Some nursing homes are illegally evicting people that can't pay.

As far as knowing someone who was 86’d from a facility.... at my moms 1st NH, lady (late 80’s) in room across from moms had this. Apparently had had 2 30 day notices. The backstory was that she was on LTC Medicaid and went onto it owning her home, which is totally allowed as an exempt asset for Medicaid. DPOA son sold it and did not report it to Medicaid and essentially pocketed $. At some point in time, states database on property transfers matched this up. Word was NH tried to get it resolved but Sonny kept on ignoring all. Couple of times I was there, he was in unfriendly huddled word fest in hall with staff. Then she was gone. NH in conjunction with APS had her named ward of the state and the new court appointed guardian moved her out & into another facility. Sonny was NOT informed. I walked in when he was in a shouting match with administration in reception area, security was there, cops called. Now imho he was a real arsehole. I know her neighborhood where house was, it’s low value..... if he’d been patient he could’ve just let it sit there till she died, just paid the taxes & upkeep & he likely could have gotten it as it would’ve been under 10k threshold for overall value of a probated estate. But he was wanting the $. The real tragedy was the mom, she was sweet, adored “her boy” too. Can you imagine how traumatic it was for her.

The other involves long time BFF who got primary progressive aphasia in her early 60’s. DPOA daughter found a IL/AL for her in her small town; got her to sell her home & she took over moms financial. First couple of years ok, she was still high functioning but “mimed” to communicate. I’d do long visits to her 3 times a year when I had work in her state. Her IL cost manageable for her SS payout. Meanwhile daughter is spending moms house $ as her own with Facebook posts on vacays.... Then she started wandering, like going into homes in the area. One visit up there I got an earful from the administration on the situation. They needed to do something for her safety & safety of the place as she didn’t lock her apt doors. There was some bed hopping happening too. She was mid 60’s & fit & looked great but not cognitive. If you saw her, you would think she was the administrator. Daughter was asked for multiple meetings to resolve issues & move her from her free access IL apt to the locked ward AL section, pay for medication management so her RX would actually be taken, etc. and DPOA ignored all. One day facility called EMS and off she went to ER & facility refused to take her back. She got pneumonia and hospitalization like 2 mos & placed in a NH Medicaid Pending in the only one that would take her as MP. They filed for ward of the state on her. It was granted. Last I heard the daughter hired atty to challenge the courts order and that was winding its way along. What’s crazy in this is that if daughter had used the $ to pay for AL, more than likely her mom would die before all the house sale $ was spent. Daughter would have ended up with an inheritance as it sold for over 300k & she had pretty high SS payout. But no.... daughter had to go on vacations & exotic hunting trips with her boyfriend.

Both of these are similar in that the strict rules for compliance for Medicaid are NOT being followed, and you have DPOAs who just can’t keep their mitts off of their elders $$$. The facilities get pushed to do something dramatic cause the dpoa / family ignores all.

Thank you for going behind the headline and shedding light on the background, Igloo.

I would love to know what the relative who drove the lady home to her DIL's house and left her there has to say for himself or herself!

The story is pretty click bait, it’s not about frail elderly 80 or 90, but folks in their 50’s & 60’s. It’s an age range that hard to place as they can be good enough on their ADLs once rehab done or meds stabilized so not really needing LTC skilled nursing care.
The first person - 67 - was in rehab from back surgery and didn’t file to transition from Medicare rehab patient to LTC Medicaid resident; she voluntarily left & had a relative drive her to her daughters home; for the NH it wasn’t an unsafe discharge as she left on her own & with family. That the daughter didn’t know her mom was doing this goes to a whole other set of problems...... The rehab documentation is pretty detailed as Medicare requires reporting in depth. She signed out & NH can’t force her to stay. She’s 67, she’s not frail elderly in her 80’s or 90’s.

The 51 yr old diabetic - I’ll bet - probably was considered good on his ADLs if he was compliant for care, like took his diabetes meds on schedule & proper diet, so not needing skilled nursing care. If he was repeatedly non-compliant for care, the facility likely gave him notice that because of this he was being evicted or he presented an unsafe environment to other residents or staff. If he was in a NH & competent, he would have gotten a 30 day notice & signed off receiving it. He needed to make a plan on where to move to. If he didn’t, and the facility got him good on his ADLs, ambulatory with a wheelchair & his diabetes in control, then his going into a halfway house or shelter is an option. If the facility mainly filled with elderly female residents, maybe not a good fit for a 51 male. 91 yr old male yes, but 51 not so much.

I think a lot of this is about difficulty of placement for the age group.

What a scary video and article! But I'm wondering there has to be more to the stories. What happened to facilities not being able to discharge to unsafe environments? Discharging the diabetic to the street is certainly an unsafe discharge. How and why did they feel it was OK to do that? Where was the discharge planner, the social worker from the nursing home? What do they have to say about it? Many questions seem unanswered.

So sad.