Can I get help with gas costs going to visit my mother? Will Medicaid frown upon that if I use her funds to pay for gas?

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Can I get help with gas costs going to visit my mother? Will Medicaid frown upon that if I use her funds to pay for gas?

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I visit my mother every other day at her nursing home. She is in a facility that is 30 minutes away. The amount I spend on gas is starting to pile up. I am her Power of Attorney and eventually I will need to apply for Medicaid to keep her in the nursing home. We are having to spend down her money and it will be several months before we can start applying. I don't want anything to hurt her chances of being approved. I feel horrible about this but would I be able to get gas help through my mother's money. I don't want to visit less. I feel like my presence so often at the nursing home helps with the care she gets.

Care Plan Medicaid Paying for Care

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Probably not. Visits by family are viewed as being part of filial duty. It would probably be seen as gifting. If it’s a hardship now what will happen when she is on Medicaid with no help for you? Is there anywhere closer if you visit so often and can’t afford it.

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I wish there was somewhere closer or I would have put her there. She needs a locked unit and this was the closest. I have no idea what will happen, I will find the money somewhere. I wanted to see if anyone had any knowledge on this which is why I asked on this forum.

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Medicaid would definitely not excuse her for paying for your travel expenses. It would be seen as gifting. If family wants to visit, it’s at their expense. That said, they aren’t going to look at small withdrawls on her account and question them so I don’t think her paying for your gas would even come to light when you apply for Medicaid on her behalf. You said she needs a lock down unit though so I must ask-is she still mentally competent? Are you her POA and is the POA activated?

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She has been declared mentally incompetent and her POA has been activated.

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If you are her financial PoA and she has an ATM card, you can make cash withdrawals to compensate yourself.

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How much are you wanting to take? When Medicaid looks at the bank statements, it will show that you have withdrawn money. Which would be okay If the money was being spent on your Mom & you had the receipts to prove where it went. Even if you are POA, Spending money this way would be helping you, not her.

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I am not wanting to take money. I do not withdraw money from her accounts for myself. I was asking about gas costs and spoke to a lawyer who said it was fine as long as I kept a track of my mileage.

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Your attorney is right. As her POA, you can recoup your costs of caring for her needs and making sure she is taken care of in the best way. Your visits are vital for this. Just keep good records in case they are requested during the Medicaid application. More than likely, amounts for your travel expense to visit as POA will not be questioned.

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Ask a lawyer and use Mom's money to pay for it.
I believe you will find you can be paid to be her POA, but not exactly that, you can be paid to do her accounting, etc. You can use that money for gas. If she was at home and you were in charge of her care it would be more flexible but because you are not actually physically caring for her it's more touchy.
Have you prepaid her funeral?
If not, please do, it is money allowed to be used pre-medicaid but you can't get it back if it's gone.

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Keep all Receipts, Bu t Yes, This is an Expense dealing with Her.

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Not really considered a POA activity to go visiting.

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Records and receipts. Talk with an attorney. You might be able to claim on taxes if not have her "pay" for your gas.

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While my mother lived with me she paid me to be her caregiver as well as contributing to household expenses. I stopped accepting money from her when she went to the NH, I visited my mom every day because I was her daughter, it had nothing to do with the fact I was her POA.

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I understand that you can be reimbursed for gas used to take your mother to her medical appointments but I doubt that Medicaid would consider reimbursing you for the gas you use to visit her. How often you visit her is your choice, whether or not you are her POA. I am sorry you have a long drive, however, as a taxpayer, I'm afraid I would not want my tax dollars to go for a task that I consider to be the free choice of the person performing it.

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I haven't dealt with Medicaid and the rules do vary by state (as do POA documents - some indicate payment for "services" performed, some do not specify.) Although Medicaid might view payment for gas as gifting, my understanding is that she would have to cover those amounts before any Medicaid money is provided. Some have mentioned payment for your "services" as POA. If your documents and attorney say you can get paid for doing the work needed (assumption is you still manage her financials, as NH would cover most medical), you could "pay" yourself and use that money.

So, assuming they consider any of it gifting, how much would that amount to in the end? Keep receipts and if they reject payments made for gas or "services", you'll just have to kick that amount in if/when she goes on Medicaid.

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Many people get a small amount for being POA - here it is usual for .01% of person's net worth so that you would get for example $200 per month for handling $200,000 - this is how I did it so that from that money I paid for gas, having to get a cell phone, her treats etc with a bit left over for an odd lunch at McDonalds - check with a bank or other what is usual where you live

I felt that I earned every penny of it with the additional work load [hours of paperwork etc] because I kept track of time & I got about 1/2 minimum wage so she got a bargain - however this small amount also kept me from being resentful of time & money it cost me .... that alone is priceless

So start paying yourself a small amount for POA fees that cover what you need & possibly back date it to Jan 2019 for past expenses if you feel justified in this - I wrote a cheque to myself with "POA fees May" on it so that you can show a proper paper trail

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Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of options when the money runs out. You want to put your loved one in a nice facility but all the nice ones have little budgeting for Medicaid. Sad.

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Go ask the medicaid worker who will transfer her from private pay to Medicaid. They can tell you, for your state, what is considered a gift and what is considered 'penalty' withdrawals from her account. It is very possible that you are going to get varied responses here based on what state the replier lives in. They can also advise you on what kind of paperwork, receipts you need to be keeping when they review the 5 year look back period of what happened with her money.

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I can only speak to my own situation. I live on Long Island and my mother lived in NJ. It was a 2 1/2 to 3 hour trip each way, with hefty tolls. I kept records of mileage, gas, and tolls and wrote a check for the amount from my mother's account as I was POA. When it came time to submit for Medicaid, NJ Medicaid gave me no trouble at all about the expenses. Again, this ONLY applies to NJ. Each state has very different regulations about what is permissible and what is non-permissible.

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I absorbed most of the cost of gasoline. However, when I took mom or dad to medical appointment and they offered gas money I accepted it. It maintained their dignity and I was grateful.

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Well we were dumb to Medicaid. Both parent's prob will get penalties substantially. Mom withdrawing cash every mnth of 500$ to have cash on hand is looked at " gifting" . We didnt save reciepts. Or know to. An some of it went for xmas gifts yo grandkids! Then paying me weekly by check an we even put " for caregiving" on it is looked at as hiding money. An Im co-owner (the bank suggested that in 2015 due to parents health so if it cane to it I could close acct or move it!) An that is frowned upon by Medicaid an all the checks to me for taking care of them fir 7 yrs. Not even a caregiver agreement is gonna help in Tx. So significant penalties of prob a yr. I was so upset an thought we were doing rt. Or just didnt know. So my suggestions. Dont withdraw cash. Dont write checks to family members unless there is solid proof of what money went for (pic an reciepts). Keep reciepts. Dont combine accts into one if parents move in with u or vice versa. Totally seperate. An if buy anything while living together with parent, make separate list of needs an pay fr their acct in checks or credit card an keep reciepts. Not cash. Its hard to even tell when one should even start doing this. All it takes is a significant illness or if one parent needs nursing home an other doesn't an parents are down to 30,000$ plus S.S. income. Like mine. The NH parent may QUALIFY but the lookback is ruthless in Texas. Even if one parent gets granted Medicaid an is on it, they do a " trial period " of one yr where Medicaid will look into accts again with fine tooth comb lookin for any reason to boot off. If you have forgotten something an they find it an deem it gifting they will penalize an kick NH parent off Medicaid which forces Parent out of NH an the bill of however many mths the parent was in NH on Medicaid is the couple or family responsibility to pay back! Until penalty period over again. Its kinda picky. So watch where money goes or see elder care atty soon as you can. Each state is diff. My Mom would have been " community spouse " she would have gotten her S.S. an Dads an whats in acct. But all the withdraws an checks to me look bad esp since I was co- owner on their acct. We did everything wrong. Unfortunately Dad is on Hospice now in a Group Home. He has gotten worse. Goodluck. See lawyer.

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I spoke with an Elder Affairs attorney. Worth every bit of time and money.

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Elder law attorney could give you your best answer.

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You are probably better off taking a little money each month for POA activity, making MD appts, and taking her perhaps or whatever else you on her behalf. Take that instead of gas money and keep records. Failing that, perhaps she does not need to be visited every other day, especially if you have problems paying for gas. You can see a lot of opinions here about what is okay. It varies state by state so you are better off using her money to do an attorney consultation that will help you make all the right decisions. that cost can be paid for my her funds but keep records.

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Sancheza....

It appears you have had your question answered.

Now I have a question for you. Have you considered investigating legal ways to transfer funds away from your mother prior to application for Medicaid so there will be funds to support her while receiving benefits?

The particular methods available will vary by state. In Florida there are several methods available to my clients including transferring funds to a Supplemental Needs Pooled Trust, establishing and funding a Personal Care Agreement, purchasing an interest in a pooled income producing real estate arrangement.

All of these methods DO NOT result in the incursion of a Medicaid eligibility penalty (aka "5 year look back").

Please seriously consider this as you will certainly need funds for mom's support while she is on Medicaid. The above arrangements will provide for that.

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Funds set aside for her support still could not be used for daughters gas could they? I’m a CPA in PA and have never seen this done by a family.

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I am from Massachusetts - was told by elder care attorney - could not be reimbursed for gas. A lot of doctors appts & attorney visits.... Still waiting for Medicare approval, process has been going on for almost 2 years....

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Not allowed in Pennsylvania

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I've I've been driving back and forth from Rhode Island to Mass and I've never heard of Akhenaten expenses like that paid through Medicaid I don't believe that falls on their responsibility. Their responsibility would be to your mom and to your mom only. I understand how you feel I spent a small fortune in the past 7 years back and forth. But I wouldn't change a thing I've always been there for her and will continue to be if money becomes a problem then I'll deal with it when it happens but the Lord has always provided for me and my mom.

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She’s not asking for Medicaid to pay those expenses. She’s asking if using her moms money to reimburse her travel expenses will affect Medicaid eligibility.

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Can I get help with gas costs going to visit my mother? Will Medicaid frown upon that if I use her funds to pay for gas?

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