Medicaid -what happens next?

Update: mom did get Medicaid approved right before Christmas. However the approval form was lost to the nursing home. I did not know this til yesterday. So, as far as they knew, she was still pending.
I had no idea that Mom would have to pay catch up for the co- pay for the months while she was pending. Duh! I should have thought of that! And there must be so many other things I should have known. I meet tomorrow with the advisor. And also had no idea about having to do a Medicaid renew yearly. Of course, that makes perfect sense, but I feel so naive. I don’t know what I don’t know! I am beginning to feel like I’m too old for this. It’s all too complicated.

Is mom paying the NH each mo her income less whatever her state has a the LTC Medicaid PNA (personal needs allowance)? Or has mom done the paperwork for NH to become her SSA representative payee?

Medicaid requires a copay of almost all their monthly income. I mention this as often families are not aware of this. Or it’s glossed over by the NH. A lot of this is due to legal technicalities…. Like the copay is required by LTC Medicaid but as their are still “pending”, enforcing the copay is squishy… it’s a grey area.

If she’s not, please pls make sure that that $ (her mo income) is staying in her bank account. As once approved, there will be a copay due asap for the $ starting the day of entry as Medicaid Pending to current month. If it’s 4-6 months, it’s going to be quite a tidy sum & mom / you as her POA want to pay the past due copay asap once she gets her eligibility letter.

Yea it can take a while. My moms was 5.5 mos… mom had issues both for a medically “at need” appeal and couple of hiccups in financials. Mom did not have the NH become her rep payee. She kept her checking account & direct deposit of her SSA & another retirement. So I as POA & signatory on the account, mailed a ck 2 NH at the start of ea Mon for the anticipated copy less the $60 PNA for TX. It was at the point that the NH sent a certified “30 Day Notice” (to move out) at the beginning of mo 5. & they sent out a private pay rate bill ea mo as well. The 30 Day was addressed to my mom but c/o’d to me at my address in another state. I think it’s just standard biz practice for a NH so that everybody is aware of the situation. I did keep up with the caseworker so knew it was more of paperwork processing on State side that was the glitch. If you haven’t chatted with the caseworker lately, try to touch base before the Holiday season sets in…. You imo do want to ask that the caseworker knows to cc you on all correspondence and NOT just going to the attorney.

Really just try 2 hold firm and stay confident that LTC Medicaid will be approved and that you’re sure that she’s ok eligibility.

also I’d like to add 2 Mac’s post on the LTC Medicaid renewal. I had no idea this happened. For FUN in all this, I had packed up all documents from the application & put in storage. Moms monthly stuff was here & there. The renewal required a resubmission of some of the original documents again… like burial policy, life insurance, property items, plus that months bank statements and 3 months prior and all due in 14 days. For even more FUN, the internal letter and the postmark was over a week later. LSS it was a frenetic stressful weekend to get items needed for the renewal. For year 2 renewal I was totally organized and ready to fax over all the day after receiving the renewal request. So try to stay organized & current with all moms documents.

You can call the Medicaid caseworker directly. Ask if the appeal has gone thru and if so how far they paid back.

You do not pay the bill.

From when they receive the completed app to when they send the letter telling you if she qualified it is usually 3 months. You can call social services to find out the status of the app (at least you can in my county). I don't think the attorney will know anything more than you unless she calls SS.

Be clear that being POA DOESN'T mean that you ever use your monry to pay your mom's bills. Never sign anything saying that you are the responsible party. Ask your attorney before signing anything. Really.

As long as the bills (to your mom, not you) say Medicaid pending, all is well.