So if you're old and poor...

[summer]

And disabled and have no savings, when you need some sort of retirement home or assisted living, what are your options in the States? Or in Illinois, to be more precise.

[Cicero]

I don't know about IL specifically but in my home state Medicaid pays for it. I know that isn't the case everywhere but I'd start by looking there.

ETA: Any chance we're talking about a veteran or the widow of one? Because if so there might be some VA benefits available as well.

[iammalcolmx]

origami , I think she knows about this stuff.

[dirtyred]

Medicaid bed in a nursing home. Nice ones can be hard to find.

[scout8]

My grandma was in a really nice assisted living home in IL. She had a little money, but not much. She had to use up her own money first. Once that was gone (in about 6 months), then medicaid took over.

[gpw]

Medicaid pays a nursing home, not assisted living. Ask me how I know.

[oakleaf]

Not sure about Illinois but in wi there are Medicaid waiver programs that will pay for assisted living/ group homes. Straight Medicaid will only pay for a nursing home.

[Cicero]

Apr 19, 2015 17:39:36 GMT -5 gpw said:

Medicaid pays a nursing home, not assisted living. Ask me how I know.

This varies by state.

ETA: Nevermind. It just dawned on me that you were probably talking about IL specifically. Please ignore me.

[summer]

Are there certain state homes or do you just find one, then Medicaid pays?

[gpw]

Apr 19, 2015 17:50:47 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Apr 19, 2015 17:39:36 GMT -5 gpw said:

Medicaid pays a nursing home, not assisted living. Ask me how I know.

This varies by state.

ETA: Nevermind. It just dawned on me that you were probably talking about IL specifically. Please ignore me.

Actually, not IL, MI.  However, I didn't realize it varied and now I'm kinda pissed.  My mom is too healthy for nursing home, but not healthy enough to live alone.  Assisted living is too expensive...so, here we are.

[Cicero]

Apr 19, 2015 17:44:45 GMT -5 @mx said:

.

She was a WWII vet, and the widow of a vet. Neither did her any good in terms of housing.

www.aplaceformom.com/senior-care-resources/articles/benefits-for-veterans-and-their-spouses It's the reason my "grandma" is able to live where she does.

[Cicero]

Apr 19, 2015 18:01:04 GMT -5 gpw said:

Apr 19, 2015 17:50:47 GMT -5 Cicero said:

This varies by state.

ETA: Nevermind. It just dawned on me that you were probably talking about IL specifically. Please ignore me.

Actually, not IL, MI.  However, I didn't realize it varied and now I'm kinda pissed.  My mom is too healthy for nursing home, but not healthy enough to live alone.  Assisted living is too expensive...so, here we are.

I'm not sure where in MI you guys are but if you're near the border Ohio is one of the states that has a Medicaid waiver program for assisted living. Just FYI as something to look into if it is feasible.

[dirtyred]

Apr 19, 2015 18:00:40 GMT -5 summer said:

Are there certain state homes or do you just find one, then Medicaid pays?

There are some that are only Medicaid beds; other private insurance nursing homes will have a few Medicaid beds based on some regulations that I can't recall.

[origami]

Apr 19, 2015 18:01:04 GMT -5 gpw said:

Apr 19, 2015 17:50:47 GMT -5 Cicero said:

This varies by state.

ETA: Nevermind. It just dawned on me that you were probably talking about IL specifically. Please ignore me.

Actually, not IL, MI.  However, I didn't realize it varied and now I'm kinda pissed.  My mom is too healthy for nursing home, but not healthy enough to live alone.  Assisted living is too expensive...so, here we are.

MI can pay for assisted living. It's done via a few different programs and I don't know them off the top of my head but I know one is called PACE. And medicaid waivers too (I don't know if PACE is a medicaid waiver or if that's a separate thing.) anyway I know it can be done, it's just not done the same way as medicaid's nursing home coverage.

[origami]

Apr 19, 2015 18:00:40 GMT -5 summer said:

Are there certain state homes or do you just find one, then Medicaid pays?

I'm sure this varies but in my home area, most nursing homes im familiar with allot a certain number of spaces for medicaid patients. Some don't allow any medicaid-only patients (the fancy places) and some are almost all medicaid patients (unfortunately usually the older, less nice facilities). So most medicaid recipients I know looked around for the nicest facility they could find that accepted medicaid and waited for a spot to open up.

[Cicero]

Apr 19, 2015 18:24:08 GMT -5 @mx said:

Apr 19, 2015 18:06:29 GMT -5 Cicero said:

www.aplaceformom.com/senior-care-resources/articles/benefits-for-veterans-and-their-spouses It's the reason my "grandma" is able to live where she does.

I should clarify--she did have a small pension. It was just almost entirely irrelevant given the cost of her care ($12000/month) in the last 10 years of her life. WI state Medicaid was a lifesaver or my parents would have ended up bankrupt as well. 

The VA also covered a small portion of her health care, though not anywhere near all of it and it was a huge pain in the ass to get her to a VA facility for required appointments to maintain that benefit. 

I should clarify too. She's in a private facility and Medicaid won't cover the full bill. My mom (her niece) was picking up the not inconsequential difference for the year and a half it took the VA to process and approve her. Now Medicaid, the VA, and social security cover everything. I was just throwing it out there because it's not something she even realized she was entitled to in the first place.

[ttt]

YGPM

[Deleted]

The Medicaid threshold is only $2k in money. So the individual has to spend everything to that point. And they will go back and audit transfers of assets back 5 years or something so people can't gift money to kids, etc.

[fortnightlily]

I don't know anything about Medicaid, but I will say, based on my grandmother's experience, I found Assisted Living a bit of a scam, because she was paying through the nose, but as soon as she needed more personal care than just meals/laundry and help getting dressed twice a day, she still had to pay more out of pocket to hire a third-party personal aide service.

[iammalcolmx]

Apr 20, 2015 9:48:17 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

I don't know anything about Medicaid, but I will say, based on my grandmother's experience, I found Assisted Living a bit of a scam, because she was paying through the nose, but as soon as she needed more personal care than just meals/laundry and help getting dressed twice a day, she still had to pay more out of pocket to hire a third-party personal aide service.

This is sorta whats going on with H's Grandma minus having to hire a Third Party. When she had to move from her Apartment to a part of the complex with more assistance her rent went to like 9k a month, they also make you put down 300k just to move into the place.