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Well, my spouse was discharged from the hospital into a care home in the beginning of this month. He won't be coming home and is getting good (enough) care there. He doesn't like the food much but doesn't really know what he's eating anyway. He only likes ice cream.
It's been a long road and I've learned a lot along the way. Now I am navigating Medicare and Medicaid which is also quite a journey. I've paid to engage a "medicaid specialist" who seems like more of a psychiatrist sometimes. He was recommended to me by an eldercare attorney and has been very helpful - I think.
One of the issues we discussed was the equity in our house. My understanding was that I had the use of it as long as I was alive. The Medicaid dude said I could only use half of it and the rest has to go into a Medicaid Conforming Trust. That's what we did with the 401k but I thought home equity was mine. They may come for half of it "someday" depending on how long he survives and how much is spent from state funds.
I think the guru is wrong. There is a cap on the equity which is exempt from Uncle Sam up to $713k. Um, our equity does not come to that much. So, back to the salt mines of dealing with paying for my poor sick spouse.
Strange being in the house on my own. I'm sort of grieving for a person who isn't really gone but is.. gone.
So sorry you are going through this. Hopefully this is helpful
Cut and pasted - Oregon Medicaid Estate Recovery
To sum it up, it's too late. You need to sell the house RIGHT NOW before you husband signs up for Medicaid. Get the money, once he is on Medicaid, they can come back and re-coup that $$.
After reading your laws, I would sell the home asap. Buy a Cheap home and convert the gain into cash using it for the rest of your live to live off of. Live off of that cash as much as possible. Give your kids their inheritance via checks while you are alive and you use the cash for yourself.
If you sold the home this year, and your husband was in the nursing home for over 6 yrs, that's beyond the 5 yr rule so they would not seek re-imbursement.
In addition, current Oregon Administrative Rules allow DHS to recover assets not owned by the Medicaid recipient at the time of death, if said assets were transferred from the Medicaid spouse to the community spouse within 60 months of the !rst “date of request” for Medicaid.
The current Oregon Administrative Rules are, in the opinion of most experienced elder law attorneys, not supported by federal law
Practitioners should advise their clients that any interspousal transfer of assets made within 5 years of applying for Medicaid may bring the transferred assets back into the “estate” of the Medicaid recipient, thus enabling recovery against those assets.. <--- This means if you sell the house, they can come after the money from YOU
So sorry you are going through this. Hopefully this is helpful
Cut and pasted - Oregon Medicaid Estate Recovery
To sum it up, it's too late. You need to sell the house RIGHT NOW before you husband signs up for Medicaid. Get the money, once he is on Medicaid, they can come back and re-coup that $$.
After reading your laws, I would sell the home asap. Buy a Cheap home and convert the gain into cash using it for the rest of your live to live off of. Live off of that cash as much as possible. Give your kids their inheritance via checks while you are alive and you use the cash for yourself.
If you sold the home this year, and your husband was in the nursing home for over 6 yrs, that's beyond the 5 yr rule so they would not seek re-imbursement.
In addition, current Oregon Administrative Rules allow DHS to recover assets not owned by the Medicaid recipient at the time of death, if said assets were transferred from the Medicaid spouse to the community spouse within 60 months of the !rst “date of request” for Medicaid.
The current Oregon Administrative Rules are, in the opinion of most experienced elder law attorneys, not supported by federal law
Practitioners should advise their clients that any interspousal transfer of assets made within 5 years of applying for Medicaid may bring the transferred assets back into the “estate” of the Medicaid recipient, thus enabling recovery against those assets.. <--- This means if you sell the house, they can come after the money from YOU
OP, please disregard this advice as it is wrong on all issues regarding recommending the sale of the house, distribution of money to relatives and so forth..
I am sure that the OP’s legal advisor is aware of the Medicaid’s spouse impoverishment as well as other rules as the OP seems to know about it as well.
Everyone should know their rights and no reason to make an hasty moves; get second opinion if something doesn’t sound right.
Btw, you don’t have to pay for Medicaid “specialists” - they can’t tell you more or do more for you than your care home Medicaid specialists would tell you/arrange for you. Those people do it everyday and know or should know all the intricacies and details
There could be financial differences among different care homes or the length of private pay requirements; the rules are the same otherwise
In addition, they may have a free service for that in your state department of elderly affairs or any other similar department in your state
Sorry that the OP is losing/has lost her spouse this way. Tough break, but the OP’s own self-preservation is the most important now.
Try to find some comforts in whatever provides some comfort to you.
The money is important, but it is secondary to one’s own health: both physical band mental. Glad that you are relieved of hour-by-hour, day-to-day care
Wishing you all the best outcomes.
Last edited by L00k4ward; 03-01-2024 at 07:18 PM..
It's almost two months now since my spouse has been in the care home. So far he's had three trips to the ER for various problems. He is deteriorating quickly, then he rallies and seems lucid for awhile. No predictions as to how long this will go on.
Nurses and aides now dispense his medications, give him baths, feed him (yes, he needs that) and change his briefs (adult diapers). Those chores were wearing me down. The frustrating part was knowing it wasn't helping him get any better. Years went by as I watched him become more immobile and withdrawn. So sad.
The eldercare lawyer did recommend a Medicaid specialist and I must say, the firm has held my hand through a lot of paperwork requirements. There are two assessments made for the Medicaid recipient - one is the financial and the other is health, with two different case workers in charge.
Our only asset besides the house was an IRA. It had to be cashed out with my half set aside and his half put into a Medicaid Compliant Trust. There will be income from the trust to use toward his care, plus whatever contribution I am expected to make; not sure yet what that will be. It is irrevocable but when my spouse passes away I will continue to get the income from it until the trust is all gone.
As for the house, all the equity is mine provided most of it goes toward the purchase of another house within 190 days (I think). Anything left will be divided with my half going to me and the other half going into another annuity for him (I think). If Medicaid pays out more than the initial plan with the trust, they may request reimbursement from his half of the equity from the house after I myself am gone.
Each state is different, apparently, regarding requirements, paperwork and timelines. We sent everything in but the health people requested a document which was already provided to the financial people. We will just resubmit it rather than ask that the right hand speak to the left hand. And so it goes.
So sorry you are going through this. Hopefully this is helpful
Cut and pasted - Oregon Medicaid Estate Recovery
To sum it up, it's too late. You need to sell the house RIGHT NOW before you husband signs up for Medicaid. Get the money, once he is on Medicaid, they can come back and re-coup that $$.
After reading your laws, I would sell the home asap. Buy a Cheap home and convert the gain into cash using it for the rest of your live to live off of. Live off of that cash as much as possible. Give your kids their inheritance via checks while you are alive and you use the cash for yourself.
If you sold the home this year, and your husband was in the nursing home for over 6 yrs, that's beyond the 5 yr rule so they would not seek re-imbursement.
In addition, current Oregon Administrative Rules allow DHS to recover assets not owned by the Medicaid recipient at the time of death, if said assets were transferred from the Medicaid spouse to the community spouse within 60 months of the !rst “date of request” for Medicaid.
The current Oregon Administrative Rules are, in the opinion of most experienced elder law attorneys, not supported by federal law
Practitioners should advise their clients that any interspousal transfer of assets made within 5 years of applying for Medicaid may bring the transferred assets back into the “estate” of the Medicaid recipient, thus enabling recovery against those assets.. <--- This means if you sell the house, they can come after the money from YOU
If she sells before he is approved for Medicaid, they will make her spend half the money on his care.
I’m glad that you’re able to get your husband cared for and not be financially devastated. When my dad had a massive stroke in 1979 my mom had no choice except to keep him home. Many times we were worried that caring for him was going to kill her. He lived like that for 14 years. It’s heartbreaking for everyone. You definitely made the right decision.
I’m glad that you’re able to get your husband cared for and not be financially devastated. When my dad had a massive stroke in 1979 my mom had no choice except to keep him home. Many times we were worried that caring for him was going to kill her. He lived like that for 14 years. It’s heartbreaking for everyone. You definitely made the right decision.
Omigosh, I can't even imagine. What an ordeal that must have been for everyone.
My husband passed away on April 22. Our whole family spent the day with him in his room at the nursing home while he was on Hospice. They administered morphine every four hours so he was definitely comfortable. We all left at around 4 o'clock and they called me two hours later to say he was gone.
I'm feeling a mixture of relief and sorrow. This was not unexpected, for sure, but as long as he was alive he was still accessible however odd that sounds.
Now there is more paperwork to address and submit.
Initially my mom was relieved but after a few years she missed my dad. She didn’t miss the sick him but the person he was before the stroke. I think it’s normal to have all sorts of conflicting feelings. I loved my dad a lot but was glad his suffering was over.
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