Process to place only parent in a nursing home

(winston-salem, nc)

What is the process to place an ailing mother in a nursing home. How can she become eligible for medicaid? Please help me to understand what needs to be done.

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Sep 28, 2010
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Medicaid Qualification Basics
by: Gabriel Heiser

There are both financial and medical qualifications for a person to qualify to receive Medicaid coverage of nursing home bills. In most cases, the medical qualification will not be a problem, assuming your mother really needs nursing home care.

As to the financial tests, a single person cannot have more than $2,000 in countable assets and cannot have income that exceeds the cost of nursing home care. Certain assets are exempt or non-countable, such as the personal residence (the home, if any), one car, and most personal property and furniture. Once a person has reduced their assets sufficiently to qualify, they will need to apply for Medicaid coverage at the state office that handles Medicaid applications. You will need to call them for an appointment and find out what information you need to bring with you.

If a person has too much money or other assets, then it may be possible to reduce their countable assets through various planning techniques including gifting, purchasing exempt assets, purchasing a "Medicaid annuity," using a special kind of IOU (promissory note), etc. Some techniques are not available in certain states, so to be safe, you should always consult an experienced elder law attorney before making gifts, deeding your house, etc.

For good general information on the rules of Medicaid eligibility as well as a thorough discussion of many planning techniques to save money, see my book, "How to Protect Your Family's Assets from Devastating Nursing Home Costs: Medicaid Secrets" (available at www.MedicaidSecrets.com).

Good luck!

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