My mother is 82 and living in Canada. We want to move her to the States but are unsure about the impact on her health care.

Hospitalizations and nursing homes go hand in hand. With no Medicare, then out of pocket costs become quite prohibitive in the 10s of thousands. Nursing homes cost 10 to 14 k per month. How does that compare with Canada?

Medicare is health isurance that goes with Social Security, neither your mother is entitled to unless she has worked 40 qtrsbin the Us which equals about 10 yrs. Its taken out of our payroll checks. She is entitled to no benefits for 5 years and that is with establishing residency here. She can get no Medicaid for over five years and Medicaid helps to pay for nursing facilities. She would need to pay for health, dental, prescription and vision insurance.

I too think she may need to stay in Canada.

Yes, your mother needs to stay home in Canada so that she can access her own system for care. Unless she is a multi-billionaire she isn't going to be able to afford care in our country at all. She can't be moved here, and she will be stuck with going into care in her own country, with you visits so often as you are able.

First question is whether she can move there. Does she have citizenship? I agree with cwillie's response. Medicare doesn't pay for any custodial (facility) care in the US. The cost of custodial and medical care here is eye-watering. Options for financial help vary by state but it isn't much until one qualifies for LTC medically *and* financially through Medicaid (combined with their SS income). If on Medicare, hospice is covered. In some states the Medicaid "look back" period is 2.5 years, in some it's 5. In some states the income threshold is higher than others. The "look back" period has to do with what the applicant was doing with her assets prior to applying (was she gifting money? Hiding assets? etc). You don't reveal what state she'd go to, but you can contact a Medicaid Planner for that state to get more accurate and specific info rather than on this anonymous global forum where there is no accountability if we give you inaccurate information.

Paying for care and navigating insurance and government benefits is one of the number one worries for people who use this forum, 90+% of whom are Americans. Is she an American citizen? Does she qualify for social security? Does family live near enough to travel easily back and forth? Has she accessed any Canadian services in her province, and have you compared the cost and availability of those services in America?
I have a dual citizenship acquaintance that has recently returned to Canada in order to enter a nursing home, for her the comparative cost of care made the decision a no brainer.