Can I get my Mom on Medicaid if she makes a few hundred over the limit?

Please please pls do not yourself be paying her CC debt. Let her default on her debts. If they are in her name and SS# only, they are NOT your responsibility. She sounds like she is judgement proof…. As she has no home for a judgement to be placed against (if your states laws even allow for this). Her SS and most retirement income are protected income from attachments and judgements. The CC will write the debt off and then sell the debt for cheap to debt collectors who will hound mom & therefore you for @ few months, then they sell it to another even more ruthless debt collectors group. Rinse and repeat.

As long as you - yourself - are not a co-owner of the CC, it’s not your debt. It’s moms and she’s judgment proof. Id only be concerned if, again IF, you in any way have told or corresponded with her creditors that you are assuming responsibility on her debt. You did not do this, did you? Otherwise they can pound sand.

also realize that once she goes onto LTC Medicaid, Medicaid will require her to do a copay of basically almost all her mo income to the NH as a required copay. Those on LTC Medicaid end up defaulting on debts…. all debts too like CC, mortgages, car notes, etc. What you r doing by paying her CC bills are just delaying the inevitable.

On her being over the $ amount to qualify financially, I’d recheck the exact maximum amount allowed for monthly income for 2022 for your states LTC Medicaid program. I think a lot of states have increased the max by $50/100 for 2022 due to the big COLA paid in January social security as there’s a ton of folks who would become ineligible due to it and end up being homeless over $18 more a mo. If it’s still too high, look into the Miller Trust that LongShot posted about.

If your state does not allow for Miller, there will be another type of income overage program. Like in Arizona, it’s called Income Only Trust. They all follow the same format….. a bank account - at a bank that participates in the program - is opened for an income source that is considered “guaranteed income”. SS is guaranteed income. FYI often other retirements or pensions are not. So it’s the SS $ that goes into the “Trust”. The payee for the SS then become the Trust and not mom. So voila! Mom now only has that other income left in her name (like her other retirement) and she’s under the income max. The $ in the Trust either gets paid in full to the NH or the overage build up each month in the account and then after mom dies goes to the state as the beneficiary of the Trust.

It’s a fairly common & solveable problem, just what path (Miller, Income Only, whatever) allowed really dependent on your states laws.

Some states allow Qualifying Income Trust (QIT) to be setup.

https://www.agingcare.com/articles/how-to-use-a-miller-trust-for-medicaid-eligibility-207367.htm

Income trusts provide a way for individuals whose income exceeds the Medicaid monthly limit to still qualify for Medicaid services. It may be allowed in your state.

Yes you can. It is LTC Medicaid or NH Medicaid that you are seeking, not community based Medicaid. You can start by visiting your local Agency on Aging. They may be able to help with needs assessment and the Medicaid application. You are looking to get her placed in a facility or possibly have in home help come, if that is a decent solution. If in home help is not sufficient you need to place her in a NH. If you can't do it yourself or encounter roadblocks you may need to escalate the situation yourself, either by seeking help from APS or the local hospital. Don't let anyone tell you "she makes too much for Medicaid" If she needs NH care, and she does if she can't do ADL's, she will be placed there under NH Medicaid. You may have to be assertive and proactive.