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Thanks for listening and I'd appreciate any advice. A nursing home resident on Medicaid normally spends the $50 she's allowed to keep each month, but lately she's not spending anything due to the pandemic (and the flu prior to that.) In house hair salon is closed due to social distancing. Nursing home outings are cancelled for the time being and facility is on lockdown. There's nothing to spend money on right now and she's approaching her asset limit of $2000 as a result. She does not need clothes or personal care items right now. Any ideas on what else she's allowed to spend money on in order to stay below the limit? Nursing home is telling me the funds can be spent on "anything." I am not so sure. Can I give a $10 gift to each grandchild or something like that just to get rid of the money? Even that would only be a temporary fix since every month she gets to keep an additional $50.

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I am a Power of Attorney for someone in a nursing home and faced the same situation many times. There is NO family so I did not want to endanger her losing the money. I had arrangements made to have several donations in honor of her in her name sent to her favorite charities. That is perfectly legal and acceptable. The charities can use the funds. She does not lose the extra money and she is helping where it is truly needed. Problem solved.
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PNA can only be spent on the person it is for. You need to show a receipt to the person who handles the accounts at the NH to receive payment. This is if NH is payee. If you are handling the PNA, it should be going to the acct her cap is in. Medicaid asks for copies of statements at time of yearly re-application. They may question any money taken out of her acct. Even the cap your allowed (2k) can only be spent on her. Once your on Medicaid no gifts can be given.

I would call her caseworker at Medicaid and run this by them. They may allow the overage under the circumstances.
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worriedinCali Apr 2020
Medicaid isn’t going to question small withdrawals. Especially if her accounts stays under the $2k limit. If it does, they aren’t going to look at anything because she’s allowed $2k and it can be spent on literally anything she wants.
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Have you paid for her funeral? If not, I would start making payments towards it. Mum has already paid for her cremation and when step dad died 18 months ago he had paid for his. It makes life much easier.
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Is it possible to use these funds on some type gift card for her to use later? Just curious as we never had to do this for my parents.

I do like the getting the hair done and leaving a nice tip for the stylist. Anyone who is willing to work in a NH or AL facility deserves a big tip!
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Houseplant102 Sep 2020
Not sure what state the nursing home is in your situation. My spouse's snf in did not allow the resident to hand a tip to the hairdresser. The rule was couched as funds could only be used directly for the resident's benefit. A tip to the hairdresser was considered a tip. A tip was then a gift. He was not allowed to gift anyone - including buying a family member or visitor a cup of coffee. Rules are established to prevent fraud and taking advantage of the elderly, but they can also be carried out to the extreme.
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Well meaning people have tried electronics to help keep her connected and busy, but she forgets how to use them and then thinks items are "broken" or she's too embarrassed to admit she forgot how to use (or even forgot she had the electronic in the first place). Step by step cheat sheets either get thrown out or she claims she followed the instructions "exactly" but the tablet/laptop/etc still isn't working. Even her wall phone is too much sometimes - trying to use it when it's unplugged, blaming other people for the fact that it's unplugged, forgetting area codes, not entering the right number of digits to make a call.... it's been fun!
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Iamstillhere Apr 2020
We put our numbers on speed dial. It helps caregivers to just push a number for mom. Also posted the speed dial numbers they know when she wants to call her grand daughter it is #6.
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About the robe she won't wear b/c it's "too nice"...

Remove it for a while so she'll forget about it...

Then launder it so it doesn't look brand new...

Later, take it back to her and say you have "this robe that doesn't quite fit you right, but it's so pretty that you'd like her to have it, so it won't go to waste."
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One of the local ladies is making quilts and wall hangings with dogs on them as well as masks, and she's giving her profits to the local dog shelter. I have bought several lap robes from her with mthr's money for mther. Mthr was a big dog lover and if she were in her right mind, she'd love to support this cause. By buying goods from local craftsmen, you would be helping the local economy as well as keeping your mother's balances lower. Even etsy purchases would help.
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Isthisrealyreal Apr 2020
Wonderful idea!
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Why not purchase items - on line that she could use later? Personal items, food, a new pair of shoes. I wouldn't think it would be hard to use $50 a month for something she could really use - either now or in the future.
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consider a comfortable chair, comfortable pillows decorations for her room, curtains, a air mattress, favorite food and snacks that can be frozen at your house, games, activity books, journals, pens, subscriptions to magazines, stationary, greeting cards, fancy cell phone, iPad, radio, camera, upgrade wheelchair, price of getting pictures printed, tv, cable, internet, cost of attorney to get legal documents drawn up, cost of notary public, a portrait of her paid for her now for the future, all things she may need in the future that can be stored for later. I don’t know if you can buy gift certificates but if you can that would be good. I know that Christmas presents are allowed.

Good luck.
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You could spend it through Amazon for items that don't have an expiry date, e.g. some toothpastes, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, etc.
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