My mom is on Medicaid in a nursing home in Florida. We deposit all her income into a qualified income trust except the $130 she is allowed to keep. Each month we pay the the nursing home from the qualified trust but this month she did not get a bill from the nursing home as she was in the hospital for several weeks and is now in rehab. Do we still need to put all the income in the trust. There are expenses we would like to recoup such as legal fees for the qualifying trust, dentures and the initial money we had to front my mother to pay part of the first month. Also she has unpaid prior bills that we have or are paying. What exactly can be paid out of the trust?
Before you spend any money, you should contact the NH to find out what's up and talk to your Medicaid contact and ask them how it works if you don't put all of her check in the trust. It could cause problems with her Medicaid coverage, which you want to avoid.
You really should not depend on any advice from anyone, talk to the powers that be. They deal with these issues all the time and know your state specific rules and regulations.
I am betting that it is a mute point, the NH will want paid for her bed unless she has been moved out. Hospital stays don't stop the rent, unless she is no longer a resident, which you should find out about in case you need to be planning.