Who is eligible for Medicaid and what is the process?
My brother with dementia has limited money from SS and no assets. He is presently living with his partner in her home and needs to get involved in a program offering stimulation and will eventually need to be placed into a facility for care.
Two things required. Financially impoverished and medically necessary. A doctor will have to sign that he requires skilled nursing care. As Joann said, it is state specific on financials. If he and his partner have been together awhile and the partner is dependent on brothers SS income, a visit to an elder attorney might be worth it. The community spouse (the partner if they married) might benefit. Otherwise brothers entire SS will go for his care. They would need to see a certified elder attorney well versed and experienced in Medicaid law for his state.
Does anyone have POA? Makes things easier. By partner do you mean they are not married? Because if not, she will lose his income if he gets on Medicaid.
Its just a matter of making an appt at you local Social Service office with a Medicaid caseworker. In my state the monthly income cap id ablittle more than 2300. As long as your brother is under that he will be OK.* Does he have any savings? Because this would need to be spent down to the cap allowed, in my state its 2k. Any bonds, shares, stocks, CDs, IRAs will need to be cashed in for his care. He can prepay for a funeral. But if all he has is his SS his application should be easy. Its just a matter of getting the paperwork together that is needed and finding a facility with an empty Medicaid bed. In my state you have 90days to do it all.
*If over the cap limit, there is a Miller Trust. Some states its known by a different name. It works this way, the cap is 2300 but brothers income is 2500 a month. The difference of 200 is put in the trust. At time odpf death, that money reverts back to Medicaid. There is a little more to it but that is the basics.
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Best wishes.
As Joann said, it is state specific on financials.
If he and his partner have been together awhile and the partner is dependent on brothers SS income, a visit to an elder attorney might be worth it. The community spouse (the partner if they married) might benefit. Otherwise brothers entire SS will go for his care.
They would need to see a certified elder attorney well versed and experienced in Medicaid law for his state.
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Its just a matter of making an appt at you local Social Service office with a Medicaid caseworker. In my state the monthly income cap id ablittle more than 2300. As long as your brother is under that he will be OK.*
Does he have any savings? Because this would need to be spent down to the cap allowed, in my state its 2k. Any bonds, shares, stocks, CDs, IRAs will need to be cashed in for his care. He can prepay for a funeral. But if all he has is his SS his application should be easy. Its just a matter of getting the paperwork together that is needed and finding a facility with an empty Medicaid bed. In my state you have 90days to do it all.
*If over the cap limit, there is a Miller Trust. Some states its known by a different name. It works this way, the cap is 2300 but brothers income is 2500 a month. The difference of 200 is put in the trust. At time odpf death, that money reverts back to Medicaid. There is a little more to it but that is the basics.