Can my mom buy an RV? A medical RV for herself with cutting edge medical technology to spend down?

All I can picture is a $300,000 ADA RV being proposed as the best way to get Mom from the Medicaid nursing home to her doctor appointments. It’s kinda crazy.

Who is going to pay to store, maintain, register, insure, fuel, and drive this thing?

Please clarify what you are proposing to do. Cutting edge medical equipment generally requires medical professionals to operate it.

your buying an Ambulance?? Because that is all I can picture? A hoyer lift is probably not going to work in an RV, and the bathrooms are pretty small to be handicapped out fitted. And they are kinda small for a wheelchair moving about. Who is really for? Is she planning alot of trips? How old is she?
And by the way I love your music Nikki Sixx!!

Some states have a maximum value for a vehicle. I would use the money for a good facility instead of one that takes Medicaid. I wouldn't want a roommate

And there is...Moms monthly income more than the Medicaid cap allows? Some States don't allow for Miller/Qualifying Income Trusts.

And the house, Igloo, isn't there a cap on that too? Really, my Moms house was maybe worth 100k. But owning a house worth $500k or more could be sold for a persons care. $500 at $10 a month would pay for someone's care for 4 years. Why should that be exempt especially when there is no surviving spouse.

My question is why an RV. Does Mom want to travel? Is she also going to hire a Nurse or CNA?

If this is about keeping assets from LTC Medicaid spend down, it makes imo no sense to do for what you describe buying
LTC Medicaid for all states will have a maximum allowable value on a (1) home and may require it to have a homestead exemption on the property and a (1) vehicle. Vehicles tend to be 30K range. Homes 550K and on east coast higher in 750/850K range. Should elder keep home or car it goes from exempt asset to nonexempt after they die and heirs will have to deal with an estate recovery attempt (MERP) by the state which has exemptions and exclusions but it not necessarily simple to do and could take months or couple of years to do,

a lot of hoops to ever make this work if you could even get a Class A or Class C RV retrofitted to specific medical needs plus pay for a driver and trained medical professionals as needed. Winnebago does portable clinics and those run M+ to outfit. They roll out after a Hurricane in my area to do outreach & the nonprofits who sponsor them seem to have to do major fundraising to get them rolling & stay updated. I’m remembering they have an issue on how their grey water has to legally be dealt with so you cannot use the normal “flushing” stations.

Please also realize if the elder goes onto LTC Medicaid so they are in a facility and somehow are able to keep the RV as an exempt asset, going on LTC Medicaid means that have to do a copay of basically almost all their monthly income - like their Ss$- as a copay to the Nh. They will have no-none-nada of $ anymore to pay for any of the Rv costs….. no $ for insurance, upkeep, maintenance, lot rental, etc. Someone in the family will have to pay all this from day 1 of Medicaid till beyond their death as that puppy will become an asset of their estate. I guess in theory it could sit in a family members backyard letting kudzu grow over it & letting those tires rot.

They cannot donate or gift it either as that triggers a penalty.
Gotta ask, out of curiosity whose idea is this? And why?

Seems that Mom has some money. Why would you want to spend it down like this to be able to get her on Medicaid where she will have to go to a NH that excepts Medicaid. Why not just find her a nice AL.

We need more info why you think this is a good idea.

If she can afford an RV, she can afford to pay for her own LTC, that is what the money should be used for.

Medicaid is a tax-payer supported program, we shouldn't be paying for those who are trying to take advantage by hiding their assets.

If she spends it on a physical asset it may count against her if/when she applies for Medicaid. Every state has their own unique rules for Medicaid, therefore I would consult with a Medicaid Planner for her state who can give you a legally acurate answer -- something we on this forum can't do.

FYI in most states Medicaid only cover LTC. If your mom needs LTC then an RV isn't going to help her. Not sure what you mean by "cutting edge medical technology"... can you provide more information?

I don't think this will work. If she has the funds to pay for that type of vehicle, she should be paying for her own care, not getting on Medicaid. You are allowed to keep one vehicle but there are restrictions in some states on the value. You should consult a elder care attorney familiar with Medicaid or Medicaid planner to see if that will work.