while mom was visiting with us we decided that we wanted to remove her from nursing home and bring her home i called the facility and they said that she had to be at the nursing home to be discharged correctly i don't know alot about this discharge thing but that just doesn't sound right i just feel as if there trying to take money from her so there pro longing her stay there the man also said she wouldn't be ready for discharge untill friday. I also thought he medicaid paid for her stay there. the nursing facility gets her whole SSI check too dang i can't catch a break so that leaves me paying her pays on the outside
How do you plan to care for mom, with all of her issues, while going to school full time and trying to raise a grandchild?
I suggest you spend several whole days with mom at the nursing home BEFORE deciding whether or not to take her home with you. Visiting is one thing. Living with you fulltime is another, especially dealing with UTI, anxiety, stroke and other issues.
Wishing you the best of luck with all of this.
This is why they want to her back & discharge EOW. If she doesn’t do this, she can b regarded as leaving “AMA” against medical advice. That is the type of discharge report they will file by EOW on her. AMA in her file likely morphs into future issues.
As far as her monthly income, a NH under LTC Medicaid are paid a daily room&board fixed rate by the State for each resident. Required to do a copay of almost all her income (like SS$) to the NH under terms of LTC Medicaid program with sm amt as a needs allowance. Everyone at the NH as a custodial care resident under LTC Medicaid is doing this….. whether income only $900 in Social Security or $2400 a month from multiple income sources. (Fwiw maximum monthly income for most States is $2472 a mo for an individual to be ok for LTC Medicaid).
Going AMA can snowball into serious issues for both her AND you as her POA. Say she is being treated for a skin issue that was staph and being watched on becoming MRSA. That this determination was done by a MD, nursing staff, wound care team will all be included in her current chart at the NH and also into discharge reports. If concerns are significant, NH has to - HAS TO - write in the report that as it was AMA exiting so they recommend that APS / Adult Protective Services be considered to be contacted to do an in person visit to the individual’s new living situation to check appropriate conditions. APS gets a copy. If she’s post stroke, low vision & active wound care, APS can make visits to your home & at will, to see living conditions. This is something you should be aware is highly likely to happen by your doing this. Serious stuff. If your home has not be adapted for her needs, APS can find issues with how she’s living and remove her. It happens.
also by going AMA, it sometimes poses problems for future health insurance claims to be paid. She left / stopped her care plan before it finished. And now is back trying to get the care for the same condition she walked out on. Sometimes insurance won’t pay.
& should she need a NH in the future, going AMA is in her chart. Many NH try not to take this type of resident if they can help it.
Fwiw You didn't mention how NH was getting her SS income. If mom made NH her SSA representative payee, that will have to be changed back. Is NOT on the NH to do this. She will have to do this with SSA on her own as SSA does not recognize POA. Only after, can it be switched back to go into her old checking acct or new representative payee made. Could be weeks. Whether or not balance of the month is returned by NH will depend on admissions agreement she did when entering. By going AMA she violated terms of care & the contract. NH may charge a storage fee for her items or consider them abandoned. Whatever $ left in her personal needs account, sent to State Treasurer. Read over her/your POA copy of the admissions contract to see what’s allowed. By her or you signing admission paperwork, it’s terms accepted.
As far as you’re “paying her pays on the outside”. Once they become a LTC Medicaid resident in a facility, copay required. If they have credit cards or continue to keep their exempt-as-an-asset home, they will have basically no $ to pay on/for these. NH Medicaid does not care about debts, it is all about income (which has to be a copay)and nonexempt assets (which must be spent down to whatever the limit is for her State, most $2,000). Either family pays her debts or she defaults. LTC Medicaid by & large = impoverishment.
Not trying to be harsh, but going AMA can have serious ramifications.
As an aside… not using basic punctuation in your posts make it much more confusing and thus harder to give you any help because it is all thrown together and makes it harder to understand because it’s just like someone who talks and talks and the listener has a hard time understanding what you actually need and I’m not trying to be rude just saying to keep that in mind okay thanks
Taking care of her is going to be a difficult, time-consuming job that will exhaust you and leave you with little time or energy to live your own life. Your husband may tire of your home being a sickroom. Does he have any idea what it will be like? Do you?
Please consider this very carefully. This board is full of posts from people who have done exactly what you plan to do. It usually doesn't turn out well.
Your profile says that your mom is only 65 which is very young, but that she's had a stroke. Are you truly prepared to care for her, yourself, your husband and your grandchild without one or more suffering because you're being torn in too many directions?
And I truly hope you're not wanting to do it for her SSI check, as the way you've worded your post it makes me think you do.
Sometimes things sound good in theory, but when reality sets in that's a whole other story.
I would think long and hard before you make this life changing decision.
Are you POA for your mother? Do you know how to do that, all the record keeping involved? How did your Mom come to be on Medicaid without your understanding it was happening.
Will have to leave this to you, but I would take great care not to be accused of elder abuse. Some people take elders out of care in order to get their assets, savings, or SS. I am not saying that is YOUR intention; I am saying it does happen in the world of elder care. If the nursing home is worried about you they will contact authorities.
Clearly your mother has some possessions at the facility. How is it you have not gone there to do discharge papers with her, and to move her belongings?
I am I hope you as well, Thank you. If you can handle it, bring mom home.
The facility wants her back so they can do the discharge according to your state's laws and not get in trouble. Her decision to leave, you should have little to no issue making that happen.
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