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Community spouse resource allowance is the phrase you probably heard for the first time this month. Maybe a hospital discharge planner said it. Maybe a nursing home business office said it. Either way, you are the adult child in the middle. One parent needs long-term care. The other parent still lives at home. And someone … Read more

medicaid penalty period is the phrase you probably heard from a nursing home business office, and it landed like a punch. Maybe your mother gave you money for a car three years ago. Maybe your father put the house in your name to “keep it simple.” Now he needs skilled nursing care, the application is … Read more

Miller trust is a phrase most families hear for the first time in a hallway, from a billing clerk, on a bad day. Your parent needs nursing home care. You filed the Medicaid application. Then someone told you the income is a few hundred dollars too high. That does not mean your parent can afford … Read more

medicaid look back period is probably a phrase you had never heard until a few weeks ago. Then your mother fell, or your father’s memory got worse, and a discharge planner said the words “long-term care Medicaid.” Now someone is asking for five years of bank statements. You are scared that a gift, a check … Read more

medicaid spend down rules are probably the reason your parent’s savings balance has become the most stressful number in your family. Maybe a hospital discharge planner said the words “nursing home.” Maybe your mother fell again. Someone likely told you Medicare will not pay for long-term custodial care. That part is true. Medicare covers short … Read more

Apply for medicaid for nursing home care is the search most adult children make on the worst week of their life. Your parent is in a hospital bed or a rehab room. Someone in a polo shirt just said Medicare days are running out. The facility’s business office handed you a folder and asked about … Read more

Medicaid vs private pay nursing home is the decision sitting in front of you right now. A discharge planner said your parent cannot go home safely. Someone handed you a rate sheet with a daily number on it. You are the adult child holding the folder, and nobody has explained the rules. Table of Contents … Read more

observation status vs inpatient is the difference that decides who pays for your parent’s rehab. Your parent went to the hospital. They stayed two nights. Someone mentioned a nursing home for recovery. Now a discharge planner says Medicare will not cover it. Nobody ever said the word “admitted.” That one word is the whole problem. … Read more

Can a nursing home take your savings? If an admissions coordinator or the business office told you this week that Mom “has too many assets” for Medicaid, your stomach dropped and that is the question you went home with. Here is the first thing to know. A nursing home does not decide Medicaid eligibility. Your … Read more