand taxpayers cover your parents' nursing/hospice care when they had sufficient assets to cover said care.  If it's that big of a deal to keep a property in the family then follow the rules and transfer it a way that protects the asset.  I.e. while still healthy and not needing nursing home or hospice transfer it to the kids and pay any applicable taxes.  Or, sell it to the kids at fair market value of you're too late to do otherwise.