my mother in law will be running out of money soon and we will need to apply to medicaid. I am stressed about every cent that we spend because of the look back! She wants to give her grandkids and her 2 sons $50 each for Christmas...can we still do this? We have not filed yet. I know she is going to be upset if I tell her no..she is still in her right mind and she asked if I could get the cards and bring the checkbook..what should I do?
What about the $100 she gave to each of four family members every Christmas from 2005-2008?
Of course now she has $0 to give anybody this Christmas, they only let her have $50 a month, which doesn't even cover all of her prescriptions after the insurance pays. I took her to the dollar store and she found a few things to give her daughters and grandchildren, just to satisfy her that she had done something, and it helped her mood just to get out of the nursing home for a few hours.
Small gifts such as Christmas gifts totaling under $100 to all recipients should not be a problem in contemplation of applying for Medicaid.