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Tiff - my MIL died before NH Medicaid eligibility was done. If your in this spot, imo you have 2 choices: she's dead and it's not your problem OR your gonna have to continue to dog her application to get it approved.

For MIL, there were transfer penalty inquiries on checks she had written to her old state-paid caregiver as to whether it was gifting….. it wasn't but was checks done so she could buy liquor for her. Snafu'd application for months from clearing.

MIL was "Medicaid Pending" during all this & was fully compliant for paying her income to the NH as her required co-pay /SOC (share of cost). They HAVE TO pay the SOC to stay all kumbaya for their not-yet-approved Medicaid application; if not it could be considered a lack of required DPOA fiduciary duty and they can bill you and try to get you to pay. Don't let the NH tell you not to worry about the SOC….. The SOC has to be paid.

Now Mil got ill & went into hospital (I think it was under observation and not a true admit), then back to NH; then weeks later got very ill & back into hospital for well over a week AND discharged from hospital to free-standing hospice as she was very septic. Stoked & died at hospice.

BIL filed an appeal during all this and there was a hearing date set like 6 months out. BIL submitted documentation in advance of hearing date. She was cleared for eligibility right before the hearing date.

NH sent BIL bills & then demand notices for all the months she was there at private pay rate less the amount paid as her SOC & started dated the week she went into hospice. Now BIL did paperwork with DPOA signature, but really the NH will still send bills out to whomever in family they think will pay. This NH knew they would likely be totally SOOL as she had no assets (so no probate), none of the sons lived in-state and none had signed to be personally liable and its not a filial responsibility state. So the facilities have to bill & bluff (imo). They withheld the $ in her personal needs account (which in theory they cannot legally do….) too. MIL was finally approved about a year after application filed and NH was paid for the time she was there & they finally did send BIL a tiny check for the supposed amount left in her personal needs account.

Really it's your call as to continue the application.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/northwesternmutual/2014/02/03/who-will-pay-for-moms-or-dads-nursing-home-bill-filial-support-laws-and-long-term-care/#3ec2a4045620
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The adult children of elderly parents in many states could be held liable for their parents' nursing home bills as a result of the new Medicaid long-term care provisions contained in a law enacted in February 2006. The children could even be subject to criminal penalties.

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 includes punitive new restrictions on the ability of the elderly to transfer assets before qualifying for Medicaid coverage of nursing home care. Essentially, the law attempts to save the Medicaid program money by shifting more of the cost of long-term care to families and nursing homes.

One of the major ways it does this is by changing the start of the penalty period for transferred assets from the date of transfer, to the date when the individual would qualify for Medicaid coverage of nursing home care if not for the transfer. In other words, the penalty period does not begin until the nursing home resident is out of funds, meaning there is no money to pay the nursing home for however long the penalty period lasts. (For the details, click here.)

With enactment of the law, advocates for the elderly predict that nursing homes will likely be flooded with residents who need care but have no way to pay for it. In states that have so-called "filial responsibility laws," the nursing homes may seek reimbursement from the residents' children. These rarely-enforced laws, which are on the books in 29 states (the figure was 30 but Connecticut's statute has since been repealed), hold adult children responsible for financial support of indigent parents and, in some cases, medical and nursing home costs.

For example ,Pennsylvania recently re-enacted its law making children liable for the financial support of their indigent parents. Jeffrey A. Marshall, an ElderLawAnswers member attorney in Williamsport, Pa., says the new Medicaid law could trigger a wave of lawsuits involving adult children.

"Litigation between nursing homes and children is likely to flourish," Marshall writes in the Jan. 20, 2006, issue of his firm's Elder Care Law Alert. "Nursing homes will sue children who will counter-sue for sub-standard care."

According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, 21 states allow a civil court action to obtain financial support or cost recovery, 12 states impose criminal penalties for filial nonsupport, and three states allow both civil and criminal actions.
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Yes they can make you pay, if you forgot to write POA after your name when you signed her in. Read what you signed.
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Only if the person who is Power of Attorney had signed the admittance paperwork using their name without adding POA after their name.

I know when I had to sign for my Mom when she went into long-term-care, it was explained to me that I would not be responsible if I added POA after my name.

Also check with Medicaid to see what is the process if the patient had passed before approval, would the nursing home still be paid.
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