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If I can't find a nursing home that can offer a Medicaid bed when her private pay runs out, and I put my mom in a memory care that will accept her, what happens if she outlives her money and there is still nowhere to transfer her?

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The memory care facilities near me in Florida do not accept Medicaid. I asked them where they send patients who run out of money, they all told me the name of the same nursing home, and I went to see it. I didn't like it and decided that I didn't want my mother to end up there when she ran out of money.
In the end, I found a facility that was further away that would accept my mother as a private pay patient for 14 months, and then keep her when she went on Medicaid. That worked for us, and gave me more peace of mind, even though it was much further away to visit.
This is a highly personal decision, and no one can tell you what's best for you and your family. I think you need to
balance how much money she has, versus how long you think she will live and what is the best of the bad decisions you are being forced to make.
So sorry you are going through this. Many of us have been there and feel your pain.
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Do not sign as guarantor . That would make you responsible for Mom’s bills once she runs out of money , instead of Medicaid .

I hope you have POA . You sign your name and POA after it as your mother’s representative . Then she goes on Medicaid after she runs out of money .

Ideally you don’t wait until she totally runs out of money . You choose the least bad option of an SNF and have her transferred . The best way to secure a bed is to transfer her when she still has 3-6 months of private pay money to use at the SNF .

As far as what was said below , I’m not sure about them just sending her to a hospital for running out of money . They typically need a medical reason to send them to the hospital . But I could be wrong , or it can vary by state . The other problem is even if an elder goes to the hospital …. my state is really pushing families to take on more of the burden . “ Unsafe discharge” has lost much of its power here . My state is one of the few with strong old filial laws , and there is talk of them being enforced .

Have you considered seeing an eldercare attorney to help you navigate this ? They can help protect you as well as your mother .
Good Luck
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waytomisery Jul 11, 2025
Clarification …
There has been talk during the past year that my state may start enforcing filial laws. This was told to me by my nephew . He was told that by the eldercare lawyer he has been using for my sister .
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There is unlikely to be a MC that will accept your mom on Medicaid. She will likely be transferred from her private-pay facility to a nursing home that does accept Medicaid.
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First you find a MC who takes Medicaid. My State Medicaid will pay if you have paid for an AL or MC for at least two years or more. The AL/MC must have a medicaid room available at the time you need it though. They only take a % of medicaid residents.

In my State, you apply for Medicaid 60 to 90 days before you run out of money. With my Mom she was down to 20k so I placed her into LTC from the AL. April I applied for Medicaid. Mom paid May and June (spent down her money) and July medicaid started paying. Its easier to get them in a LTC with Medicaid paying if they start out as a private pay.
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Then she will get discharged to a hospital who will then place her in a snf if she requires that level of care. Unless she is a noncitizen for whom Medicaid funds have been cut off. States that won’t pay will likely call ice to take her away.
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JustAnon Jul 10, 2025
States are very unlikely to deport people from nursing homes. There are services everywhere for private funds for illegals to have medical care. You just have to look. Same with education, food, housing, etc.
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We are facing that. My mom has a set number of months she can finance before she will no longer be able to afford her memory care facility. We've sold off her home and vehicle to get her three to four years of care. She was denied Medicaid, then sent a Medicaid card twice, so I'm assuming the state will pay if she goes broke. She will have to be sent to a hospital to be placed most likely. There are a shortage of beds available for Medicaid. Since being moved to a facility from living alone she has stabilized as she is no longer allowed to just eat sweets and junk food, but they serve balanced meals daily. They also see she takes her meds regularly, participate in group activities, sees a doctor regularly, etc. which has had a great effect on her.
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The State of Virginia {county actually} gave her medicaid and my mom’s in a good nursing home. Actually the cares better than her MC was! We are pleased. Mom paid AL and MC for 5 years before her money ran out.. we had to wait until she was down to $2000 to apply. It went through in 10 days.
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Terrible to say, but hospital social services are frequently better t finding medicaid facilities than anyone else. I worked with my uncle's home hospice care service and they were unable to find anything. However, when he ended up in the hospital and they realized he could not go home, they were able to find a nursing home that would accept medicaid based on my parameters of distance. They were better than the one place I did find on my own.
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You might want to find a geriatric advocate like aginglifecare.org
to consult in finding the best NHs that accept Medicaid. The spend down might be faster if you put her in a good one early but it brings her to the top of the list for a bed from which there might be a wait list if she transfers from MC. My MIL had this done by her children and she was able to get into the #1 choice 6 months before her money ran out. She stayed there for 5 more years.
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I recommend finding an elder law attorney who has experience with long-term-care planning and Medicaid. The experienced, well-qualified attorneys know how to help clients plan based on the amount of money the individual has, how long the individual is likely to live, the cost and quality of local facilities, etc.
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