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My father (98 years old) was recently placed in a nursing home with my mother who was already there with dementia.
The nursing home has been working with me to get them together in a room. He has been there for almost a month. It's been wonderful to see them together again after 3 years of being apart.

Today I received a call informing me that the nursing home did not go through the pre-screening process required by medicaid.
I was told that my father does not qualify for nursing home care and that we need to bring him home.

I'm not sure what direction to take. I'm sure the nursing home is going to attempt to get money from us for the time he's been there. Since this is their error I don't feel that we are responsible for that.

This is going to "kill" my parents. They waited three years to be together and now I have to separate them again.

I'm thinking of contacting the nursing home and asking them to make him their "charity case" until his health declines enough for him to qualify for their services. Of course I know they will not agree to this.

At my wits end. . wondering if I should contact a lawyer before taking any further steps.

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Janny52, just to double-check .... did you sign any paperwork when your father was admitted to the NH? If so, read through it carefully to make sure you didn't sign personally to be financially responsible if your father or Medicaid doesn't pay ... if you did, you will likely be responsible for the additional costs. :-( In that event, the screening service's advice to remove him quickly makes sense, as you will want to keep those costs from increasing by the day while you try to work out a solution to the problem.

Another concern would be whether you live (and your parents are in a Nursing Home) in a state with "filial obligation" laws ... if so, that NH may successfully sue you to recover your father's costs. These laws have not traditionally been enforced, but a number of states that have such laws have begun to enforce them on behalf of NHs ...

I'd recommend checking on the Web to see if your state is a "filial obligation" state, and also that you review all paperwork that was signed when your father was admitted. Then it might be a good idea to see a lawyer as soon as possible to find out what your obligations might be in this situation.
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oops . .your other questions.

The admissions person was responsible to set up the screening for him.

My father can not afford the stay. $8000 a month. Who can afford that??
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Eyerishlass - The screening service called me and told me that my father doesn't qualify even though his health has greatly improved in the few weeks that he's had the care.

The screening person is holding onto their assessment until I speak to the nursing home. They recommended that I take him out ASAP because the bill will increase by the day. I'm not worried about that because we're not paying for it.

I'm waiting for my father's physician to call with the hope that he will able to override the decision of the Screening org. Technically I think that's possible. His physician has recommended nursing home care to my father for over a year.

I'll wait on the lawyer. Next step if the doctor can't help is to speak to the person that runs the nursing home.

I'll update as I get news. Thanks for your input!
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When does the nursing home expect you to come and get your dad?

Whose job was it to do the prescreening? The bookkeeper? Social worker? Find out and go to that person calmly and have a sit-down with them. Find out what you can do to fix this situation. Tell them how important it is that your parents are finally together, see if they can make an exception and let your dad stay. Can your dad pay for his stay? If not, that may be the end of the discussion. But you're right, it was the nursing home's responsibility to do the pre-screening but don't hold your breath while the nursing home 'fesses up and makes it right. With nursing homes, as you probably know, the right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing. Ever.

If you contact a lawyer and tell the nursing home that you've contacted the lawyer that could make things either better or worse. If you hire a lawyer you might want to keep it to yourself to be on the safe side.

I hope you keep us updated. I'm rooting for your parents!
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