I am confused about being penalized after Medicaid pick ups. I has no choice but to put my mom in a home, will I be penalized?

I'm not sure I understand the question. Are you thinking that it is time to place Mom in a nursing home, but you are afraid that how she spent the money from her home sale will disqualify her for Medicaid? Some of those expenditures are clearly allowable. Repaying a loan for a funeral, and money spend to sell the home, for example. Others are not so clear. Did she buy you a van so that you could take her to appointments, etc? Is she paying you for your caregiving help over the last few years? I think you need to talk to an estate planner or an elder law attorney, and lay all the cards on the table. What are your mother's options at this point?

You might also select the nursing home you'd like to use, make sure they accept Medicaid, and talk to their financial person about applying for Medicaid.

The lookback rules aren't intended to prevent people from paying legitimate debts. They are trying to prevent someone from giving all her money away, to relatives or others, and then saying "now I qualify for taxpayer support."

You were hoping this would never come up, because Mom would never need nursing home care. I can understand that. Get some experienced help in straightening this out.

Good luck!

Thank you for your help. Yes...she bought me a SUV so I can drive her around to dialysis treatments & her multiple doctor appointments since she doesn't drive. I just had to admit her into the ER last night after her treatment because she was confused & disoriented...the techs said they hoped that after being dialized, she would be better but wasn't. I left her at midnight while she was coherent but within 3 hours she was screaming that she was kidnapped, etc. Now she is mad at me for leaving her there. I know this is all part of "normal" behavior for people with signs of dementia. They think she may have Lewd Body Disorder. If the medication doesn't work...I may be forced to look into nursing care. I feel horrible. Physical & medical issues are hard enough but mental issues just make matter so much worse. I will contact someone to help with the living situation. Thank you again.

I took my husband who has Lewy Body Dementia to the ER last month. This is something I try to avoid, but it sometimes can't be helped. No one -- admitting, nurse, doctor, had ever heard of LBD. I am certainly glad I brought with me the list of drugs that should not be given to people with suspected LBD! My son and I stayed with him the entire time he was in ER. We know that demented persons are easily confused and upset in strange environments (and what could be stranger than an ER?) and that their behavior deteriorates. That can prompt an ER doc, who knows nothing of LBD, to give drugs that can be life threatening. Sigh. So I will never leave him alone in an ER. Family presence helps keep him calm and the issue of antipsychotic drugs is less apt to come up. He was admitted to the hospital, and I'll never leave him alone there, either. We discussed this at a family meeting this summer, so the kids weren't surprised when I told them we needed to set up shifts to stay with Dad. He is home now and doing well.

But I digress. Your issue is how to pay for nursing home care if it is needed. Start the ball rolling! It is better to get the qualifications out of the way and not need nursing home care than to need it and be starting from scratch.

Good luck to you.

BTW, Lewy Body, especially in the early stages, is more treatable than some of the other forms of dementia. I advise you to find a doctor well experienced in this disease for Mom. Too many throw up their hands and say nothing can be done. Not so. True, it cannot be cured, but treatment can greatly help quality of life.