I'm a little confused. If he has too much income to qualify, that would make it seem like he would therefore have enough money to pay for his own care. If he doesn't have quite enough, his house will have to ultimately be sold, etc.
I think it's time for girlfriend to be on her own. I would imagine that him supporting her would be in the way of him paying for his own care at a NH. Bummer for her, but he has to put himself first at this needy time of his life.
If he needs full time care, it sounds like it's time to help him get a bed somewhere ASAP. He'll have to spend what he has and then, eventually, he will qualify for assistance.
His income is too high for Medicsid but several thousand short of the cost of skilled nursing home care. He has to be tube fed and that places him in the skilled nursing home care. Thank you for your response.
Getting a Miller Trust does not effect you or ur husband. The money that is over the Medicaid cap goes into the trust. And yes, when BIL passes, it reverts back to Medicaid, as it should since they paid for his care. I think if a doctor determines BIL needs 24/7 care then an order from him maybe enough to get BIL into a NH.
Make sure u find a lawyer versed in Medicaid. Even though the house is not counted towards income, not sure if GF will be allowed to stay once he is on Medicaid. She isn't caring for him and isn't his legal wife. You may want to have a talk with her about that and that all his money will be going to his care. He will not be able to pay outstanding debts, upkeep on the house, mortgage or utilities. She will be on her own. She better make plans now.
Thank you for your reply. We have been telling the GF for over 20 months that she needs to get a job but every month when she knows he gets his checks she calls or writes for money. Claims she can’t find a job. Now she says she is going to school. She just doesn’t want to work. Since I am not my BIL’s power of attorney I can’t do anything but complain. I am very frustrated and tired of caring for my BIL. He doesn’t do what he can do for himself and he doesn’t deserve to ruin our retirement by caring for him. He was not been the most caring person for his parents and left that responsibility to my husband and me and he has caused us a lot of grief through the years. I don’t understand God!s plan!
We applied for Medicaid. It took them a year to make a determination that his income is too high. He has a house that is not worth much but his girlfriend lives there and my brother in law still supports her even though my husband has told her he can’t afford it, Caught between a rock and a hard place. NH have long waiting lists for Medicaid beds and unless you go to a NH from the hospital, you can't get a Medicaid bed. Thank you for your response.
I read your profile so I now have a better understanding of your situation. I'm not sure why your BIL does not qualify for LTC and placement in nursing home. You say he has too much income, but there should be a way to structure it so he qualifies for LTC Medicaid. Have you consulted an elder law attorney? Perhaps you need to set up a Miller trust. I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the laws in your state, but if you haven't consulted an attorney, I would do so. Regardless, he doesn't have to be your burden if you don't want it to be, but I understand you also have your marriage to consider.
Thank you for your answer. In order to qualify for Medicaid, we would have to create a Medicaid trust so that once he dies, we would have to pay Medicaid back for the cost of care they paid. Most NH have waiting lists for Medicaid beds. I had not thought about talking to an attorney about this. So I will look into it. Thank you, again for the response.
Yes, but it involves "paying down" his monies until he qualifies. You can be easily informed of this by social services if your loved on hospitalized. Can be placed in a facility and pays the rate until down to the place where he can apply for medicaid. If a home involved cannot be forced to sell, but when estate settled after death medicaid will recover it. An hour with a good elder law attorney will give you good info. It is expensive so make your list of questions first. IF you are POA you can pay for this, as well, out of his funds.
Yes, there is always a way if he truly needs 24 hour long term care, but you won't be able to get him in on your own by calling the nursing homes yourself. I'm confused though why he would't qualify for Medicaid. Did he give away assets during the last 5 years? If so there are steps to take to eventually qualify him. Otherwise, you spend his assets towards his care until he's broke, then he should qualify for Miedicaid. Does he live alone? If so, call APS and have them evaluate. Does someone live with him? If that person is unable to care for him, he/she should get social services involved or perhaps the next time LO needs to go to the hospital, the social worker there should be informed that home is not a safe environment for him to be in anymore.
My BIL lives with my husband and me. It took Medicaid one year to determine his retirement income was too high for Medicaid. My husband doesn’t want to do the Medicaid trust. Since my BIL isn’t in a hospital or NH already, he can’t pay the full amount. Next time he goes to the hospital for at least three days, we will have him go to a NH and hope that we can get assistance to pay the balance then. Thank you for your response.
If you can find a place that has Medicaid beds available (open without years of waiting lists! 🙂) can you pay until he becomes destitute and then qualifies for long term care?
Why doesn’t he qualify for Medicaid? Did he give away large sums of money? Long term care Medicaid is different than community Medicaid/Medicaid health insurance. Have you applied for long term Medicaid on his behalf?
I think it's time for girlfriend to be on her own. I would imagine that him supporting her would be in the way of him paying for his own care at a NH. Bummer for her, but he has to put himself first at this needy time of his life.
If he needs full time care, it sounds like it's time to help him get a bed somewhere ASAP. He'll have to spend what he has and then, eventually, he will qualify for assistance.
Make sure u find a lawyer versed in Medicaid. Even though the house is not counted towards income, not sure if GF will be allowed to stay once he is on Medicaid. She isn't caring for him and isn't his legal wife. You may want to have a talk with her about that and that all his money will be going to his care. He will not be able to pay outstanding debts, upkeep on the house, mortgage or utilities. She will be on her own. She better make plans now.
I read your profile so I now have a better understanding of your situation. I'm not sure why your BIL does not qualify for LTC and placement in nursing home. You say he has too much income, but there should be a way to structure it so he qualifies for LTC Medicaid. Have you consulted an elder law attorney? Perhaps you need to set up a Miller trust. I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the laws in your state, but if you haven't consulted an attorney, I would do so. Regardless, he doesn't have to be your burden if you don't want it to be, but I understand you also have your marriage to consider.