In Maryland, there is a 7-year waiting list to get in home healthcare. My parent had to go into a nursing home after falling and cracking skull. Would have preferred in-home care, but waitlist was too long. I made sure hospital discharged to a Medicaid facility and we spent down assets until they qualified for Medicaid LTC.

Md does not pay assisted living, just nursing home. If she is an md resident you’d have to establish dc residency which would be hard prior to benefits.

Why can’t you just pay the condo fees? Too cheap to help out your old mother?

If you live in certain areas of DC your mom may qualify for this good medical house call program

https://www.medstarhealth.org/services/house-call-program#:~:text=To%20qualify%20for%20the%20MedStar,order%20to%20join%20the%20program

You should also check out what the medical requirements are to qualify for any support services. Even if your parent qualifies for Medicaid different states also have different levels of health (I.e how bad their health has to be) to qualify for something like home aide support, if it is even an option.

You should look at the district and each county in
MD that you are considering’s area agency on aging website (service can vary from county to county).

Another program you can look at is PACE. One is about to open in SE DC and there is also one in Baltimore (run by John’s Hopkins). I think MD is also in the process of opening more. To qualify, your parent would have to live in the program service area, qualify for Medicaid, and also be considered requiring nursing home level of support (the program is an alternative to a nursing home).

Good luck!

I don’t know how much support your mom needs but have you checked out bethesda metro area village? It’s basically a volunteer run org that help people trying to age in place.

The waitlist in MD is very long, I don't know that DC is any better, but my friend's mom has been on the list for almost a year, and if they don't get in within the next 4 months, will have to move to a medicaid nursing home (out of funds).

Which is better for a broke senior who could continue to live on her own with the right supports? We live in MD but only a mile from DC, so my mom could live in either. She has a small condo but can't afford the fees. Subsidized senior housing and help paying for a home health aid would be huge. I assume she'll have to spend down her assets from the sale of the condo before qualifying for help. She really really really doesn't want assisted living and can't afford it.