Reply to Paying for assisted living, can relative keep their house?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We had an elderly relative in this situation. Yes, you more or less have to liquidate all assets before you qualify for Medicaid, so she will need to sell the house to self-pay first. She can let Medicaid put a lien on it instead, as a PP noted, but it doesn't make much difference since any equity will be drained pretty quickly. There are a few workarounds if you plan far in advance, but there is a five-year look-back period (except in CA, where it is only 2.5 years for some reason) so if she is at the point of needing assisted living now, it isn't an option.[/quote]

Medicaid does not pay for assisted living.  It only pays for a nursing home.[/quote]

Not true. Many states use the waiver process to provide Medicaid covered home and community-based care as a cost-saving alternative to SNFs.[/quote]

Some states, not many and not MD.  We were offered community care after my MIL had been in a nursing home for a length of time but none of the good ones took medicaid.  They only offered us a few hours of care per week if she came to live with us again.  That wasn't doable as she needed 24/7 care nor did we have the house space.  MD mainly pays for nursing home care.  There is a waiver program for assisted living but the waitlist is 10-15 years so you have to plan (different program).  We've been on the list for 10 years and never gotten a call about it.

If you are married you can keep your house but they will put a lien on it.  Spouse at home can keep some assets and income.  You don't need to cheat the system if you are married.  The biggest issue at least in MD is you cannot get approved for medicaid/nursing home in less you are in a facility and if you cannot pay for a few months, few facilities will risk that income loss to take your loved one.[/quote]

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