Can nursing home throw mom out if she doesn't have as much money as we thought?

My dad was able to stay in his nursing home while Medicaid was approving his application. I had to stay in touch with the facility's social worker, let her know the status of things, which I did. Once Medicaid was approved they would back-pay the facility from when his Medicare ran out.

As long as she was accepted as "Medicaid Pending" everything should be fine. Keep paying until there is no ability to pay. Then when the medicaid application is accepted, they will backpay the missing amount.

As far as throwing someone out in general...they are limited in this capacity also. Lets say that her Medicaid application is denied...and she has no more money (this would be rare but follow me here for a second). In this case, the facility has the legal right to remove her with notice...however they cannot just throw her into the street, they would have to ensure a safe place for her to go.

So, as a patient she has rights, and as a Medicaid Pending client she has rights. You should be well protected. Keep an eye on that Medicaid application and be sure to answer any of their document requests quickly.

Angel

From what I had read on the forums here, the long-term-care facility can keep your Mom while her Medicaid application is pending. Once accepted, the facility can get paid from Medicaid for the prior months during the wait.