I am running out of ideas as I spend down my mother’s condo profits so she stays medicaid eligible. Ideas?

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I am running out of ideas as I spend down my mother’s condo profits so she stays medicaid eligible. Ideas?

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I have purchased her a recliner that was defective so I had to send it back ( my 30 days is almost up); I have pre paid 4 funerals; bought her a makeup stand in the nursing home; bought her a winter coat, makeup etc; an I pad. There is still money left. Can I buy her gift cards to grocery stores? She loves popcorn and snacks.

Asset Limits Elder Law Medicaid Medicaid Spend Down Skilled Nursing Facility

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Surely the easiest and most appropriate way to spend down is to pay for care! M getting 'free' Medicaid care is not what the taxpayer needs.

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I am doing what Medicaid instructed me to do. I resent your comment.

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Why not self pay for your mothers care so she can be in a nicer facility, not pay for more funerals, which is IMO a total waste of money.

That is what the money should be used for, so we taxpayers don't have to pay for her care. Her money should be used for her not wasted.

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You are asking about "spending down my mother's condo profits".
I ASSUME that to mean that mom left her condo and entered a nursing home, and that you as POA have rented her condo out, thus throwing her into profit you cannot spend down.
If I am wrong, do fill us in.

If this condo of hers is getting ANYTHING appreciable in rental I don't see how you CAN spend it all down. As you said, you already did too many funerals pre-paid.

Are there repairs that have to be done to mom's condo?
That being one idea. Bump up the insurance on it. Do repairs that need doing. Hire a management company for it.

I think that it's now worth your time to go to an Elder Law Attorney (hey, if you are POA that is a LEGITIMATE expense in spending down).
You could also hire a fiduciary, licensed and on the up and up, and if you are POA you can supervise that person's doing a lot of work that you simply oversee. Will save you from a lot of record keeping, but you still are responsible as the POA, so careful does it.

Not an easy question, but hoping the attorney has some options for you.

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Be very careful with how the spend down is done as certain purchases will send up red flags to Medicaid which will cause Medicaid to question the purchase/purchases. An example of which is a representative payee sent in a receipt to Medicaid as part of the spend down plan which showed that they made a one-time purchase of $275.00 in pizza. (It seemed that the purchaser had a pizza party). This sent up a big red flag to Medicaid.

My advice to you is to speak to an elder law attorney who has experience with Medicaid who will explain to you what you can and cannot purchase as the spend down.

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Thank you

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I think my question was misunderstood. There are no monies for private pay and the condo was her only asset with a mortgage. She lives solely on social security so a $6,000 a month nursing home bill was not in her monthly budget along with her mortgage and other living expenses so the condo had to go on the market. Once sold, the mortgage was paid off. The profit was only enough to private pay for a “nice” nursing home for 8 months then she would have to reapply for Medicaid. Therefore instead of this Medicaid instructed me to spend down her profits to stay Medicaid eligible . She needs 24 hour care. I was only looking for spend down suggestions. I have consulted an elder attorney throughout this entire ordeal but thought I would reach out here for other options. Thank you for your time.

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How did Medicaid think u were going to spend down 8 months of care? You should have just paid privately and a couple of months before it was gone, reapplied to Medicaid. If you have a sizeable amount left, maybe just pay privately. When entering the NH my Mom only had 20k in the bank. I used that for 2 months of care andvthen Medicaid kicked in.

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Unfortunately she required Medicaid before her condo sold. There was no money for private pay. So bottom line Medicaid was already in place paying the enormous medical bills she had acquired after breaking her hip since she had Medicare Advantage and coverage was terrible. Also she had run up 20,000 dollars in credit care debt so creditors were knocking on her door. Before anyone judges one must understand the entire story. I asked a simple question that I am quickly regretting. Thank you to those who answered appropriately.

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Can you ask her attorney if she qualifies for a personal needs trust so that she has funds set aside for future needs?

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This is a great idea!

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after reading through the comments it sounds like tlyst is simply doing what Medicaid is telling OP to do, and while that is disturbing, based on my experience with on working with government agencies I believe it. They seem to want to spend taxpayer money as that justifies their jobs. Or, as others have suggested, they just think its too much work to fix it.

I have many examples but will not bore yall with them

Yes, profits on condo should be used for moms care rather than having taxpayers kick in until she truly is medicaid eligible. But this is going on system wide on state and federal level and that is a big problem that our leaders should be addressing. So its not just OP mother we are paying for, it is millions like that, people who are not yet in position to need help. They very well may be at a future point in time at which time we should be happy to help, but not until then.

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Thank you I think for your response. I wish I could retract my question. The nightmare I am living with my mother is hard enough and then to come here for guidance only to get “attacked “ has been very disappointing. I not a stupid person and I also pay my taxes. I am doing what Medicaid has instructed me to do since my mother cannot pay her bills and I certainly cannot. So I respectively ask for everyone to stop with their advice since no one can really completely understand my situation at all.

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Can you donate some to a worthy cause, like a hunger center?

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If the OP’s mother were to donate part of her condo profit to charity it would send up a huge red flag to Medicaid and she would be disqualified for benefits. If the OP’s mom had still owned the condo, Medicaid would have put a lien on the condo and upon the mom’s death Medicaid would have come looking to get repaid. What I believe the OP should do is put the money in a trust which Medicaid would put a lien on that trust and upon the OP’s mother’s death would recoup their money from that trust. The OP needs to consult with an elder law attorney who is experienced in the way Medicaid works.

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I encourage you to talk with an elder law attorney (see https://naela.org ) in your area. There are typically different strategies for addressing situations such as yours. It is best to start Medicaid planning before you need Medicaid because of the 5 year look back, but based on my conversations with a couple of attorneys, there still may be strategies for your mom. It will likely be worth a consultation.

This firm's site might be of use -- they are in Ohio.
https://www.jarvisfirm.com/areas-of-practice/ohio-medicaid-planning/

I am running out of ideas as I spend down my mother’s condo profits so she stays medicaid eligible. Ideas?

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