Hi OP, I have recent experience with this, so a few notes:
1) Before moving your MIL to a new state, check out the state's requirements for Medicaid eligiblity. In my state, a person needs state residency to qualify for Medicaid. And it takes living in the state for a year to get residency.
2) I got an extended relative on Medicaid without using a lawyer, but it was a long, involved, time consuming process. I contacted multiple non-profit agencies and also the local area center for aging, and not one organization was able to help; either they didn't have the resources or they had a multi-month waiting list for services. I suggest getting a lawyer to facilitate if funds are available.
3) Medicaid does cover assisted living facilities (in my state, anyway). When my extended relative qualified for Medicaid, I was given a list of approved assisted living facilities. I called upward of 30 facilities and visited several before choosing the facility my relative now lives in. Note: Medicaid only pays for shared rooms.
4) Once my relative got on Medicaid, I learned that NONE of my relative's previous doctors accept Medicaid patients. I had to find all new doctors/specialists.
5) You mentioned you're 90 minutes away, be prepared for many trips or find someone in your MIL's immediate area who can monitor her care. In my experience, the assisted living facility will provide required services, but that's it. Anything extra and the residents are on their own. Recently when I visited my relative, another resident asked me - a total stranger - to get her a phone charger. She's wheeling around the place with a dead cellphone. I suggested the facility may have a spare phone charger or a place for her to charge her phone, and she said it does not. I guess I'm going to verify, then bring her a phone charger. I don't even know her name.
1) Before moving your MIL to a new state, check out the state's requirements for Medicaid eligiblity. In my state, a person needs state residency to qualify for Medicaid. And it takes living in the state for a year to get residency.
2) I got an extended relative on Medicaid without using a lawyer, but it was a long, involved, time consuming process. I contacted multiple non-profit agencies and also the local area center for aging, and not one organization was able to help; either they didn't have the resources or they had a multi-month waiting list for services. I suggest getting a lawyer to facilitate if funds are available.
3) Medicaid does cover assisted living facilities (in my state, anyway). When my extended relative qualified for Medicaid, I was given a list of approved assisted living facilities. I called upward of 30 facilities and visited several before choosing the facility my relative now lives in. Note: Medicaid only pays for shared rooms.
4) Once my relative got on Medicaid, I learned that NONE of my relative's previous doctors accept Medicaid patients. I had to find all new doctors/specialists.
5) You mentioned you're 90 minutes away, be prepared for many trips or find someone in your MIL's immediate area who can monitor her care. In my experience, the assisted living facility will provide required services, but that's it. Anything extra and the residents are on their own. Recently when I visited my relative, another resident asked me - a total stranger - to get her a phone charger. She's wheeling around the place with a dead cellphone. I suggested the facility may have a spare phone charger or a place for her to charge her phone, and she said it does not. I guess I'm going to verify, then bring her a phone charger. I don't even know her name.
Statistics: Posted by maroon — Wed Jun 05, 2024 4:12 am — Replies 31 — Views 3106