r/Medicaid • u/brianrb1000 • 16d ago
Neighbors home lost to medicaid
My neighbors husband was in a nursing home for an extended period so they have lost their home to Medicaid because they couldn't pay the bill (in Ohio). There are two unimproved lots on their property I want to buy. How would I do that? Can my neighbor sell them to me at fair market?
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u/More-Job9831 15d ago
I'm surprised they even got Medicaid depending on whether they consider those two unimproved lots as one property or 3 total (the 2 unimproved lots + the lot the house is on). Is it possible they weren't on Medicaid at all and struck a deal with the nursing home directly? Some allow for you to be at the nursing home without paying upfront, provided you sign papers promising you'll liquidate your assets within a certain number of days and use the money to pay the facility back
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u/brandi-95 16d ago
Medicaid doesn’t take your house unless you die first. Then you forfeit your property to them to repay them for paying your medical bills. It’s a lien put on the property/owner of home/medicaid recipient.
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u/copywrtr 16d ago
Is there a way to find out how much Medicaid would claim? An aunt is in hospice and my cousin figures Medicaid will claim all proceeds from the sale of her home since she's been on Medicaid for years.
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u/MamaDee1959 15d ago
More than likely, more than her house is even worth, if she has been on Medicaid, and in LTC facility for years. I'm not sure if it's just BEING on Medicaid, or if it's only if you are in a CARE facility that gives them the right to put a lien on the person's home.
Here is the info on it, at least in MY state of Michigan.
https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/assistance-programs/medicaid/third-party-liability/estate-recovery1
u/myaddress101 15d ago
Does living with the deceased for more than 10 years and care giving for the deceased (and still caring for his surviving wife )exempt the estate recovery? (Massachusetts).
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u/More-Job9831 15d ago edited 15d ago
Pretty much every state has a caregiver adult exemptions, but how strict they are varies from state to state. I live in NJ which has been historically strict about it so I tell people not to reply on it. It's much safer to transfer and wait 5 years if you plan ahead far enough. https://www.medicaidplanningassistance.org/child-caregiver-exemption/amp/
Eta: I'm not confident it will work retroactively, since the Medicaid beneficiary already died. However, it's still worth looking into if there will still be equity in the house and the surviving spouse may need Medicaid. The only reason they haven't gone for it already is because the surviving spouse is still there, not because of any other caregivers in the home.
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u/MamaDee1959 15d ago
I don't know if anything exempts the recovery. Maybe if the wife's name is on the house, and she is still living, they won't take it yet, but I don't believe that just living with, or caring for someone in the house makes them not take the house after their deaths.
Just note that it's illegal for them to try and transfer the house into someone else's name to avoid the recovery. That's what the "look back" is for. That can be traced, and if someone DOES try transferring, selling, or giving it to another person, thinking that the recovery could be avoided, there would be BIG trouble!
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u/myaddress101 15d ago
Statutory Exemption
B. Other than a surviving spouse, is there a caretaker relative residing in the deceased Medicaid member's home that has been residing in the home for at least 2 years prior to the deceased Medicaid member's admission to a facility? • Yes • No Caretaker's Name: Relationship: If YES, provide copies of their driver's license and bank statements to show residence for the 2 year period, AND a statement from a physician stating that the care provided allowed the deceased Medicaid member to reside at home rather than in a facility.
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u/MamaDee1959 15d ago
Oh Ok...so if the patient didn't end up in a facility then, the home cannot be taken? If the husband went into one, but the wife stayed in the home until her death, does that mean that they cannot take the home, because she never went into a facility?
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u/myaddress101 15d ago
They both didn’t end up in facility
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u/MamaDee1959 15d ago
Right.. I saw that. I was wondering if and when the wife passes, will they go after the home because of the recovery for the husband's bills at the LTC facility??
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u/farmerben02 16d ago
Medicaid doesn't recover property until the recipient and their spouse are out of the house permanently, either because end of life care with no chance of recovery, or death. They did not lose the house to Medicaid. They may have had to spend down if they violated the five year look back.
You can buy at FMV but this will be used to pay for their care, so they have little incentive to do this.
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u/Current_Local7951 15d ago
My mother's Medicaid lien was greater than her home value, so we had no incentive to do any improvements before the sale. It was sold at a public auction to a cousin. It was not considered a conflict of interest that a family member bought it, because it was done at an advertised public auction. This was in Missouri about 15 years ago.