My mother passed away recently and the nursing home took all the insurance policies we used to bury her. Now they refuse to reimburse us, can they do that?

I'm afraid so. She was on Medicaid? Medicaid requires that you cash out insurance policies and that money is an asset to be spent down before she qualified for Medicaid. (I know - ouch!).

I'm not sure you can go back and get the money. You may need legal help. If you can get free assistance from an attorney with your State Bar Association, it may be worth trying, otherwise you'd likely spend that money and more trying to get it back.

You may want to check your state laws. Medicaid is not done the same way in each state, though it's similar. Most things come down to local administration. I hate to be negative, and maybe someone else has a better idea. I don't pretend to be a Medicaid expert.

Good luck,
Carol

73:

Carol's right on point. Still, I suggest visiting the local Medicaid office first and then contacting an attorney if you're not satisfied. Just as nursing homes can siphon the elderly's assets, lawyers can also prey on the confusion -- if not pain and misery -- of the people the elderly leave behind. Don't do anything on impulse and think carefully about the steps to follow. Otherwise the best you'll do is break even -- if that. Good luck.

-- ED

Thanks Carol & Ed foryour comments it has helped. We had ly contacted an attorney, Ed you are right the attorney wanted more for retainer fee than the money that was in my mother's account. We are in a lose-lose situtation. I think at this point we'll just chalk it up to experience and hope we never come across this situation again.