I prepaid by mothers funeral trust and now she is Medicaid eligible, can I repay myself?

Medicaid tends to look at whatever family does as done out of a sense of familial duty and done for free without compensation.

itll be be viewed that you on your own made a decision and that was to “choose” to pay for mom’s funeral preneed, her property taxes, her cats vet bills, etc.

to possibly get around this, you all would have needed to have done some type of a memo of understanding or promissory note with terms as to how repayment for things you paid for for her person or her property was to be done; AND drawn up before $ paid; AND signed, notarized & with witnesses. There would need to be something of value that can be collateralized from which the future payments would come from. SS as a source can’t work as it’s not collateral. It would need to be - in my experience- something she fully owned, like house or land or securities & that can be sold to repay. If on Medicaid, the only asset still available would be her home as that can be retained as an exempt asset for Medicaid.

You can challenge Medicaid on this and seek a waiver of some of the $ from her monthly income (like her SS$) that she’s required to pay to the NH each mo as her copay. Expect that to take months to go through whatever waiver & appeals system is set up for your state.......

the use of her personal needs allowance to repay you imho is kinda a Grey area to go into. In theory the PNA $ is to be used for things she needs that Medicaid does not pay for. Like getting weekly or bimonthly beauty shoppe visits or paying for an outing or replacement of clothing or toiletries or a large print magazine subscription sent to her at the NH. My mom’s PNA in TX was $60 a mo. $50-$60 seems to be standard. It realistically cannot cover stuff they need & you / family / friends end up paying for stuff or they go without. The beauty shoppe I’ve found is kinda important as they go in lil groups and gives ladies an opportunity to chat & know others away from the daily routine.

Talk to her Medicaid social worker.

I am curious who helped you with your application that you didn't understand that she didn't have any money and that is what makes her eligible, not outstanding debt.

Can you share so other's don't make the same mistake.

no

I had thought funeral trusts can be established any time and that they are not dictated by the 5 year rule or any of that. I submitted the funeral trust on the Medicaid application so to guarantee we could pay for it.

All her income goes towards her care. Medicaid requires SS and pensions to offset her care. Sorry.

No. At this time you can’t be reimbursed if she is on Medicaid and in a nursing home. All of her income is required to go to the nursing home. She no longer has the money to pay her outstanding debts.