Can anyone get in a nursing home?

Have a friend doing this: Does it take a lot of money to get in a nursing home? He has bad Diabetes and kidney problems and been falling a lot. He has SSI like around 700.00 a month. He in the state of Tennessee and he's on Tenncare. He never paid into Social Security.

Thanks for the help.
 

https://www.medicaidplanningassistance.org/medicaid-and-nursing-homes/

Medicaid does pay for nursing home care. However, there are stringent financial limits/requirements for one to qualify. You, basically, have to have zero assets. Any income will go directly to pay towards the nursing home costs. And... there is a "look back" time of 5-years. The "look back" will see if you have divested yourself of any assets/cash during the past 5 years. For instance, if you've handed children a few thousand dollars as a "gift" they will be held responsible to pay that back to Medicaid. You can't hide your money by gifting it to others so you qualify for Medicaid.

An aunt and uncle of my wife were put into a nursing home about 60 days ago. They own quite a bit of pasture land. When they pass, the heirs will have to cough up the Medicaid payback or the land will be sold to satisfy the debt. Medicaid is NOT a means for those who can financially afford some nursing home care to retain assets. It is meant for those who do not have the resources and be able to still receive the required care.
 
Almost everyone in a nursing home ends up on Medicaid, no average person can afford them on a permanent basis. Whatever they have is soon swallowed up. If you trust your kids, divest to them over 5 years. Put assets in their name carefully, you must really have to trust them.
 
From what I know about nursing homes, including my mother's entry into one, he would most likely have to be hospitalized first and his doctor recommend that he be sent to a facility. The rules might be different in different states though. He would probably be eligible for Medicaid. My mother paid cash up front (from an insurance payout she'd gotten after her brother's death) and when her money was running out, the account supervisor advised me as to how to make sure she qualified for Medicaid after that. The nursing home took all but about $35 of her SS check, which was actually less than your friend's. Her account was reimbursed for any personal items I purchased for her after presenting the receipts.
 
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Hi, Robert.
It's good to see you here.

About nursing homes;
To get into one, the most important thing is to have doctors say you must have it, and that it is the only way that your medical needs can be met.

Then, the things the others said here, in the posts above.
You can't have saved money, or own a lot of stuff, to get into a Medicaid nursing home bed.
Then, if you have both of those, the doctors and the lack of money, then there is the search for an available bed, in a place that does take Medicaid.
 
Yep, you have to meet medical criteria first. Then you have to qualify financially. As far as Medicaid is concerned you nearly have to be destitute (at least here in Texas) to qualify or if you have a bit of money saved up, you must spend it down to Medicaid's allowed guidelines. There are ways around this by establishing a trust. In Texas and perhaps elsewhere these are called Miller Trusts. Lawyers who specialize in "geriatric" law know how to go about setting up these trusts so they meet Medicare guidelines. It can be rather complicated. My family was in the process of setting up a trust for my mother but she died before the process was completed.
 
My mom was paying $8,000 a month out of pocket.

At first, Medicare paid for it because she was on rehab. But when it became obvious that the rehab wasn't helping her, Medicare quit paying and she went on private pay.

She lasted about 6 more months before she passed away.

All total, it cost her about $50,000.
 
Almost everyone in a nursing home ends up on Medicaid, no average person can afford them on a permanent basis. Whatever they have is soon swallowed up. If you trust your kids, divest to them over 5 years. Put assets in their name carefully, you must really have to trust them.
You could probably put bank accounts in your kids' names without telling them about it. Have all the monthly bank statements and 1099 IRS forms sent to your house and pay any taxes on owed on the interest.
 
You could probably put bank accounts in your kids' names without telling them about it. Have all the monthly bank statements and 1099 IRS forms sent to your house and pay any taxes on owed on the interest.
Thats not going to work at all. When they look back 5 years they look at EVERYTHING around those accounts. The Bank has to report everything to the IRS. You don't have to tell anybody anything. They follow those accounts, tax returns etc. I had a client that tried it even after I advised against it. He barely avoided prison. But paid hefty fines. In Texas you have to spend down everything to get Medicaid. Then try to find a decent home that even takes Medicaid.
 
Being that I was the daughter who lived quite a ways from where my mother was living; I had no say when my sisters decided to place Mom in a nursing home. @terry123 , you made a point by saying that one has to find a decent nursing home that takes Medicaid. The nursing home where Mom was placed is the ONLY home there and it is a horrible place. Nothing decent about it. I reported them to the State three times ... to no avail. Many incidents happened to my mom while there.

I am thankful that she is no longer suffering.

But, they sure did take her pitiful pension check. I hope I die before going into a nursing home.
 
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Speaking of nursing homes, if any of you have Netflix watch the movie "I Care A Lot". Will certainly get your attention.

19 year old granddaughter has worked in a local nursing home for three years. Yep! Got her CNA while a sophomore in high school and has worked there since. Getting burned out. Staffing shortages. Working numerous 12-hour shifts. Taking care of a number of residents while training new hires. The only reason she's sticking it out is they are assisting with her nursing school costs. Peed on. Pooped on. Called names while trying to comfort those who either don't want to be there or have no idea where they are. Dealing, at her age, with death and cleaning up the deceased before the funeral home arrives. The one she works at is highly rated and seems to do a good job with residents. Just cannot find adequate staff that will have the work ethic and caring attitude it takes in that setting.
 
Have a friend doing this: Does it take a lot of money to get in a nursing home? He has bad Diabetes and kidney problems and been falling a lot. He has SSI like around 700.00 a month. He in the state of Tennessee and he's on Tenncare. He never paid into Social Security.

Thanks for the help.
Since he obviously does not own any property (being on SSI, you can not have over $2000 in assets), the financial part would not be a problem for him. As for getting into one, IF he REALLY wants to do that, would have to talk to his doctor about it. I think if his doctor thought it was time for him to go into one, then he would most likely go onto a waiting list for the next bed available in his area.

He might be just tired of his problems and want to be taken care of or have it easier. I think he might change his mind once he gets into one. If I was him, I would call Adult Protective Services in his county and have them counsel him on doing such a drastic move. Having an aide (they are paid by Medicaid) assisting him and setting his home up to prevent falls may be an option for him. A nursing home should be the very last option for him.
 
Thats not going to work at all. When they look back 5 years they look at EVERYTHING around those accounts. The Bank has to report everything to the IRS. You don't have to tell anybody anything. They follow those accounts, tax returns etc. I had a client that tried it even after I advised against it. He barely avoided prison. But paid hefty fines. In Texas you have to spend down everything to get Medicaid. Then try to find a decent home that even takes Medicaid.
Yes, I know all about the 5 year look back period.

When my mom had to go into a nursing home, I familiarized myself very extensively on the subject of Medicaid eligibility, believe me.

She had a substantial amount of liquid assets, all of which she had my sister and me as the joint account holders on.

What I (obviously) meant was that you could do what i suggested several years (more than 5) before you were in need of long term nursing home care. Then, when Medicaid looked back 5 years into your finances, they'd see that the money had been transferred to your kids over 5 years prior.

Nothing illegal about that, afaik.
 
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It disturbs me to read how many people think the government (i.e., taxpayers) should bear nursing home costs for people who give away their assets specifically to dodge the financial responsibility of their own care.

I see nothing admirable about that position.
 


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