My mom was approved for Medicaid last week. The place she’s in is saying she owes $21,000 and had 2 weeks to pay or they're going to kick her out. They know that she’s out of money because the home took everything in her accounts. I need help.
Contact Medicaid. Like said, the may retro her back. They also cannot do an "unsafe" discharge. You can call the State Ombudsman and get them involved.
For those who go into a NH private pay, you need to apply for Medicaid 90days before the money runs out. By the time u need to apply for medicaid, the person should be pretty much spent down and definitely will be in that 90 day window. A house is exempt as is a car. Me, I went to Medicaid and sat down with a caseworker while he put the info into the computer. I was given a list of things I needed to do within that 90 days or you have to reapply. With my Mom, I applied for Medicaid in April, she privately paid May and June. June I confirmed the CW had all he needed and showed Mom was spent down. July 1st Medicaid started. Never trust a NH to do what is needed. A Social Worker has to really know the ins and outs of Medicaid. I am that person who trusts no one to do their jobs so I do as much as I can and keep involved in the process.
We had a situation where our mother was initially admitted to a NH as private pay. The NH Financial Office stated up front they would assist us in our Medicaid application when her funds ran out. We alerted them multiple times in advance that her funds were almost gone by 'X' date - and when should we submit the Medicaid application? The SW dragged her feet and submitted it weeks after we provided her with our documents. Then she held back sending in all our documents missing Medicaid deadlines. After multiple Medicaid denial letters (x4) asking for our same details - we asked SW WHY?? as we passed her bank statements that she DID NOT forward to the Medicaid office. Then SW stated we would be penalized for not getting Medicaid approval and have to pay. That was when my sister contacted Medicaid directly and found out this SW was causing all the delays and massive confusion to everyone. We resent all documents to Medicaid DIRECTLY and were approved within 2 weeks.
The NH tried to bill us for the gap period before SW submitted our Medicaid application. We contacted Medicaid and told them what the NH was doing and was told our mother is now on Medicaid - she has no more money. period.
VERY IMPORTANT - Medicaid goes by the date the application was received and NOT the date Medicaid was approved. This was the game our NH was playing billing us to get us to pay more money for 3 months before Medicaid approval - which was $15K per month!! The NH Finance office screwed up and we had proof that they were paid almost $200K from the time our mother entered as private pay. They were blood suckers looking to get more money out of my sister and I. We sold our mother's house previously to pay for the NH - there was NO estate left - not a penny - NOTHING LEFT.
This is going to be me and it is so frustrating. I had to place my dad in SNF in June. Currently getting his home ready to sell and it will bankrupt him if he lives longer than a couple more years. He and my mom wanted me to have the house, not gonna happen. I hate how our system is so broken that elders have to go bankrupt and lose everything to get decent care.
Call adult protection services and get a state social worker involved. They won't kick her to the curb if she's in a nursing home. Also, Medicaid pays retroactively, so tell the finance person at the NH to contact the state Medicaid office.
When did you find out about this enormous bill? At the time you discussed discharge?
That's like 3 months of care---but you know that.
Well, they cannot get blood out of a turnip. You could consult a lawyer if you don't get clear answers from the NH.
Whatever you do--don't YOU pay this. It's mom's responsibility. Maybe they're deep diving for some unknown source of funds? Or hoping YOU pony it up.
Sit down with the director and have a meeting of the minds. This is something that should have been known when mom went in to the facility. I'm sorry you're dealing with it now.
For those who go into a NH private pay, you need to apply for Medicaid 90days before the money runs out. By the time u need to apply for medicaid, the person should be pretty much spent down and definitely will be in that 90 day window. A house is exempt as is a car. Me, I went to Medicaid and sat down with a caseworker while he put the info into the computer. I was given a list of things I needed to do within that 90 days or you have to reapply. With my Mom, I applied for Medicaid in April, she privately paid May and June. June I confirmed the CW had all he needed and showed Mom was spent down. July 1st Medicaid started. Never trust a NH to do what is needed. A Social Worker has to really know the ins and outs of Medicaid. I am that person who trusts no one to do their jobs so I do as much as I can and keep involved in the process.
The NH tried to bill us for the gap period before SW submitted our Medicaid application. We contacted Medicaid and told them what the NH was doing and was told our mother is now on Medicaid - she has no more money. period.
VERY IMPORTANT - Medicaid goes by the date the application was received and NOT the date Medicaid was approved. This was the game our NH was playing billing us to get us to pay more money for 3 months before Medicaid approval - which was $15K per month!! The NH Finance office screwed up and we had proof that they were paid almost $200K from the time our mother entered as private pay. They were blood suckers looking to get more money out of my sister and I. We sold our mother's house previously to pay for the NH - there was NO estate left - not a penny - NOTHING LEFT.
That's like 3 months of care---but you know that.
Well, they cannot get blood out of a turnip. You could consult a lawyer if you don't get clear answers from the NH.
Whatever you do--don't YOU pay this. It's mom's responsibility. Maybe they're deep diving for some unknown source of funds? Or hoping YOU pony it up.
Sit down with the director and have a meeting of the minds. This is something that should have been known when mom went in to the facility. I'm sorry you're dealing with it now.