Does Medicare or Medicaid pay for a nursing home?

Asked by nietohomero  |  Aug 23, 2010

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Ralph Robbins, Sep 7, 2010

Ralph S. Robbins, CFP© is a fully licensed Certified Financial Planning Practitioner specializing in Eldercare Financial Planning. He works everyday helping families in crisis find creative ways to fund long-term care expenses and deal with family financial issues.

 

Let's make this clear for the poster...

Medicare pays for skilled care in a facility if:
1. The beneficiary is first hospitalized for at least 3 days
2. The beneficiary then enters a Medicare approved facility
3. For the same condition for which they were hospitalized
4. Within 30 days of discharge.

If these conditions are met Medicare will pay:
1. The full Medicare approved charge for the first 20 days.
2. All but $137.50 per day for the next 80 days (in 2010).
3. The additional charges are typically covered by Medicare supplements.

The skilled nursing benefit is PER BENEFIT PERIOD. NOT ANNUAL. A benefit period is described as periods of care separated by at least 60 days.

The Medicare beneficiary may be denied skilled nursing benefits even if they have benefit days left. This is because of the definition of skilled care. The patient must be receiveing physician ordered and professionally rendered medically related services and must be making progress. Once progress ceases then the patient is no longer eligible for skilled services and hence, no longer eligible for Medicare skilled nursing benefits.

It would be a this point that one would apply for Medicaid if continued skilled, intermediate, or custodial care was required in a facility.

If things have progressed this far you have hopefully begun to seek some financial guidance. If not, this would be the time to do so. I would suggest that no gifts or transfers or financial commitments or any kind be made until you have done so.

 
 

195Austin

Give a Hug

Sep 4, 2010

Medicare will pay for 21 days following a 3 day hospital stay and if you have supplement insurance may pay up to 100 days for rehab and some nursing homes are happy to keep them in for the whole time that the insurance covers if they need long term you need or the social worker needs to put them on medicaide pending and the application has to be done for medicaide have the social worker help you or get a elder lawyer to assist you it is very difficult for a person to do it on your own if they sav the persons assests are too high they will have to spend dowm which means they have to pay for their own care which is about 450 dollars a day and when they have spent down they will be covered by medicare -you will need an elder lawyer in your area who will know all the rules it does not help you to call medicaide because some of their employees do not always know the answers and will make up an answer that may be wrong.

 
 

sylvester18

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Sep 4, 2010

Medicare only pays for rehabiltation stays at a nursing home, they do not pay for permanent residence. Medicaid will pay after the Medicare period has run out, but the person's income has to be below 22,000 dollars a year for them to pay.

 
 

sickntarred

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Sep 4, 2010

In reference to Medicare/medicade paying for respite or nursing home...does anyone know if they will pay for this stay more than once and if so the frequency? Wil they pay for 21 days everymonth or every three months or ????

Thank you for asking the question...and thank you for answering

 
 

wildfire7476

Give a Hug

Oct 31, 2011

My question is how to get one into the nursing home for a short time in order to for them to gain weight to have surgery and refuse to go but is also not really safe for them to be at home . when they do have medicare and V.A. benifits but refuses to pay for anything out of pocket

 
 

jagsgran

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Apr 29, 2012

My father has Alzheimers and has been in a nursing home since my mother passed away over 2 years ago. He is on medicaid. I am the only living child and am his health power of attorney. However, he is in Florida and I reside in Wisconsin. I am disabled and on medicare and unable to travel. My husband and I are financially strapped. However, the nursing home sent me a notice telling me that I am responsible for a payment outstanding on my father's account and that since it has not been paid, they are now going to evict him. He is 83 years old, unable to care for himself at all and has nothing but a burial policy which I purchased from an overage last year in his account when it went over $2,000. Can they evict my father? Can they force me to be financially responsible for him even though I have not lived at home for over 40 years? Thank you for your help.

 
 

195Austin

Give a Hug

Apr 29, 2012

You should not be responsable for his medicaide- or any bills I do not think they can evict him unless they put him in another facility

 

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