My Grandma (87) broke her shoulder and is at skilled rehab for the first time. If she needs to become a resident, do we keep Blue Cross 65?

Be careful about "spending down". See an eldercare attorney for estate planning.

In our state, when we applied for Medicaid for my brother in law we listed his Medicare supplement insurance as an expense. The DHS deducted that amount from his income in their calculation of what he needed to pay for his cost of care at the nursing home. I'd double check with your state's DHS and see what they'd advise based on their policies. Brother in law was paying for prescription drug plan, deducted from his social security, but after he went on Medicaid that got paid for through an "extra help" program for people on Medicaid. Of course the extra $$ from his social security went for his cost of care, but it's fair.

My 98 year old mother has BCBS Gold which is a supplemental and she is grandfathered into the plan, once it is cancelled she would never get it back, BCBS does not offer this type of plan any longer. the policy cost almost $900, and covers everything after Medicare. Be careful about canceling her policy until you get the facts. I would call Medicaid and discuss it with them but I would speak to the supervisor and It would not hurt to call Medicare as well to clarify things.

Medicaid will allow your grandmother to keep her insurance. But once she is in LTC on Medicaid, she probably won’t need her BCBS policy anymore, all her medical expenses should be paid between Medicaid and Medicare.

Imho, you may want to retain an elder law attorney.

In Massachusetts, people are allowed to keep their supplemental insurance and the premium amount is subtracted from the amount of their SS that goes to the nursing home so that the Blue Cross can be paid. Perhaps your state does the same. The liaison in the business office at the rehab/nursing home should be able to answer that question. In order for her to stay as a Long Term Care resident, she will have to medically qualify and she will need to be assessed to see if she is eligible to stay in long term care. If she has any extra assets, they can be used to prepay for funeral expenses before she goes onto Medicaid. Here in Mass. they also allow a burial account at a savings bank. That money cannot be withdrawn until the owner of the account dies. A death certificate must be produced. If she does apply for LTC Medicaid, you will also need to know of any life insurance policies that she may have. An elder law attorney can give you a list of what needs doing. Even if she doesn't qualify to stay and is instead sent home, now is a good time to learn about this process so that you aren't blindsided later. There is a lot to understand and it's good that you are thinking about it now.

My mother lives in a LTC facility in NYS and is on a Medicaid spend down to qualify for Medicaid to pay for her living there. She has a supplement plan to go with Medicare and the cost of Medicare and the supplement come off he income before the amount of the spendown is figured. Check with Social services about this. While they are busy they are very helpful. Once she is on Medicaid they will cover her medical expenses after Medicare pays but she will need a part D plan to cover her drugs. Medicaid told me they actually prefer clients keep their supplemental insurance since it saves them expenses.

Talk to lawyer in her state. He/She can give you the best advice.

Is she in a nursing home or assisted living? In Ohio most AL facilities don’t accept Medicaid unless the recipient has been a resident for 2 years? That includes Memory Care units in AL facilities.

social services, head of hospital, blue cross, SCAN, Medicaid, etc. lawyer. etc. her attorney, CPA, etc.