My mother in law was in a memory care center and on elder waivers.
Her brother died and left her about $10,000 for an inheritance. It was enough money to take her off of elder waivers and then got kicked out of the memory care because it only paid for 1 month. We are not able to apply for elder waivers for a whole year. She is living with my sister in law but it is getting to be too much for her to do, What are our options
Take care,
Carol
There should also be a State Ombudsman for Long Term Care. Contact that office ASAP
Good Luck
The medicaid requirement of a 5 year lookback into all financials; the surrender requirement of any insurance policies with cash value; and MERP aka estate recovery were all placed into law by the 2006 Deficit Reduction Act which Republican President Bush administration heavily promoted and Bush signed into law 3/02/2006. The states then took anywhere from a few months to 5 years to sign it into law.
MERP as it is an after death recovery is very much interdependent on existing state probate laws as to how it can be done & how family can position themselves. What seems to be the situation - anecdotally as all this is too young for hard data- is that family are probate & attorney adverse so do not open probate so house defaults to recovery; family do not respond to the MERP intent letters so the house defaults to recovery; family cannot provide the documents required for exemptions or exclusions so house defaults to recovery. Once that happens and a claim or a lien placed on the property, it cannot be sold to anyone who needs title insurance as per their mortgage lender without the claim or lien lifted by settlement with MERP. Often family is unaware of MERPs claim or lien till they get to closing and title co search shows the MERP claim or lien.
Right now 1/3 of states have outside contractors who do MERP. Two main ones - PCG & HMS - both get a % of the recovery (from 12% -18%), plus fees. Interest varies (most 9%).
There are folks on this site who have dealt with MERP - 1 had a low value home (mid 30's value) & about 1/2 that in documented expenses who settled the claim for 4k; another is in NYS and going long view to ignore the lien for another decade so outside any statute of limitations but they are continuing to pay property taxes and other minimal on the property for the decade.
One of the issues with MERP is that at the time DRA was policy developed (2000-2005), real estate was totally a go-go....houses selling for way way over value. Folks with low income could get a house way way beyond what realitically they could afford. Homes often had deficiencies titally overlooked as there would easily be an underwriter who would take the paper. Grannies house could sell with plenty $ to go to family AND pay MERP. Everybody gets $$$$$$!
Not at all what the housing market is now.
DRA 2006 Bush.
Further, my situation is that my husband never saved any money.We never lived " high on the hog" He just didn't make much. He was dead broke 3 years ago.No pensions or IRA. Even though I should have divorced him, I did the Christian thing and stuck it out, so now, while my husband is in a nursing home and I am paying $ 14,000. a month out of my savings, which is $ 168,000. per year. I also worked for 40 years at customer service in my own business ( and we have no pensions to rely on and my husband has no IRA) working on my feet about12-14 hours a day and worked to age 72 until my back gave out. and yes, I did save my money ( thank God) or we would be on welfare already! So unless you are a multi millionaire, tell me how long you could shell out $ 168,000 a year plus my own living expenses. Very few people could do that- if they could, how come 90% of the people are on welfare in nursing homes? I think it is unfair that I should end up in poverty just because my husband got sick and I had to use all my money and in the end, if I need care, I will be on Title 19 - and yes, there is a difference. In my husband's home, all Title 19 people are put in double or triple occupancy rooms , There are way too many people out there who illegitimately milk the system and so those of us who saved and saved and played by the rules get to end up in poverty. I just thought you should know more specifics since you think I am getting a " free lunch" Look at all the people who never worked, never saved and are bums and living off the government. I am very very angry about that.
I think a fairer way to do it would be to divide a couple's assets in half when one enters a nursing home. the community spouse would then have money to live on and stay in his or her home and the other one would pay till his share of the money runs out, That way the government pays for only 1 person on welfare, not 2. Are you aware a lot of states do it just that way. Not WI. As I stated, our seniors are on the second lowest rung of the economic ladder do to the state government. The federal government has no jurisdiction over the state of WI.
Perhaps now you will understand how upsetting this is and why I am angry. EK
You are right- I am angry that some idiot like him gets on Title 19 and I, who have worked all my life, saved all my life, never asked a thing from anybody will be forced to lose all I had and go on Title 19. The system is all wrong. Those who lived life correctly, saved their money, but could not ever have enough to pay for Title 19 are losing out and all those bums out there and kids who owe tons of money for all their " gadgets"- which by the way, I still have just a flip phone, and until last year still had " dial up" on my 20 year old computer. Trust me, I am not the person you assumed I was in your first post.
So let's agree that we agree and that unfortunately, since my husband never saved any money and I was nice enough to stick it out with him through physical and emotional abuse, I am in a unique situation that because of him, I will end up in poverty, through no fault of my own and have every right to be angry that I am the victim in this situation. EK
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