VA: Should Social Security Income be signed over to Long Term nursing?

FYI - My mother was in a nursing facility - they applied to Social Security for the checks to be sent directly to them (without my knowledge) Mother's account was current - not deliquent - I called Social Security - they told me the nursing facility applied to have checks sent to them directly and no one contested it (hard to do if you don't know)....mother recently passed (June 6 nursing facility received the check June 3rd) ) - I paid for the burial expense ...June 29th (after I inquired about funds left in her account) I received a call from the nursing home telling me mother had funds left and could pay funeral home directly for unpaid expenses...they would not reimburse me..they had to send the money back to medicaid..so I would suggest that you ask questions pertaining to what happens if and when....it's a tough time ... be sure to ask them about when/why they would apply to Social Security for the checks being sent to them?

Do NOT sign over the SS check to the NH, That is not how Medicaid works. Talk to the social worker in charge of reviewing the application and he/she will explain how it works. there are deductions to be made for insurances plus an amount for personal expenses. The social worker will crunch the numbers and then tell you and the NH how much you will be paying each month.

If my mother is accepted by Medicaid in Nursing Home A, and she wants to change locations after a few months of being unhappy there, can he transfer to another Medicaid facility assuming they have room for her? In other words, is Medicaid transportable?

no no. i have my moms ss check deposited into her checking account; then i have automatic bill pay to the nursing home which then leaves my mom with $35 in her checking account which is allowed. i use the money for eye pads, clothings etc.
also every so often ss will be increased so your share of cost will be increased therefore you have to change the payment amount on your automatic payment to the NH.

What gives the Medical the right to assign my husbands social security check over to the nursing home? Since when does anyone have the right to take a persons social security check without anyone signing for it. My husband is mentally incapable of signing any papers and I have power of attorney. How can this happen?

well we will definitely be checking into this. we were wondering how we would be able to continue paying her insurance, her personal needs, clothing, etc. but we are just whirling about wondering this and that. my sister and i have been there every day hoping her rehab can be a success and we can bring her home but it just doesnt look like thats going to happen, and we are devastated. medicare paid for a 100 day stay on the rehab wing. they have not asked us to sign over her checks. but now we are looking at long term after the 100 day stay is over. we hope thats not how its going to go.

Every state has it's own rules but this is what we experienced with Mom. Her pension check and SS go directly to the NH. The NH has an account for her that is funded with $67 per month for discretionary expenses. She uses that account for the on site hairdresser, general store for snacks. If I need to pay her phone bill or get her toiletries, I can withdraw from her account. I'm her POA so I'm allowed. Her total monthly NH Bill far exceeds her SS and pension amount and Medicaid picks up the rest. The $67 is the amount set by the state. Her Aid and Attendance from the VA will go away, as Medicaid is picking up the tab. But it's taking months for the VA to get this done so we are pulling the money out of her account each month. We will be reimbursing the VA for all the money they deposited after she was approved for Medicaid. Her health insurance gets paid out of the SS and pension money. The thing that catches families is that all you have to work with for Mom's clothing, needs, little things is $67, or whatever your state has determined. One thing we did during the spend down was buy Mom everything we could think of she'd need....clothing, underwear, toiletries, you name it. We also did a pre paid burial package as that is allowed under spend down rules. What's a bit of an emotional hit for families is to see their parents working for years to get a home, build assets only to see it gone due to their care. But the flip side is that that's what it's for, not for our inheritance.

My Dad was diagnosed with Alzhiemers some months ago and now it is getting to the point where my Mother can't care for him. Is it true that if he goes into a Nursing home or a Veterens State Home that all his SS and Veterns check will go to the Facility

Can a nursing home attach house for not turning over pension for hisband in nursing home. House is in wifes name only. She is keeping part of check each month.

can a nursing home take the house for not turning over pension. the house is under my son he is keeping one check

What will happen to me after my husband goes into a facility due to his Alzheimer? I won't be able to pay my mortgage, taxes, insurance and all on my own if the nursing home take his check...

Delita, you get a "community spouse allowance" to cover your costs. That amount varies from state to state. The minimum for 2015 was $1991.25 per month but some states allow more.

but if she's like my hub's aunt, she'd say that wouldn't be enough, that it takes everything they both draw now to cover everything but then in their case we're back to that credit card thing

debdaughter, too many wives think that weekly trips to the beauty salon are bare necessities. They are in for a rude awakening. In fact, they may even need Guardianship.

oh, we're way past the point of that; a friend is or was coming over and doing her hair; that is, until she fell and busted her head - I am concerned that guardianship may be where we're at, but that wouldn't be for me to do so I'm getting concerned about the whole situation now

If you are Dual eligible have medicaid and medicare have a medicare number ending with a letter C have survivors benefits are a QMB have the status of DAC disabled adult child or other wise known as "CDB" child disability benefits you might not have to turn over your check I am almost 100 percent sure also, certain widows with same category.

How exactly do you think the cost of having a loved one in a nursing home is paid when the person is on Medicaid? Sorry if I sound harsh here but this topic just kills me! When someone has money almost every last penny has to be paid from their own money for nursing home cost before they become eligible for Mediacaid assistance - while the people who were unwilling or unable to save for their old age nursing home care is eligible from the start - to be completely honest it isn't the fairest deal in my opinion. My parents were extremely frugal all their lives to save for "retirement" and now mom is blowing through all her hard earned money and savings to pay her NH bills. Mean while her SIL - who lived a more exciting, adventure filled life - spending and traveling without a thought of saving a dime for retirement has had her NH bill paid through Medicaid from the start. And for quite a while they lived in the same facility so it was not a question of perks or sacrifices that made any difference in the level of care they received. But I get it and if this is the price society pays so everyone receives care - which I believe everyone deserves, well - I accept that. But it irks the heck out of me to hear the recipients of this societal arrangement complain that it's not fair. In actuality the average social security check does not cover the actual cost of someone recieving nursing home care via Medicaid.

SNT - thank you for clearing that up; not sure realized nh could apply directly to SS for check to be sent to them; maybe different ones do things differently but dil's grandmother was sent to nh for rehab, medicare paying for, but while in there 2 of her daughters were going - the one having her checkbook - and having her sign checks made out to both of them at different times but at least to one daughter with no amount - she would fill it in later - to the tune of hundreds of dollars - approximately half of her SS check - so when rehab time ended and she was not ready to come home, so staying going on Medicaid, of course they began to look into her finances and found these check disbursements so social worker at nh? is the one who turned them in and they've both been arrested and charged - assuming they've done the 5 yr. lookback, say there's $7K missing so now there are issues regarding her being able to stay in nh - anybody know what could happen?

My mother and father are not able to take care of themselves and we cant afford 24 hour home care. We are considering a nursing home for both they have only SS and a savings account of 8000.00 no other assets. My question is can we take the 8000 and buy the cremation for both of them? Next question is does medicare pick up the balance for them if their SS does not cover cost. I have gotten many different answers? Last question who is the best person to contact about all of this, social worker? nursing home? attorney?

1st, an update on my situation; was a court date, the daughter who had the checkbook but only had mom write the one check to pay her bill got cleared, the other one has a year to make restitution, so we'll see how that goes; meanwhile granma's getting to stay in the nursing home and still having medical issues, such as she just had a colonoscopy to try to investigate more her incontinence issues, so see how all that goes as well

now, Anderson, prepaid final expenses can be included in spend down of their funds without being counted against them, so I'd say, yes, that money could be used to buy their cremation, something I've been trying to get hub's aunt and uncle to do because otherwise their funds would count against them but it's not Medicare that picks up the balance; it's Medicaid, which I really think you meant because it's the one that has the asset limitation to qualify, which is why I think you were asking about using their money to buy the cremation in the first place and no way would Social Security cover the cost anyway but I hope I'm not just adding to the confusion since you say you've gotten many different answers. But, yes, the social worker at the facility you're considering is you should be contacting or are you talking about the different social worker, like with Medicaid? or possibly an elder law attorney might be good as well

How soon after after entering a nursing home do they start to take your social security check?

Pinky - Day 1 of NH admission requires resident on Medicaid or Medicaid Pending to do a copay or SOC (share of cost) of their monthly income. Amount can be prorated if coming in during the month.

Once in a facility and Medicaid involved, realistically they have no more $$$. The only $ ever again from day 1 on is whatever your state has as their personal needs allowance. PNAs vary by state from $ 35 to $115.

If they have debts (mortgage, rent, CCs, life insurance premiums, etc.) either they default or family pays their debts. Some states do allow for a waiver or diversion of monthly income to pay mortgage if property is on market with Realtor listing (so no FSBO nonsense) but waiver has to be applied for. If there’s a community spouse, they need to apply for a diversion of income as well to become thier resource allowance.