More info to get this question answered clearly:
1. He is 86 years old and single.
2. He lives alone in a rented house.
3. He has no assets other than $1500 in the bank.
I've done some research and discovered that his social security monthly check is above the poverty level and Medicaid is not going to be easy to obtain if he needs to live in a LTC facility.
Seems like a conundrum. If he had no family and no friends and his mental faculties diminished or he couldn't do 2 or more of the ADL's, how would he survive? Nursing homes start at around $3500 a month.
Anyone have any personal experience with this scenario?
At $3500 a month, you are probably looking at Assisted Living, not nursing homes, which run closer to $6000 a month (Medicaid rate) in Houston TX. So Medicaid would expect him to contribute his entire check, and they pay the rest.
You seem knowledgeable, but I need some official information on this and my web searches have not been very productive thus far.