2bdavidp, first my heartfelt sympathy to you and your family for the passing of your Mother.
The nursing home needs to be paid for the 16 months of care they gave your Mother.... thus Medicaid will place a lien on her house and once the house sells, Medicaid will take whatever equity to help pay on the bill.
Sorry for your loss. Unfortunately, Estate recovery from all assets of the deceased medicaid receipient is required to be done. Whether its a claim or a lien will depend on your states laws on death, property rights, probate. Whichever the case, something will happen. What often seems to happen is that when the title co is doing the search for the buyer to get their mortgage, the lien or claim shows up as a surprise to family /heirs & will cloud the title and the act of sale cannot go thorough till lien /claim released & merp paid from proceeds of sale. The title companies are becoming more & more aware of the MERP claim /lien predicament, & often the seller/heirs will need to get a estate recovery release from the state for the sale to move forward.
If yours is a claim state, it's somewhat different in that MERP can be a creditor against the estate along with any & all other creditors. So however probate is done in your state will guide how claims are dealt with. If yours is a level of claim state, then claims are paid in according to their order. Like TX is level of claim, so all class 1-6 must be paid first & before MERP which is class 7.
You or whomever was indicated on moms Medicaid application or renewal should get or have gotten the MERP notice of intent to file a claim /lien. If mom was signing her own paperwork, it could go to the old NH or to the property. The intent letter requires a response within a set period of time. If no response, it seems that MERP can place the claim or lien by default.
Some states have it such that once they go onto LTC NH Medicaid a lien is placed. If so, it should show up in the chain of documents attached to the property at the courthouse.
If HMS is the outside contractor for estate recovery for your state, they are very very proactive & the intent letter should be sent within a few weeks. Do not ignore the letter. Good luck & let us know what happens. We all learn from each other.
Also try to see if you or other heirs qualify for any of the many exemptions or exclusions to MERP. The list should be your states Medicaid website.
If you have been been costs on the vacant property, those costs should be able to be deducted from the MERP tally. Ditto if you paid for any caregiving before (& probably after as well but yours is the first time I've heard of an elder moving back home after a long NH stay, I bet she was a determined & tough old bird!)) her admission into the NH that kept her off Medicaid. Like I paid for caregivers for my mom her last year in IL, which kept her from needing a NH sooner. Those type of costs should be deducted from the MERP tally but you or whomever is her executor will need to get the documentation on exemptions, exclusions, etc & file with MERP.
Again imho you have to do something....whether its opening probate or seeking a release of the lien or claim due to exemptions or exclusions. If you do nothing, it can be placed by default.
Medicaid certainly has the right to place a lien on your mother's home. They may not always do that. Under certain circumstances, one can obtain a financial hardship waiver, so see an attorney.
The nursing home needs to be paid for the 16 months of care they gave your Mother.... thus Medicaid will place a lien on her house and once the house sells, Medicaid will take whatever equity to help pay on the bill.
If yours is a claim state, it's somewhat different in that MERP can be a creditor against the estate along with any & all other creditors. So however probate is done in your state will guide how claims are dealt with. If yours is a level of claim state, then claims are paid in according to their order. Like TX is level of claim, so all class 1-6 must be paid first & before MERP which is class 7.
You or whomever was indicated on moms Medicaid application or renewal should get or have gotten the MERP notice of intent to file a claim /lien. If mom was signing her own paperwork, it could go to the old NH or to the property. The intent letter requires a response within a set period of time. If no response, it seems that MERP can place the claim or lien by default.
Some states have it such that once they go onto LTC NH Medicaid a lien is placed. If so, it should show up in the chain of documents attached to the property at the courthouse.
If HMS is the outside contractor for estate recovery for your state, they are very very proactive & the intent letter should be sent within a few weeks. Do not ignore the letter. Good luck & let us know what happens. We all learn from each other.
If you have been been costs on the vacant property, those costs should be able to be deducted from the MERP tally. Ditto if you paid for any caregiving before (& probably after as well but yours is the first time I've heard of an elder moving back home after a long NH stay, I bet she was a determined & tough old bird!)) her admission into the NH that kept her off Medicaid. Like I paid for caregivers for my mom her last year in IL, which kept her from needing a NH sooner. Those type of costs should be deducted from the MERP tally but you or whomever is her executor will need to get the documentation on exemptions, exclusions, etc & file with MERP.
Again imho you have to do something....whether its opening probate or seeking a release of the lien or claim due to exemptions or exclusions. If you do nothing, it can be placed by default.
They may not always do that. Under certain circumstances, one can obtain a financial hardship waiver, so see an attorney.