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Could she still get medicaid for long term care? The other problem is she is currently altered and I'm her only family. I'm her daughter and before all this went down she didn't do a POA. She has been in & out of the hospital for 3 months now and her doctors believe that she is altered because of all the health issues and not being home. They believe she will come back but no one knows if it'll be baseline. I'm worried about her future and want to make sure she is cared for properly. I'm will to and have always cared for her. She has parkinsons, bipolar, diabetes, CAD, and now dementia.

The really sad part is she was an orphan. She came into this world as ward of the state. I refuse to allow her to go out as one. I feel so helpless. Anyone have any advice?

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Where does her pension originate? Was she married to a veteran? If so, you might try and file for an Aid and Attendance pension, or if she is a widow of a veteran, she could stay in a Veteran's home if there is room. If not, try hiring someone to come live with her when she gets out of the hospital for room and board if you are unable to live with her. Her income should allow that, but thank you for being concerned and helping her.
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I beleive that your Mom is over the limit for AL but not for a nursing home.
Check with her state.
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My mom gets her SS and pension money and is in a longterm facility, in the CBRF unit (a step up from AL). When all of her money ran out, she was allowed to keep those checks coming in, but account has to be less than $2000-she pays a set amount by the Family Care program toward her room and board, and whatever is not covered for her meds, or Dr. bills-the amount is based on income ,like HUD or rent assistance-it will depend on the rules in your State.
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In some states, so long as you first spend down her income for medical (and nursing home) bills each month, Medicaid will pick up the balance. In other states, you must set up a Qualified Income Trust (also known as a "Miller Trust"), into which her monthly income passes. The trustee of that trust then simply pays out that income to the nursing home, and once again Medicaid will pick up the monthly shortfall via a payment to the nursing home. So in either case, you should be ok, regardless of the rules of the state you are in. Good luck!!
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Meghart - Miller Trust. If it's the situation that her monthly income is over the amount that your state allows, then she can try to do a Miller Trust aka Guaranteed Income Trust to get her income OK for Medicaid.

Miller is a pretty unique tool for Medicaid compliance and imho it need to be done by an attorney. This is how Miller works:
Mom gets $ 900 SS, pension for late hubby of $ 1,200 mo & $ 500 a month from her teachers retirement. So every month mom gets $ 2,500 a month. No matter what she "makes" $ 2,500 in income which she cannot turn down or cash in. Let's say mom is in TX and TX Medicaid has their maximum income set @ $ 2,094.00 a month. Mom is $ 406.00 over what is allowed for income to qualify Medicaid.

So what Miller does is become the entity that gets the income (a trust is it's own entity); so that mom gets paid only $ 2,094.00 a month and the rest of the $ goes into Miller. The beneficiary of the trust is the state and upon mom's death all the $ in the trust goes to the state. Each state can put it's own spin on Miller - like the NH gets all the money so there is no after death trust to deal with, other states have it so there is an excess $ trust @ death. But whatever the case, if mom has income that is guaranteed type of income she can do a Miller to qualify for Medicaid. You need an attorney to set it up so that it is flexible and adaptable for your state laws but once done it lasts till they die. Someone posted on this site a couple of months ago on how much she paid for it for her mom - I'm remembering maybe $ 1,500 to set up and all went to state so no after death stuff to deal with.

Perchance is this railroad retirement?
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Hi Meghart,
Your last sentence is very sad. Don't forget that your mom won't go out of this world alone because she has you. It doesn't matter who is paying the bills.

It sounds as if your mother would qualify for Medicaid since she has no assets but that may depend on the state where she lives. The money she has coming in monthly would go to pay for her care. I'm not a Medicaid specialist by any means, but it seems to me that it's time to talk with your local Medicaid office. They will guide you.

You have a wonderful heart and will be there for your mom. It's very sad that she take time to assign you, her only relative, as POA but you should be able to get this all handled. You may need an elder law attorney to help.

We are hoping for the best for you and your mom. Please check back and let us now how you are doing.
Carol
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