Should I gift parents assets before she needs medicare facility?

OK....I think as a CG myself for 7 years now, I am as sympathetic/empathetic as anyone else on this forum BUT way back when my Mom's decline became evident, I made a point of educating myself in every way possible re: options, programs, dementia, etc.....so....rms....sorry, but your post exhibits 2 of my biggest pet peeves....therefore, I apologise if this seems harsh, BUT...

#1. You are obviously literate and have access to the internet. Do you seriously not have even a basic understanding of the difference between Medicare and Medicaid??? Or....do you not understand either program?.... Pet Peeve: So many posters who do not understand that these are 2 different programs and even use both terms interchangably....

#2. Related to #1......Cannot agree more strongly with Mistyanne7 who was exactly right and to-the-point.....Pet Peeve: Posters who want to "take" and "enjoy" their so-called inheritance (which really does not exist until the LO is dead and gone) NOW....and then have Medicaid (taxpayers) pay for care for their LO. Esp. a recent poster who gloated about how their father took out some huge reverse mtg. (worth more than now actual value of house and apparently before 5 year look back) gave all proceeds to his kids, then applied for Medicaid.....seriously??!!

OK, rms....in fairness, at least you asked first. But do yourself a favor and at least learn the difference between Medicare and Medicaid.

No, first, as flyer stated Medicaid has a 5 year look back policy. But, and I think more importantly, it's wrong, essentially you are asking if you should try to keep your parents money that should be used for their care and instead use taxpayer money to care for them. That $20k won't go very far if they need nursing care, but that's what should be used before the taxpayers are asked to pay.

Do you mean Medicaid? With Medicaid helping your parents pay for care, Medicaid will look back 5 years to see what your parents did with their money. If Medicaid sees that your parents had "gifted" assets to others, that will be a red flag for them, thus medicaid could disqualify your parents for a number of months.... thus your parents would need to be self-pay if they go into a continuing care facility.