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My mother is in the nursing home under Medicaid, which was approved for the past 2 years and filed appropriately with the help of an Elder Law Attorney. We have recently moved her to a new home in another state where she will be filing for Medicaid. I went back to her former nursing home and they told me that Medicaid called them for a forwarding address for my mother. I was a bit set back as I thought that once the case was closed, it was closed. My question is whether or not Medicaid can come back, for some reason or other, and ask her to reimburse them for any part of the care, and why would they need a forwarding address? Any ideas? All monies have been accounted for appropriately, so that would not be the reason.

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Perhaps you should call the Medicaid office in the state that you first filed in and ask them or the Elder care attorney you used.
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It all worked out. It was just formality to send a copy of the final paperwork. When I called Medicaid today, actually, the case was closed and did not need any address now.
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Mom-Hat: Can I ask you how long it took to find out if your mom was approved for Medicaid? We applied for my mom, and so far I've heard nothing. It has been 3 months, and I called to make sure they received all the paperwork they asked for. The nursing home bill won't be paid by medicare either since mom was apparently under "observation" at the hospital. They released her 2 days later, but she was too confused to come home, so I had to put her in the NH. She was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. Thanks for any info you can pass on.
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It took about a month, if I remember correctly; however, states can be different depending on the backlog. According to our state, and I am sure most states work this day, they do pay up to 3 months in the past. Did you use an Elder Law attorney to do the paperwork, or did you go through the nursing home? I used an attorney (it was costly), so that may be the difference in timing; however, I would definitely continue to check with the nursing home and the Medicaid office. Do you know if the paperwork has been assigned to a case worker yet? If so, then trying to speak with the case worker with Medicaid may give you an idea of where it is in the process. Sorry I am not of more help, but please feel free to ask me any questions and I will tell you what I know.
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MomHat: Thanks for the info. We used the person at the nursing home, and they did assign a caseworker. I'll give her a call tomorrow just to find out where they are at with it. Thanks again.
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It is a moot point for us now, but we heard it can be as long as 6 to 8 months for an approval into the program.
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I think it was less than a month for my widowed mother. It was several months for my husband (same state) because in spite of having an elder law attorney the spend down was not done correctly and adjustments had to be made and resubmitted. I think applications for a person with a spouse are more complex and more time-consuming than applications for a single person. And it no doubt depends on the case load when the application is submitted.
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jeannegibbs, NJ is where we are and that makes sense. We have a disabled child at home too which may complicate the process. And what was I thinking? Even in death, one needs the Medicaid decision for the bills incurred while living. xo
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