My wife has Lewy Body Dementia and I am not in good health myself. I feel like I can no longer look after her and myself, we are both on Social Security and Medicare. I know I cannot afford a Nursing Home without some kind of help, is there a procedure I should follow to apply for Medicaid?
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/1979altc_127331_7.pdf
It should take you to a leaflet called "Access to Long-Term Care - Know Your Options."
The leaflet gives various toll-free telephone numbers, including the Department of Human Services who should be able to point you in the right direction.
This is another link to a county-by-county map of the local offices for the Department of Health & Human Services. Your local office should be able to guide you through the Medicaid application process, apparently.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-73970_5461---,00.html
Mstrbill below gave you a good, concise answer and I will give you a longer one. I see you are in MI. I'm in MN and would like to share our experience with getting Medicaid to pay for my MIL's LTC.
Medicaid's "look back" period is 5 yrs in MN. It may be that in MI or it could be shorter, like 3 yrs. I think speaking with an elder care attorney or financial advisor is good to do before you start the process or call social services. To qualify in MN you basically need to have nothing except SS. They will allow for owning a house (which they will come for after you and your wife pass in order to pay for the care you received. They will take into consideration any preexisting medical bills you can't pay, if you have any.
Care facilities usually have very limited numbers of Medicaid rooms (this means they are shared rooms, not private). Not every place accepts Medicaid so make sure you ask this question early in your conversation. The residents that are already in a facility get "first dibs" at these beds when they come available. Therefore, there may be a waiting list and you will need to check at every place you consider to see if there's a wait. So, if you are on Medicaid before you try to get placement, you are a very low priority. With my MIL we paid for 2 months of private healthcare insurance out of our own pockets so the facility took her in right away. Then we applied for Medicaid. When she qualified, there were no open rooms so our family had to pay the difference between the private rm cost and Medicaid, $650 p/mo. Eventually she got her Medicaid room and we no longer had to cover the private part. We recently moved her to a new larger facility and they had no waiting list.
When you look for a care facility, make sure they have a spectrum of care, i.e. independent living all the way to hospice so you aren't displaced at the worst possible time. Some places don't have hospice, fyi.
Once you speak with an eldercare attorney and have your affairs in order, call social services for your county and they will come out and evaluate your situation. They will help you get services in-home until you find a landing spot. Other than the shared room, my MIL gets the same care as the residents paying out of pocket, so don't be afraid to find a great place. They cannot kick you out once you go on Medicaid unless they do not accept Medicaid residents. Wishing you much success in getting the best solutions for you and your LO!