Social Security - Representative Payee

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just go into the office and show you have POA, or are managing the money. Very easy to do. I didn't realize I needed to do it and was just managing the money. The nursing home without telling me, became the rep payee and whenI realized it, I just went in, told them what happened, showed them paperwork that I was managing it, my BC, my marriage certificate, my husband's information as it was my MIL/how we were related and they did it.

Only issue is you need a new bank account as you as the payee and not all banks will do payee accounts.

is the issue just the DC office? is there a better office to go to? they literally turned me away and refused to let me apply.

i've spent 100,000 of my own money on her memory care, in the grand scheme of things this is just noise, but i want her to have the payment she is owed because i'm running out of money i can throw at this.

The white oak office. You need to apply for long term care Medicaid to pay for the nursing home I’d she has no money.

yes, that is the plan. since my dad died i've got another year of runway to continue paying for private memory care while being on a waitlist for a facility that accepts medicaid; the increased social security payment over that year would cover a few more months. She's been on hospice for a year so really it's anyones guess how long I actually have with her, but I have to plan as if she'll still be with us in a year.

I am not getting it. Find a bed now. It's not easy but it's doable. If she's on hospice try something like Casey House through Montgomery Hospice.

DP. OP’s mother would have to meet the criteria for inpatient hospice (versus home hospice) to go to a place like Casey House. Her death would have to be imminent, or she would have to require a level of clinical care that could not be managed at home. The length of stay is usually fairly short. It does not sound like OP’s mother would meet that criteria.

Also - it is not easy to find a Medicaid bed from the community. The easiest way is to go to a skilled nursing facility for short-term rehab after a hospitalization, and then transition to a long-term care bed in the facility. It would have to be a facility that has not only long-term beds available, but a Medicaid bed in particular. But with OP’s mother living in the community, there is definitely a waiting list (unless the memory care is part of a CCRC that has LTC beds - that makes the process so much easier).

OP, you could also pay privately for nursing home care, and then eventually transition to LTC Medicaid when the funds run out.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I should start my own thread to ask but what is a Representative Payee and how does that differ from having control over the finances through a POA. I looked at the SS website and still don’t really understand the difference. Can someone summarize like I’m in kindergarten?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I am not getting it. Find a bed now. It's not easy but it's doable. If she's on hospice try something like Casey House through Montgomery Hospice.

DP. OP’s mother would have to meet the criteria for inpatient hospice (versus home hospice) to go to a place like Casey House. Her death would have to be imminent, or she would have to require a level of clinical care that could not be managed at home. The length of stay is usually fairly short. It does not sound like OP’s mother would meet that criteria.

Also - it is not easy to find a Medicaid bed from the community. The easiest way is to go to a skilled nursing facility for short-term rehab after a hospitalization, and then transition to a long-term care bed in the facility. It would have to be a facility that has not only long-term beds available, but a Medicaid bed in particular. But with OP’s mother living in the community, there is definitely a waiting list (unless the memory care is part of a CCRC that has LTC beds - that makes the process so much easier).

OP, you could also pay privately for nursing home care, and then eventually transition to LTC Medicaid when the funds run out.

all of this. first, we are in the district. second, while casey house is a wonderful service for imminent end-of-life, she doesn't meet that criteria. third, transfers are very traumatic, and her current facility is great, they are just private-pay only. so yes, a transfer to a dc medicaid facility will happen while she can still private pay, and then apply for LTC medicaid in the spend-down period. in an ideal scenario she would be able to pass in her current facility. but planning for that is impossible. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I should start my own thread to ask but what is a Representative Payee and how does that differ from having control over the finances through a POA. I looked at the SS website and still don’t really understand the difference. Can someone summarize like I’m in kindergarten?

basically, as long as you have control of the finances and you never have to deal with social security for anything-- replacement card, change of marriage status, change of living status, change of benefit-- you can safely ignore this.

if your loved one ends up in a SNF, some of them by default will apply for guardianship and representative payee status in order to redirect all the funds directly to them, and that is bad if they still have any assets because guardianship generally invalidates the poa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I should start my own thread to ask but what is a Representative Payee and how does that differ from having control over the finances through a POA. I looked at the SS website and still don’t really understand the difference. Can someone summarize like I’m in kindergarten?

SS does not accept POA.