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I just thought of a question that I didn't ask the lawyer when I was there today. He said if we spend down by Sept 1st, then Medicaid will pay back to that time when approved. So do they go back and take your income from then too? Seems like that would be hard to do if you made people spend down to less than their income.I'm having trouble figuring out how to handle dad's house. He has around an $850 a month mortgage which is automatically withdrawn from his bank account. So I need to have them switch to sending the bill (and figuring out how to pay it-hoping for a really quick sale). I just got a DPOA two days ago. So do I first need to see if they will honor it and then start begging them to stop automatically withdrawing the mortgage?Dad has $10,000 in the bank and he has plenty of credit card debt to spend down but I'm almost wondering if I should wait until Oct 1st to spend down while I figure these things out-not long until Sept 1st. And then private pay for Sept. but that would take almost all of it-maybe, he was just evaluated by therapy so Medicare may be paying some too, I'm asking tomorrow.The lawyer seems to think pay any debt to nursing home through the end of August and then spend down the rest by Sept 1st. He also said to see if you can pay ahead mortgage payments (without the extra going just to principle). I'm going to look through his mortgage papers.My brain is spinning and Sept 1st is coming fast. Just wondering if any one had any thoughts, experiences or advice. FYI-the nursing home helped me apply for Medicaid a week ago.

slkcma: Go to Medicaid.gov.
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Reply to Llamalover47
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Thanks everyone!

The lawyer had said I need to spend down by Sept 1st if I want Medicaid to pay back to that point so hopefully that is accurate. I'm working on spending down now.
The Medicaid phone interview is next week.
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When you meet the requirements of application you will submit the application and support documentation. The patient will be in a pending status. It can take 3-6 months for formal approval with letter stating any penalties and the required monthly payment of all income. During this time you will continue to make the monthly payment but at the amount of their SS, Pension and any other monthly income they are receiving. One approved the effective date is the application submission date.

Unless you have overpaid directly to the LTC facility during the selfpay portion of their stay during the pending phase you do not receive any money back.
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Reply to AMZebbC
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I believe Medicaid begins covering services retroactively from the day of application BUT only once you are approved. If your dad has too much in assets at the time of application, he may be denied Medicaid and you will have to reapply once those assets have been spent down and/or disposed of. At least that is my understanding, but I’m not sure if it’s correct for your situation. It’s complicated for sure. Your lawyer should be able to help you navigate this. It may seem costly but I can tell you from experience that our elder law attorney has been worth every last penny.
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Reply to knits4pixies
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He already has life insurance policies for the funeral.
I will probably spend down by paying credit cards.
The house needs to go up for sale right away because there is a mortgage and I don't want to pay it.
He lives in Indiana.
Thanks again.
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NeverABreak23 Sep 5, 2025
I would continue to make the mortgage payments. Once the house sells, you can pay yourself back. It's what I did before I sold my dad's house. It took 5 months to clean it up and get it ready for sale and it took 2 months to sell after I put it on the market. He is in New Mexico. But that was last year and the RE market is a whole different story this year. I wish you luck!
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He might get rejected because of that extra cash still sitting around. The answer to your questions vary by each state and we do not know where he lives. Nothing in your profile indicates that you have POA. You should spend down on burial pre pay. Contact a funeral home.
If he does get approved, the house sale can happen afterwards, however what he makes on the sale over the limit will mean that he comes off Medicaid until the spend down is again completed. You will just have to reapply later.
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Reply to MACinCT
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