How much money can I deposit in my fathers bank account before Medicaid will take it to pay down his monthly assisted living?

To qualify for Medicaid for nursing home care, an individual applicant may have no more than a total of $2,000 in liquid assets. Certain items are exempt from this calculation (car, personal property, jewelry, etc.). Thus, it is a good idea to keep the bank account balance a bit under $2,000 at all times.

I think you have to be careful putting extra money into any account.

The reason I say this is because Medicaid is paying for your father's care. To gain approval for Medicaid, the assets of your dad had to have been spent down, and all of his income would go towards his care with the exception of the monthly "allowance" of $90. Since Medicaid is paid by the taxpayers, and he qualified because there wasn't any more money to pay, then if money appears in his account over the $90 allowance Medicaid wants that money to go for his care...not for random spending. This $90 limit was placed by the state, so that they can be sure that there isn't money hiding somewhere that could be used for his care.

If you want to spend money on him, buy things for him and bring the items to the nursing home. This will allow you to provide him with some comforts he cannot afford on the $90 without causing Medicaid to re-examine his approval and possibly stop paying for his care.

Angel

I found some excellent articles regarding Medicaid. Go to the blue bar near the top of this page.... click on MONEY & LEGAL... now click on MEDICARE & MEDICAID.... scroll through the articles.

Every state is different, meppy69. It is very critical that you check with the proper authorities of your father's state, because if you have too much in his account, your father might run the risk of losing his Medicaid. Like I say, it is critical that you know the proper answer for the state in which HE resides.

Each state has different criteria, but it's not that they will "take" the money. What they will do is "not pay" the Medicaid that he's supposed to receive. If they stop paying it can get complicated to get things going again.

You're actually allowed to have up to around $2000 in your bank account. Medicaid cannot touch your bank account but they can cut your coverage if you go over the limit.

Medicaid doesn't "take" the money, but you'll have to spend it on things for your dad - a monthly haircut, favorite snacks, new clothes or shoes. If his bank account gets above the state limit, Medicaid can stop paying their portion of his expenses until you spend back down. We were careful to no let our LO's bank account get above the limit, and would "spend down" every so often to ensure our LO had what was needed without it coming from our pocket.

Meppy - $ 90 a mo is his "personal needs allowance", amt varies by state.
? How is dad paying his copay or his SOC (share of cost)?
Is it that dad still has has checking account which gets his SS & other retirement, and you as his DPOA or dad writes a check to the NH for his SOC?
OR is dads monthly income being sent directly to the facility and they have establish a personal needs trust account in his name at the NH where the $ 90 goes into each month?

If its he pays from his bank account, you need to keep it such that it starts & ends each month under 2k so no issues if his state does a annual Medicaid renewal /re-eligibility and he needs to send in a few months of bank statements.

If its an at the NH kitty, you need to regularly go to the business office and sign off to withdraw some of the $ and buy him stuff. It also can be set up to draw every week for barber shop. Again all this is about keeping it under 2k.

There was a post awhile back from a DPOA who's mom's PNA @ the NH had built up to over 3k . DPOA didn't pay attention to it & was fuzzy on Medicaid rules. Anyways the NH went & ordered a fancy walker which depleted almost all the $$. Their rationale as that if this hadn't been done it would jeapordize medicaid. DPOA was pissed as she would have spent $ differently......
So it's important to pay attention to the $.

It varies state to state. In Colorado if a person is single they cannot have more than $2,000 total in assets. If they go over that they no longer financially qualify for Medicaid. They typically will have their patient portion which is also depends not upon of they're married or single. If single, ut will be any and all income less $77.25/month. If there's a spouse in the community then it is case by case.

My Aunt was on Medicaid for her health insurance and was only allowed 1500 in her account. She took 500 for repairs on her car. Medicaid called her and asked her why she withdrew the money. She explained and she was told not to deduct anything from that account until she got permission. They watch your account so like suggested, call Medicaid.