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jjariz, the facility says that if we take her home (as she insists), they will send out a visiting nurse and Protective Services will make a visit to make sure the home is safe. It is not, as my sister works 8+ hours a day and has a total of 2 hours commute and mom is immobile and cannot get off the couch. The current facility does accept Medicaid but my mom doesn't think that she qualifies. I urged my sister to make the application and see what happens. I am afraid that she will wait until she spends down and has nothing and won't have the where-with-all to urge my mom to apply. At this point I am even wondering if my mom is competent. She has no insight or is just pushing back so hard that she cannot see that the situation can get far worse if she doesn't speak to a social worker right now. This is just information gathering. At this point I feel like I am caring about this more than my other two sisters who have a 'wait-and-see' attitude about who is going to help them. Even though I live half-way across the country, I wake up at night in a cold sweat scared of what is going to happen to my mom and my sister who has sacrificed her quality of life caring for my mother, because she cannot say 'no' to her and get her to plan for her future.
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"But my main question was 'what recourse do we have if mom will not apply for Medicaid but doesn't have the funds to private pay for more than 20 days?'"

They will pressure the family to take her in or discharge her to her house if they believe her to be safe. If the current facility doesn't take Medicaid, she will be evicted and the state will begin the process of guardianship and place her in a Medicaid-pending facility.  You should meet with the social worker at the care facility ASAP to discuss all of this.  You have more choices NOW before this occurs.
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OK, I am beginning to understand. I thought that Medicaid would take the home when she applied to Medicaid but now I understand that won't happen until her death, correct? My sister would not be able to afford those expenses, true. But my main question was 'what recourse do we have if mom will not apply for Medicaid but doesn't have the funds to private pay for more than 20 days?' She still thinks she is going home but it is not safe to do so as I believe the house is in such ill repair that significant changes would have to be made in order to get in home health care and my sister cannot afford that. Can my sister who is POA apply for Medicaid on her behalf and does mom need to give her permission to apply on her behalf? I'm afraid she will not agree. Can long-term care dismiss her if she has not applied for Medicaid and runs out of funds?
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Optimist1 - the suggestion to sell the house is because while Medicaid won't pursue the house until after your mom's death - your mom will not have enough money to pay the taxes, insurance, utilities, and upkeep on the house. Most of her money (less about $60-$100 per month for personal items) will go to the nursing home as her Share of Cost. Medicaid will pay the rest. Who is going to pay all of the expenses on the house when your mom cannot?
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I am not sure if sis has POA. And don't they take home to pay for care if she spends down to pay for NH? She has little financial assets and will probably qualify for Medicaid after less than a month of self pay. My dad was a veteran so she gets a pension and SS and has Tricare and two other insurance policies. Sister lives in home now but I thought Medicaid would take home to pay for moms nursing home bill. Is this incorrect? Sis has only lived there 5 months, not the 5 yrs required for the house to be considered untouchable for use as payment for NH.
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Who has Medical and financial POA? If you you can apply. The rehab can evaluate Mom for LTC. They can help u with forms. Medicaid will put a lean against the house at time of death. I would suggest selling the house unless sister is willing to pay the taxes, utilities and upkeep. Mom cannot pay for these things once she is on Medicaid. You will need to look into your sister being able to live there.
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