Are We Out of Options?

greentea47

My father in law is still inpatient at the Geri psych unit pending placement and the facility keeps telling us he will be released him every day stating they can’t continue to hold him since from their standpoint he is cleared. I have filed an appeal to the discharge but my husband and I have been scrambling trying to find a MCF that would work best, while trying to figure out how to afford the costs.

So we have narrowed down to 2 choices for my father in law. One facility evaluated him and said they think he would actually be a better fit with their Assisted Living side since he is still fairly independent with ADL. That had me thinking maybe we need to start looking more at ALF vs MCF?

Anyhow, if he would be on the ALF side at this particular facility , it would be more affordable but it would be private pay meaning my FIL’s social security and my husband and I would have to pay out of pocket from our savings as they do not accept Medicaid.

The other facility is memory care only that accepts Medicaid, I didn’t love the place but it is more affordable than the first option.However, this facility brought up our other issue, POA, which we haven’t been able to get since my FIL has been in the Geri -psych unit. This MCF says that POA needs to be in place first before placement? I didn’t realize this, which is another obstacle..

We contacted CELA and we were told since my FIL is unable to sign at this time, we would need to look into guardianship which is expensive and a long process. Not sure how we would get that prior to any placement.

We have not yet applied for Medicaid because apparently there is a CD that amounts to $10,000 that we have to figure out how to convince my FIL to spend down?

We are just tying to make a decision quickly but my head is spinning trying to make sense of all this and I don’t know which way to go from here. seems our quickest option would be to just move my FIL back with us and try to figure it out from there..

I’m reaching out here if anyone has any guidance

harshedbuzz

I wouldn't consider the ALF; he needs a secure unit and dementia-informed care. Just an FYI-- often a place that offers both levels of care will pull a bait 'n' switch offering lower cost/more amenity AL knowing your LO will need to transfer in a month or two. Unless he has enough money to fund his care indefinitely, I wouldn't even talk to those places that don't accept Medicaid.

It sounds like you will need to file for emergency guardianship to do the placement and then have that converted to a more permanent status. I know it's more money, but if you prevail, FIL's funds will be used to pay for it.

In terms of spending down, once your DH is guardian, he can manage that. Be sure to pre-pay dad's final expenses as part of that process.

HB

Smilescountry

Yes, it sounds as if guardianship is where you are heading. The lawyer should also be able to give you advice about spending down. How that ought to be done depends on what money is coming in (pensions, social security, RMDs). Fortunately, my parents are not looking at needing Medicaid, which gives us more choices. We started the process for Medicaid eligibility for my father-in-law, but he passed away about a week before he became eligible. Another relative had the same thing happen. I would pay for everything that might be coming up, which includes funeral expenses. Get really good advice from a lawyer and have Plans A, B, and C.

M1

Agree. The MC unit that takes Medicaid sounds ideal. Talk to the CELA about emergency guardianship. So sorry you are having to do this under fire, but it needs to be done.