Does a resident family member (with POA) have to pay nursing home, when resident can't?

What's Title 19?

I'd like to add some very recent advice to all as this is what happened to us. Although a little out of the ordinary here's the story..

My husband and I purchased my parent's house on a Land Contract three years ago. Never missed a payment.

Being that my dad's savings were beginning to become depleted, we followed Medicaid guidelines and spent down all life insurance policies, annuites, etc. ALL for his care as any funds spent on any one elses behalf would be considered a divestment.

After Medicare decided to stop paying for my dad's stay at the nursing facility, we have paid out of pocket for well over a year. Recently applied for Medicaid since Dad is spent down.

Here's the kicker. Since we bought my parent's property on a 10 year Land Contract and being three years into it..Medicaid denied my dad benefits. Their reasoning was that the Land Contract won't be paid in his lifetime according to their "statistics", and thus, they're considering two years a divestment.

They are giving us two options: Get a loan and pay off the property (which we are in the process of doing); AND in addition, claim a hardship, meaning that the nursing home my dad is currently in start eviction processes; in addition to giving him alternate places to live, including Assisted Living, etc. These places don't count on Medicaid for their payments, but on County Insurance, which would take my dad BACK to Assisted Living where many of the staff isn't even qualified by the State to give care. My dad has BEEN there and there is no staff even qualified to take care of the elderly.

Of couse this will never be the route we'll take for my dad as we'll simply take out a loan, pay the house off, and will use it for Dad's care until he's below the $2000 Medicaid point. However, the way they want us to go about it regarding claiming a hardship with the nursing facility starting eviction while giving us lousy options for my dad's care including Assisted Living and County Insurance while not getting to choose his providers is absolutely ludacrist!!

I have an insurance background and have done much of my homework regarding all of this. As a family we cashed out all of my dad's life insurance policies, annuties, etc. We did as we were told. However, knowing what I know now..we could have done it differently while keeping some of my dad's assets.

Nobody but nobody would tell me any of this, although I did my homework. We had to purchase a Funeral Trust, etc., which we did. We paid full value for the house regarding the Land Contract, in addition to a 3% interest. We paid down all my dad's assets for his care and didn't spend any of it on anything but dad's care.

So all of a sudden Medicaid came along and denied my dad benefits because of a loophole they found that "Statistics say that he won't live long enough to collect the full payment of the house.." and thus, that is a divestment.

Just a few month ago I read over and over again that if family made an error regarding making a divestment, it would be taken out of the estate. We would have been happy to pay Uncle Sam two more years of Land Contract payments if that's what they wanted, but now..we'll just get a loan and pay all dad's bills off.

Badda Bing..Badda Boom!! Ya gotcher money!!

The Social Worker that I worked with was soo very nice until Dad was denied. Then she became very cold to all my questions finally being answered as she rattled everyone off. It was like the Holy Grail to her.

My question was, "Why did I have to search underneath every single rock on the face of this earth to get answers on what I can and can't do regarding all the rules..and then once my dad gets denied..you can rattle them off like the Holy Grail??"

Good Lord, it still makes me angry when she told me, "Well, Medicaid isn't for everybody."

Of course not..especially for those that have worked and saved all their lives and thanfully for the ones who love them; outlive their savings. What makes me the angriest is that just becuse my dad sold the hosue to me, his daugter..you know the rest..he gets penalized.