If Mom is living in her own house, with an existing mortgage, can she continue to pay bills at the same rate, such as mortgage?? She will need help paying for home-care a few hours a day when all her savings is gone. However, her monthly lifetime benefits (SS and retirement acct) are currently paying for supplemental insurance, mortgage, utilities, food etc. Will she have to live in a cheaper place to be eligible for Medicaid so they can use more of her income to pay for services? Her mortgage is about $1000/mo. What if it was $20,000/mo? If she spends it each month, she will still be below the $2,000 limit, right?
When you run into trouble is if a parent gives money to a child or pays a child's bills, etc. Then such transfers are considered gifts, and can cause a period of disqualification from receiving Medicaid, i.e., a penalty period, assuming the applicant applies for Medicaid within the next 5 years.
She will continue to receive $2500/mo the rest of her life from SS and PERS (CA retirment system). Am I correct that, if/when she is accepted on Medicaid, she can spend $1999 per month, every month, on whatever she wants (such as mortgage and utilities), as long as she continues to live at home?
I assume the remaining $500/mo will go to pay for whatever medical care is not already covered by Medicare and her supplemental insurance. In this case, the care she needs help paying for is Home Care as long as she is living at home.
I also assume the entire $2500/mo goes with her when she has to move to an Adult Family Home, Assisted Living or a Nursing Home.
Am I on the right track? Again, thank you. I never seem to have the right questions ready when meeting with the lawyer, so don't get the answers I need.