Question about home health care...

Medicare only pays for homecare if ordered by a doctor and usually after a hospital stay. Like said, once your considered well, that homecare stops.

Medicaid would help with Homecare if MIL hits the criteria.

Peg, I am surprised your Mom-in-law has part-time Aides to help her via Medicare. Or is it Medicaid? I know both terms can be confusing. Usually Medicare only pays for Intermittent skilled nursing care. And for physical therapy and/or occupational therapy for a limited time.

Too bad your Mom-in-law gave away her money already. That money [depending on how much she gave away] could have been used for Assisted Living where she could choose what facility she would like. But 4 years ago, probably she nor anyone else was thinking that far ahead. It's not uncommon for parents to hand out some funds to grown children and to grandchildren before hand. Growing old is a sticker shock.

Thank goodness for Medicaid [which is different from Medicare] as Medicaid will pay for room/board and care at a nursing home. Since Mom has no money left, except probably social security, she would need to wait for those 5 years to pass before she can even apply for Medicaid nursing home care. Each State runs their own Medicaid division, thus their own regulations and programs.

Medicare will pay only if it's for a treatable, improvable condition. They won't pay for care for say Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. Hopefully MIL can hang on until she's outside the lookback period, I would be proactive and get her bank statements and find out exactly when you can apply her for Medicaid.