been sick myself for the last 5 years and I would hve a very difficult time caring for her 24/7. I do make sure that she sees her family doctor on a routine basis as well as her neurologist and cardiologist.
Her only income is her Medicare payment once a month and about $50-$100 per month from my dads former employer. Her home is paid for in full.
She has about $150,000 total in various bank accounts that are in her name AND my name.
Can you tell me how the costs of her nursing home care would be taken care of? What are the steps ?
Wayne
I was in your situation only 5 years ago. I learned that you will have to pay from her cash assets to cover the cost of her care. If the housing market is in the dumps as it is in other parts of the US. and you run out of cash, you may not be forced to sell her home. I learned that there is a form that allows the state to take over the cost of her care, as long as the house is listed for sale. They will place a lein on her property to cover the cost of care, which will be less than private pay, and will be paid upon the sale. of the properlty. Under no curcumstances should you take out a personal loan to cover the costs of her long term care, as I was advised to do. Use her cash assets, and find a good Elder Care attorney that is experienced in long term care planning.
I also learnd never to allow a care giver into mine or Dad's homes without a monitoring system in place. Care givers literally bagged up our personal belongings and took them home with them at night. There are cameras which can be connected to your home computer at a minimal cost, and certainly much less costly than losing all of your personal belongings. I even made the cameras visible. It sure made a difference. I have posted my personal experiences with elder care on my website www.PhoenixAgent.com, click on the elder resources link to learn more about the common tactics used by Facilities and providers to increase profits and cut down on costs. Don't become a secondary victim to the elder care system.
Generally speaking, the nursing home cost will need to be paid out of her assets. Once the assets are "spent down" (if she lives that long), she will qualify for Medicaid. You should look at getting some legal advice about this, but in a nutshell, if she has any money to speak of, she'll have to pay the bill.
Since her home is paid for, that may have to be sold as she has no spouse living there (that would only have to be done as money runs down). Anyway, legal advice is always best. So much depends on how long she lives in the nursing home.
Good luck. It's painful business, but it is business and must be done properly. Attorneys can be helpful in guiding you. You can check with your State Bar Association if you don't know who to ask.
Carol
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