Mom is in a skilled nursing center in Michigan and on Medicaid. She has been on Medicaid for more than five years. She receives Social Security and pays all but $60 a month to her care. She has no other bills so her account accrues the $60 every month and is now over the limit by $500. Her son, my husband, is her DPA. I do all of her laundry and take her to her appointments and handle her paperwork. We need to get her balance below $2000 and keep it there. Any thoughts?
How can you get it under the limit now? As long as the money is spent on Mom, just about anything goes. Does she have a pre-paid funeral arrangement? Would it be good to increase that a bit? Would she like a more deluxe wheelchair than the facility provides? How about a wardrobe update? (Maybe replace all the things that the laundry has shrunk with nice pre-shrunk items.) Get a nice birdfeeding station to put outside her window.
If her dementia makes her unable to pick anything out for herself at all, it is still fine to spend her money on things for her. And they can be as fun and frivolous as you think she will like.
Buy special treats for your mom, get her new clothes, new teeth, glasses or whatever she needs.
Do not pay more to the facility, use if for mom.
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