Will Medicare pay for a nursing home for someone who has advanced Alzheimer's?

more info.regarding medicaid secrets.thanks

What is a "countable asset?" I assume it means one's savings account. Does it also mean one's checking account? How about one's social security payments? How can a senior save up for her property taxes if she can only have less cash than the taxes are?

Admittedly naively phrased, but I think you guys all get the idea.

My mom is over the $2,000 income level by $50. She no longer has money in a savings or checking account since she recently had to pay the co-pay for 70 days of rehab which totalled almost $10,000. She has a home (exempt since she lives in Florida) and has no car. What happens now? Also, if she doesn't qualify for medicaid due to no assets and over the $2,000 what would happen to her - she needs round the clock care - she's 88 and recovering from a broken hip but has end stage heart disease and is failing fast. Does the state take over as a "hardship" case? and how do I (as only daughter) go about doing that?

The Medicaid qualification process in NJ is BRUTAL!!! My mom passed away in Feb 2008 and even before then, my grandfather’s Alzheimer’s had advanced to the point where he really needed to be in a nursing home. My boyfriend and I started the process of getting him qualified for Medicaid in July 2008 and it wasn’t until December 2008 that he was finally and officially qualified and subsequently passed away Feb 2009. The amount of financial information and the level of details required for every financial transaction on my grandparent’s bank statements (6 months worth) was simply beyond overwhelming. I know for a fact that had they needed to go through this process on their own, it would have been IMPOSSIBLE for them to collect all the details that we were required to submit. In short, we had to provide detailed financial information dating back a minimum of 6 months prior to submission of the Medicaid forms. Because my grandmother’s name was on the house, the house was immediately removed from the equation but ultimately, we had to remove my grandfather’s name from everything and move things soley into her name. Now my grandmother at age 87, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in July 2008 is starting to deteriorate in health we are dreading having to go through this entire process again considering because the house is/was in her name (I will loop back on this shortly) we will definitely have to sell the house in order to pay for her care. The deal is this in NJ, when applying for Medicaid there is a 5 year “look back” whereby they can evaluate the asset level, so if she sold her house in 2010 but needed to go on Medicaid in 2012, she will not qualify as they will still see this as an asset and require that she leverage the proceeds from the home sale for her health expenses. At the strong recommendation of my grandmother’s attorney, we have moved all of her assets; home and properties into a Trust. After 5 years, she will be free and clear of any Medicaid related financial scrutiny and/or liquidation requirements in order to qualify. In a nutshell, in NJ, our seniors must be indigent in order to qualify for Medicaid OR get beyond this 5 year mark on having moved and/or sold their assets. The only way around this, for the lack of a better term, is advanced planning to move all major assets out of the senior’s name as well as “spend down” cash levels in order to fall within the maximums allowed by Medicaid. I really wish I knew then what I know now as I along with my mom would have encouraged my grandparents to move their assets into a Trust when they were in their mid to late 70’s. I have advised all of my friends and colleagues who have parents and grandparents who are getting up their in age to start planning for Medicaid “protections” NOW so that when these services are needed the effort to qualify will be minimal. While moving and/or selling assets is one thing, the spend down process is another as Medicaid requires PROOF of how monies are spent; they want to see receipts and/or credit card statements, moving money into another account simply won’t cut it because as long as there is chance for the monies to be reunited with the senior, Medicaid will move to require additional spend down or simply disqualify them for benefits. To anyone who is in the process of getting their loved ones qualified, I wish you only the best of luck. Its not an easy process and the more detail oriented you are, the smoother the process will go; hang onto grocery receipts, bank statements, ATM receipts and anything else that can provide a trail for how your loved one’s monies are spent ‘cause it will be these documents that we take for granted (and crumble up in our purses and wallets) that will prove vital in the qualification process later. Folks who are able to do so, on-line banking will provide for an automatic accounting of transaction. Another thing is using those ATM machines that provide you with a photocopy of checks when you deposit them. Dedicate a box or drawer just for these documents so you’ll have them when you really need them and believe me, you’ll need them when you least expect to need them. All the best.

I've learned from caring for both my mom and my dad before they died that it's better to be dirt poor if a Nursing Home confinement is needed. They had saved all their lives but every penny went to Private Pay in a Nursing Home. On the other hand, a friend of mine put her mom in and paid nothing other than assigning her mom's social security check over to the home. (she had no savings)
I talked with an attorney who told me if I had transferred my parent's lifetime savings out of their name 5 years ago, their savings would have been protected/excluded from the asset provision of Medicaid eligibility.
Somehow it just doesn't seem fair to me that those who save all their lives get penalized while those who spend all their money and save nothing get rewarded.