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My 95 year old mother is in a nursing home and it is time to get her on Medicaid. The NH contracts with a company called ParentCare USA which does the Medicaid process. They charge $2,950 for this service. My husband suggests we should just do the Medicaid application ourselves online, but we started that process months ago and the application was so long I was a bit terrified of it and we never completed it.


What has been your experience with applying for Medicaid, if you did it yourself? Is it better to just pay the fee and avoid the headache? Another issue is that Mom is in MA and we are in CA. Thank you.

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Whether you/mom pay almost 3K for that company, you - yeah YOU - are still going to have to find & gather together all the myriad of documents needed to accompany the LTC Medicaid application. As it requires 3-5 years of financials + property details and that company does not have these nor can they go thru moms house to find stuff, nor can they go thru moms checkbook to determine expenditures (like what that $678.90 ck back in March 2021 was for), nor can they get possibly years of statements from moms bank. They are not her guardian, not her conservator, not her POA so can’t do this type of stuff. Now they can find real property ownership of stuff (house, car, land etc.) as public records and Medicaid will want info on these; but you can yourself find this in County courthouse filings online & pay for a recorded document download online easy peasy.

From ParentCareUSA website: we “review and process all your information you submit”. Please pls plz note: it’s “you submit”
& also:
“If there are legally issues, we will work to resolve them with you or the attorney of your choice”.
fwiw, this company has a separate division that is… wait for it…. attorneys that do Estate Planning, wills, DPOA, etc. but it is separate entity from 3K Medicaid application.

Personally I think you can do the application IF:
- existing PoA, will or codicil to her will (if it was old).
- U r existing signature on all banking & other financial she has OR mom can be still relatively cognitive to go to her bank and do forms. Like you take her to the bank but she on her own says ok to the bank officer and can do a signature.
- she has assigned you to either representative payee for SSA or named you as her advanced designation for SSA.* This nowadays is beyond mucho important as SSA does not recognize POA authority at all and SSA is loosing staff and shuttering offices all over the US due to Trump / Elmo actions. And changes like this have to HAVE TO be done for you to have SSA access as that Medicaid application will require her “award letter” from SSA (& any other retirements) to determine her eligibility and her Share of Cost to the facility.
- for a lot of States withdrawals $500+ = red flag that caseworker will want details to determine if gifting. Like check for $678.90 written to Joe Smith, did she gift $ to Joe or was Joe actually her mechanic & it was for auto repair. I cannot see this company being able to delve into stuff like this; this is POA and/or family work to get done on the behalf of their elder.
LSS You are still going to have to find stuff even with paying $$$.

On application that left you frustrated, Medicaid HUGE # of programs. LTC Medicaid application different than Medicaid as health insurance or ACA eligibility. Usually NH SW or admissions will give a residents / POA list of all documents to accompany LTC application & either actual application (you fill out) or online link for application process and you deliver a copy of all the documents on that list to the NH or scan as an attachment online. If NH gets all, it’s bc they are going to review to kinda determine IF resident seems ok to be Medicaid Pending for how their bill is dealt with and then NH does a big submission to LTC caseworker with the application + your elders documents PLUS their own NH bill and paperwork for State daily Medicaid reimbursement to them. Was it the correct application you tried to do?

NH cannot require a resident to use this company. To be eligible for LTC Medicaid means elder is impoverished or about to be impoverished with $2829 income max & nonexempt asset max of 2K for most States. If elder impoverished, they simply do not have $2,950 to pay for this. If family does not have the $, what then? There has 2 B a way to do this without using PCUSA.

fwiw States do annual renewal LTC eligibility w/fresh documentation. So….. More $ for that by PCUSA???
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igloo572 Mar 18, 2025
* on SSA stuff, if you don’t mind, let me expand a bit….. initial application will require moms last “awards letter” from SSA. It’s the Notification snail mailed late Nov/early Dec that states to the penny what mom will be paid by SSA for incoming year. It is also downloadable via her SSA online portal if she has one (which she can do on her own or might can do if you were to help her get online to access). Both Medicaid & NH wants this info as it determines Share of Cost / SOC she has to pay the NH each month. SOC is all her income added together less her States Personal needs Allowance / PNA. The PNA varies by State.

Now it’s up to the resident or their POA to decide how to handle the elders income once they go onto LTC Medicaid & in a facility. They can let the NH become the rep payee for income sources OR they can let the elders income continue to be direct deposited into elders existing bank account & POA does a check or set up autopay to the NH set for a date right after all income comes in for the SOC amount. Pro’s & cons for either decision.

Say a dad, a widower, in TX gets SSA $2340 & separate pension of $500. Dad gets SSA awards letter and pension benefits Notices and both submitted for his application. Dad makes $2840 a month income so he’s totally under TX income max of $2829 for individual applicants. Dad sold his house ages ago and was living in an apt b4 the move to the NH. & Dad has a mere $1300 in his bank account so totally under TX nonexempt assets of $2,000. TX has a $75 a mo PNA. Dad, under LTC SOC rules, is required to pay NH $2,765 SOC and retains that $75 PNA. This dad’s POA hopes to eventually move Dad nearer so there needs to be no change to how Dad gets his income paid to him as PoA needs the flexibility that continued banking allows for. This POA sets up an at the NH in-house trust account with $300 to pay for Dads weekly shave & barber stuff. $300 is ok as it added to his savings is only $1600 so it’s still under 2K asset max. $300 kinda takes care of 5-6 months of barber costs, so all good for months. POA buys stuff for Dad periodically using a debit card attached to dad’s checking account - which increases every month by $75- and POA makes sure bank statements always end under 2K.

But another Dad has the same income situation, but his POA cannot deal with any of Dads banking, barber payments, etc so this elder makes NH representative payee for SSA & pension. NH gets all income from both directly. NH adds $75 each month PNA to the Dads in-house trust account. If PNA gets over 2K, the NH will find something to buy asap to lower the balance and can do it without consulting the POA as they are the rep payee. If this POA wants to get some of their Dads in house account PNA $ to buy Dad new clothes, etc, they have to arrange to go to the business office and do a withdrawal from the resident’s ledger. Or they draw from Dads old checking account with the $1300 in it. This could be just fine as a system or a PIA.

If a POA wants to, they can resign. Something to clearly speak with an attorney about as its a serious move as the elder would likely become a ward of the state with a court appointed guardian or conservator. If done, any input or decisions former POA would like to have can be of little interest to the guardian.

Elaine, if any of your angst is due to gifting or very questionable spends that could be lurking in moms past, I would suggest that you find an elder law attorney that is CELA level to shepherd everything related to your moms application from the get go.
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I would pay for the service since you are such a far distance. Do you still work? If you have little time during the business hours this can hinder the process.

he application is a very long and time consuming. Medicaid will take many days to review (in my uncles case it was 90 days before the first update of additional information package) and if there are any questions they will send a letter and response time will be 14 days. Do you have the time and energy to complete on your own. If so, the the expense isn't justified. If you have little time to complete then the expense is well justified.

You will still need to gather the bank statement for the last 60 months, provide receipts for large expenditures to confirm they are for her care or were items purchases for her wellbeing.
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Reply to AMZebbC
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No! Do not pay that exorbitant fee!

They can only complete the application by asking you all of the questions. So, really you are doing it, and they just type your answers!

Try calling the medicaid office in your mother's county. Talk to a real person. Explain the dilemma. They may be able to complete the application over the phone. A county worker may even meet with your mom (and you).
When my husband was in a NH, because he was a vulnerable adult, it automatically triggered a visit from a county social worker, who helped complete his medicaid application. Then, when we moved to another state, I called, and a worker asked all questions over the phone, and sent me a request by mail for supporting documents. It was not that complicated!

No matter what, you are going to have to provide documentation, such as bank statements, income, assets, and monthly expenses. Try getting all that information together beforehand, so you are ready. You can do this!
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Reply to CaringWifeAZ
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Everything ... EVERYTHING to do with health care - esp for seniors - is up in the air now due to our political 'leaders.' You will need to call and ask them (Medicaid) although presume they may not know either as things are changing so fast. If I were you, I'd call my Congress-person and Senator ... and join an Indivisible protest.

Gena / Touch Matters
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Reply to TouchMatters
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Where I live, it was super easy and all online after initial paper application(chose that over online, as facility would fax the application for us). I actually only needed documents for bills and vehicle status. I was applying for my mom only. They were able to pull up all banking information online, even a bank I couldn't list on the application for lack of space.

However per your stated starting and stopping an application, you need help. Even if it's from an aging agency service provider, there are free help providers nationwide including the toll free number for Medicaid.

Like others, you and/or whomever is the POA are going to need to know a lot and know how to access what's needed. Thankfully in my situation, my sister and I were already ahead at knowing certian things and having access to what was needed.

Best to you guys as you move forward and get it done!
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Reply to Bgreen7777
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Worth paying a legal and Medicaid expert for this very convoluted service!
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Reply to Patathome01
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elainesz: You may want to pay for this service.
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Reply to Llamalover47
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I would let the company handle it. They know what to do. The cost seems very reasonable, frankly. We paid our lawyer $10K for each of my parents in NYC.

Make sure you have all the documents needed. The five years of bank statements is the hardest part. Scan all her records so you have these electronically. Make sure you have on line access to bank records, her utility and cable/phone accounts so you can pull the monthly statements. You don't know what they might ask for as you get into the process. The easiest thing is to keep it all electronic if you can.

Like you I'm in CA with my father in NYC.
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Reply to Hothouseflower
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I was in the same situation with my 95 year old mother who has Alzheimer's and some dementia andrecently turned 100. Upon doing some googling and research I found a community based non profit service near me that handled everything from getting my mom on medicaid to getting her qualified for managed long-term care at home. Before this we were doing private pay for home care that was getting pretty expensive. As a first step we made sure to get the POA to start the complicated process. I wouldn't have been able to do this on my own without that community based non profit, they are a godsend and didn't pay a penny. My mom now has dual medicare/medicaid and can now stay out of a nursing home which was very depressing when she stayed there for rehab. Just worried that the feds might take that help away such as things are right now in this country. We also contacted elder lawyer for the POA and advice to set up a trust account for mom to be eligible. She is at home and we feel better off than surrounded by
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Reply to Crobles
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All the information needed for the app will need to be conjured up by you anyway to give to the service so just download a "practice" app and put all the info in place and see where there is any confusion and if there is, you can call a caseworker or Medicaid office itself to clarify. I don't think applying through a 3rd party makes the app approval go any faster and if it gets kicked back because Medicaid needs more or different answers, then you still are the ones that have to come up with that info.

I've done the app for my MIL. If your Mom doesn't have much then there's not much to do on the app! My MIL was completely broke, didn't own a car and her husband, same thing only he was a ward of the county in a MC facility. You'll need to know basics like DOB, SSN, provide 3 months of bank account statements, provide 3 months of most recent medical bills, etc. THere's no way for the 3rd party company to get that info except through you.
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Reply to Geaton777
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To be honest, right now, if you can, I would pay for this service. This is a service and it is one with the average price you just mentioned. To me, I am hearing about huge delays EVERYWHERE right now, in all applications and in dealing with SS, IRS, Medicare and Medicaid. I am hearing there is a real snarl in the system from a friend who is a DON at a facility. There's a lot of political foment now in changing over, and a lot of delays. If someone truly knows how to work this system I would pay for it. I am happy to pay for good services. The people who run the service benefit and so do I (hopefully). So I would say, if you can pick this up, do so.
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