If Mother dies does Medicaid gets the house for home expense. My mother is in a home in Tucker, Ga. My sister has power of attorney. Medicade gets the house when mother dies. Medicade paying most of the home she is in. My sister rented the house out for $500 a month. With medicade having a lean on the house. Can my sister rent out the house?
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What is required is for the state -through MERP - to do an attempt of recovery of the costs paid by medicaid from any assets of the deceased estate. Whether this is a claim or a lien placed after death depends on your states laws. If they are on medicaid, their only after death asset will be their home & car as they have impoverished themselves to even get onto medicaid. Some states allow for lien placement upon enrollment in medicaid but having a lein doesn't keep you from doing things with the property, the lein just means that the lein (or claim) will have to be lifted in order for house to be sold or transfer ownership. Renting doesnt involve ownership.
How MERP runs depends on your states laws. The state of GA website has pretty well done info on MERP and it's outside contractor/HMS who does MERP. Realize that all states have exemptions and exclusions to MERP & have to do a cost benefit analysis on persuing a claim or lien. If the executor does probate, that makes a difference in how & what is done as well. A high value home close to the limits allowed by medicaid (500k or 750k) or a very low value home probably can be kept by family if family does probate & has costs on property.
As DPOA Sissy can rent out the house if the DPOA allows for all financial.
Mom being on medicaid is required to do a copay of almost all her income to the NH. Mom has no-none-nada-zilch of $ to pay on anything on the house. But there are still taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc needed to be paid for on the exempt house. Sissy, I imagine, does not have the $ to pay the house costs so is renting it @ $500 a mo to cover those costs. If moms monthly income (her SS & retirement) and the rent paid less house costs are within whatever GA has set as maximum income $ amount, then mom is probably good for Medicaid income limit.
I don't know if GA does an annual renewal for Medicaid, but for my mom on TX medicaid if she had rented out her home, the rental income would need to have been reported in the renewal along with rental agreement. Sissy needs to be reporting the rental situation to medicaid.
$ 500 a month is really low for rent. Rents need to be FMV (fair market value) to be ok for Medicaid. It can be rented to family but needs to be FMV rent. Is this an old, old house small house with low property value in a less than ideal neighborhood??
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