How to move mom from her home to AL and from self pay to assistance?

Thank you for the advice.. it just seems like i am stuck in the middle of having a few months of funds to self pay, but needing to find assistance for long term. And the timing is everything. Trying to keep her in her home for as long as she can, but making sure she is still safe when she is there alone.

@jeanne: That's fantastic--around here, its difficult to find placement in AL that accepts Medicaid right off. Its almost an "unwritten rule"; if you're in the process of either waiting for community Medicaid approval or very close to needing to apply for AL costs, most facilities won't even consider admission. They operate under the assumption that until there is a guaranteed payer source in place, they won't get paid. Its a vicious cycle sometimes.

I guess it does depend on where you live. We found a very suitable assisted living facility that accepted Medicaid from day one. Contacting the Senior Help Line or Agency on Aging or whatever is available in your state might be a good place to start the search.

Depending on where you live and the particular assisted living facility, even those that accept Medicaid are typically looking for residents who have the ability to pay privately for at least one year before having to apply for the Medicaid benefit. I would be cautious about how much of her resources you tap into if she's that close to needing placement and already nearing Medicaid level.

Sometimes families can work out a third party agreement with assisted living facilities. In other words, if the resident doesn't have quite enough in private funds to make rent for more than a few months, the family can sign an agreement to supplement the difference between the resident's monthly income and what's owed to the assisted living facility. The agreement serves to guarantee private payment for a specific amount of time and this may make the difference in being accepted for residency. I'm not saying its a fair option or even feasible for everyone, but something to keep in the back of your mind if you start running into issues getting mom placed.

Look into applying for Medicaid. Start looking at appropriate assisted living facilities. Ask if they accept Medicaid. Ask if there is a requirement for a certain length of self-pay before they accept Medicaid. Find one that will work for your mother. This might take a lot of research and looking, but it can be done!

Then consider whether "spending down" some or all of mother's resources would be a good idea, instead of spending it all on self-pay might be a good idea. Once she is on Medicaid she will have a very small personal allowance each month. Building up her wardrobe, buying a five-year subscription to her favorite magazines, getting new glasses and having her hearing tested, etc. would be the kind of things it would make sense to spend her money on, especially if you find a place that takes Medicaid right from the beginning.