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My dad is a veteran. He wanted to go to the VA hospital. He said he couldn’t breathe. Took him there. They took him back to the ER immediately. While we were there he said he was there for a headache. Was admitted because of COPD. Tried to leave. Got placed on constant watch. Kept telling the staff it was 2013. Dr. made the decision that he could not return home. Transferred to a memory care unit (not VA facility). Billing department said he would get nursing home Medicaid. Was denied because of income. A whole life insurance policy puts him over the limit. I don’t have the money to pay for his care. His income is too low to pay for the nursing home care. I’m concerned about how to pay and that if he is discharged from the facility he will go to Las Vegas, NV. He keeps asking me to take him to the airport. I work part time. I’m considering calling Adult Protective Services in Texas and telling them that I can’t provide the care he needs? Any advice?

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Having VA medical does not mean he has any VA "benefits."

Find a VSO (Veteran Service Officer) in your state on the web. Find your Dad's DD-214 form (discharge from the military) and don't waste your time with VA Social Workers, who are civilian contractors and totally useless.

Find a certified VSO who will help you. He sounds like he has dementia and is a "flight risk." He cannot safely live alone. He has COPD, which is terminal. Tell the VSO you want him placed in a VA Community facility. He can use his Social Security for that, since they take 55% of his income for his room and board.

Leave that Life Insurance as it is. He's the only one who can cash it out anyway. Warn his doctor he wants to escape to Vegas. You cannot care for him, so he would be a very "unsafe discharge."
YOUR MISSION IS TO FIND A CERTIFIED VSO FIRST.
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Talk to social worker or case management at the facility where your dad is at. Explain his finances to the representative. He or she will help get this figured out with you.
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Grandma1954
Does your dad have a % of "service connected disability"? If you are not aware of any you might want to look into it. The higher % the more benefits he may be entitled to.
You might also want to ask if he is Hospice eligible. If so the VA may keep him in a VA facility.
Another thing to look into, if you are able to care for him you might be able to be paid to care for him. And there are programs the VA has that will help keep a Veteran at home rather than in a facility. (If you can safely care for him and this is an option)
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A lot of the answers here may depend on the state you are in. Is it the billing department at the MC facility or VA that was giving you guidance? The VA sent him to this particular MC or the hospital? I ask because there might be benefits from the VA that aren’t being utilized as well, especially if they sent him there.

My #1 recommendation is Do Not use any of your own money to pay for any of this, if Dads income doesn’t provide enough there should be some program or arrangement that enables him to get care, how would he be getting it if you weren’t in the picture? I know some states have programs that use the patient's monthly income and then Medicaid picks up the rest but your father has VA benefits as well so there should be a way that is NOT you. If you can’t get good guidance from the facility he’s in (they accepted him believing he would qualify for Medicaid apparently), the VA who sent him or the Agency on Aging or whatever your states equivalent is then it’s well worth consulting with an attorney or someone well versed in Medicaid planning and application for your state.
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PikePlace: Retain an elder law attorney.
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Confer with an Elder Law Attorney to help navigate this. They can offer options, information etc to help navigate this.
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No. His income is not too low to pay for nursing home or memory care.

The LTC facility he gets placed in will take his monthly income and then they will do a Medicaid application for him.
Nursing homes generally expect every asset a person has to be cash liquidated imemdiately and all the money handed over to them in advance of services provided.

Do talk to a lawyer though. That whole life policy may not have to be cashed out depending on how old it is.
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newbiewife Aug 2023
I disagree that LTC facilities expect every asset to be cash liquidated and proceeds turned over to them in advance of services provided. I also disagree that the LTC facility will do the Medicaid application after assets are spent down. These are misleading statements. Medicaid has a maximum level of assets for a person to be eligible for care. I understand that the cash value of a whole life policy would be counted as part of assets, but that's easily handled by cashing it in, using part for a funeral trust, and using the rest to private pay the facility for as long as the funds last. If the perspon has a house, even though Medicaid allows them to retain a house and car, they won't have any income left after paying their share of cost to the facility to be able to afford to maintain the house. Therefore, it's usually best to sell the house to private pay for care until the person meets asset eligibility for Medicaid. Many facilities want a person to private pay (often for 2 years) before going on Medicaid as they have a limited number of Medicaid beds. People are not required to pre-pay for services from their liquidated assets, just pay month by month. In addition, it's not necessarily the norm that the LTC facility itself does the Medicaid aplication--it's better done by a family member or POA who is familiar with and has access to the person's financial records. From what I've read here, it's not a good idea to have the facility do the application as there can be errors that hold up the application. Some do have knowledgeable people who can help with the application, but I wouldn't count on it.
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He needs an attorney to structure his income to qualify for LTC Medicaid. As others said, insurance policy needs to be paid out and used for his care.
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Please also check what drugs they have him on and check for side effects. It is possible the drugs are affecting his memory.
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I agree with others who recommend making him Medicaid eligible by cashing out the whole life policy.

There are programs available through Medicaid to help pay him pay for his care. We have one here called IRIS. They are wonderful! You can choose your own caregivers, including family to be caregivers. They will help pay for other expenses as well. So, it there is anything he needs in his home or if there is therapy or outside activities he is interested in they will help cover those. You would often have to make sure it is not covered by his insurance first, but then they would pick up the cost after that. He can stay in his home and get the care he needs.
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Prepay his funeral costs and use the excess life insurance funds to pay for his care. $1,500 cash plus face value goes to his beneficiaries.
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It must have been the cash in amt that took him over his limit. The face value is not an asset, its not received till you die and then it goes to a beneficiary. My Moms cash in was about 10k. I used it to pre-plan Moms funeral. Its a Medicaid trust with the funeral home as the beneficiary.

In my State you have 90 days from date of application to get Medicaid the info they need, spend-down and place the person. For my Mom I started the application in April, she was placed May 1st. She had 20k that paid for May and June. I confirmed in June that Medicaid received everything needed and I provided them with her bank statement showing she was now under the asset limit. She was under the income limit. July 1st Medicaid started.

I agree, call your Office of Aging for an appt and have them explain how to proceed.
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Call your county office of aged and disabilities… they can give you the guidance regarding Medicaid eligibility. My moms whole life had to be cashed out for rent in memory care…it’s considered an asset. There’s no holding on to the inheritance that our loved ones want to give us. … it goes to paying for their care…
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I would cash in the policy if I were in your shoes. Pay down the NH with. Eventually he will qualify for Medicaid.

Are you his FPoA? Is anyone his PoA?

Does he have a house? A car? Any other assets that can be sold?
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As 1930 stated, cash in the policy. Solve the problem.

In my area, memory care is under the Assisted Living umbrella and medicaid does not pay. So if it's the same in TX, he will just be in a regular nursing home.

Good luck.
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He needs to be made Medicaid eligible by cashing out the whole life policy and using the proceeds for any anticipated need such as prepaid funeral expenses, then paying for care with any remains. After that money is gone he will qualify for Medicaid. See if the VA or business office where dad is now can help walk you through the steps to qualify him
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