Hello, up to how much money can my mom withdraw each month from her account without Medicaid asking or initiating an audit on her account. We live in New Jersey and can she gift up to $10,000 to family members without being penalized? Thirdly, my husband takes care of my mom 5 days a week and I take full care of her at nights and on the weekend. She lives in my home and my husband has been unemployed for 1 1/2 years and is too busy taking care of mom to even focus on looking for work anymore, because she's a full time job. He now wants to know instead of hiring a care provider, why can't he get paid from Medicaid for her care since he's been doing it for 3 years now and so have I. It will also be cheaper this way since Home Care for the elderly runs around $25-30 per hour, and she needs round the clock care.
Thank you
As Becky said, MEDICAID is a government program to assist the indigent/poor. Your mom would have never qualified for this assistance if she has enough money in the bank to "gift" $10,000. to anyone. If she lied about her assets and gets caught, she will have to repay what they have spent on her until it's all paid back. Are you sure you mean Medicaid? Usually you have to give a bank statement to apply.
I don't know about other states but California has a program for poor people needing caregivers called IHSS (In Home Support Services). You must first qualify and apply for the state funded health insurance for the poor called Medi-Cal to get IHSS.
As the would-be caregiver, you will need to take a one day course and pay $36. to be fingerprinted. The family member signs your time card and you send it in. The agency will decide how many hours of care she's entitled to (so how many hours you will work). (The first assessment is always too low-ask for a repeat assessment and the care hours will increase). Again, this is a program for the POOR. If your mother has $10,000. or more, she will not qualify for any program until she "spends down" her money to under $2000. You will need to show receipts for what the money was spent on and it must relate to her care.
The government can't pick up the tab for everyone. We are sometimes forced to care for our loved ones without compensation. In my case, my mother had too much money in the bank (by a small margin) and made too much money per month (by $400.) to qualify for Medi-Cal (Medicaid). I tried caring for her in my home but she was too confused and heavy for me to properly care for her. My only recourse was a memory care facility in Tijuana, Mexico (we live there), where the care is affordable. That's not going to work for most people however. Lots of folks on this board are "stuck" caring for their folks at home with no compensation and draining their savings while doing so.
Yes. And often for years and years. Sometimes they expect something at the end, only to find out that there is nothing left, they've been cut out of the will, or a sibling has stolen the money.
Look at the bright side, though. Your mother has money, so can pay you and your husband for taking care of her. And don't forget to charge for room and board, utilities, etc. Consult an elder attorney.
It's not fair that you've provided care for free for three years, but neither is it fair to expect the taxpayers to pay you, when your mother has money. (And that's why it is not allowed by Medicaid.)
An alternative is to let (make?) a sibling take on the job. Do you have siblings? You should all share equally in your mother's care.
Lots of info on the link.