Medicaid in Florida nursing home to assisted living or to home. My father-in-law is in a New Port Richey, FL nursing home, has exceeded his 100 Medicare days, has applied for Medicaid and is pending. If Medicaid is approved and he were to improve and be discharged and moved to a nearby assisted living facility and maybe eventually home, would Medicaid "follow" him. If so would he reapply? What does Medicaid cover if he moves home? A friend of his is working with social services at the nursing home but we are not getting a clear picture of what would or could happen.
Why does it matter right now? It sounds like at this moment, he needs to be in the facility where he is, and they are willing to keep him there as a " medicaid pending " patient. Put your energies into getting the application done correctly so that he gets approved with no snags or delays.
I agree with Babalou that your focus now needs to be on getting all the paperwork done and submitted so FIL will be eligible for Medicaid (that is, Florida's program that administers Medicaid.)
Yes, the eligibility will "follow" him. He will not need to reapply -- but there is an annual renewal form whether he stays in one place or moves. If he suddenly inherits a large sum of money then he may not be eligible, but it would not be dependent on where he is getting care.
His friend would not have to sell her house, but should think carefully about how she will maintain it, pay insurance, taxes, etc. Would she rent it out?
Yes, FIL would have to reapply for Medicaid in a different state. Once he has gathered all the information for the original application, another application should be easy.
Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care Program (SMMC LTC). The county social services or any Assisted Living facility should be able to answer some questions about it. From what I read online, it appears that Florida now offers financial help for those who qualify for Assisted Living and in home care, depending on what is needed. That makes sense with what you have already been told.
It sounds similar to NC's Special Assistance program that covers cost for Assisted Living for those who need it per doctor's orders.
There could be issues with BCBS payments down the road. Like 6 mos to a year to 18 mos later. What seems to happen is that once the Blues find out they are medicaid eligible, the blues will cancel or suspend coverage. They will clawback payments made to vendors paid. As the Medicaid Pending & application process can take several months, the blues could be paying for all sorts of costs from PT, OT, ambulance service, etc during the lengthy application process. Medicaud -once aporoved - pays retroactively. So Blues can clawback any payments made by them within the retroactive period. Vendors will need to rebill to Medicaid to get paid at Medicaid rates. If they don't participate in Medicaid, they will bill the elder and their DPOA.
It can get pretty sticky to deal with.