Educate me please on the Assisted living and nursing home situation in this state.

Her 30k is considered assets and will have to be spent before she will qualify for Medicaid. The Medicaid office will want an accounting of it. If she gives it away transfers anything considered an asset she will not qualify for Long term care Medicaid for 5 years.

Btw. There are good facilities out there. Look for chains owned by companies based in Louisiana or stand alone non profits.

National chains and chains with 20-200 locations are far more likely to be terrible.

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it. If she gives it away transfers anything considered an asset she will not qualify for Long term care Medicaid for 5 years.

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That’s something I had heard about.

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There are good facilities out there.

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Can you please give a few names so I don’t have to google and read a 100 reviews.
Thanks for the help.

Nursing homes owned by Central Management Inc. are generally pretty good. It's a Louisiana company.

But again, things are going to be in a tremendous state of flux. Nobody knows what's going to happen. Almost all nursing homes derivel most of their revenue from medicaid. Even if your family member is private pay, it will affect them.

Do NOT go into a Nexion owned facility.

$30,000 if I had to guess would get you 5 or 6 months.

Ask questions and more questions. And visit at random times and days .. NOT on a schedule. They’ll expect you.

And anything you don’t like — ask about it. Some things can’t be changed (ie what is served — they follow menus and it’s not a restaurant t) BUT sitting in a wet diaper and getting skin issues IS something that can be fixed.

If you ever have issues, call the ombudsmen. Their number is posted somewhere very visible in the faciiity.

Edit: re-reading my post makes me wonder why I still do contract work where I do. SMH at myself.

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If I had to rely on Medicaid for assisted/nursing home, I’d OD out on a secluded beach at sunset.

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Mine and the ol' lady's plan for sure. Even the best NHs are terrible, unless it is a high dollar private pay situation.

$30,000 isn’t getting anywhere close to six months in a halfway decent place. Three months is more like it. But she has to get it under $4000 for LTC Medicaid. Medicaid will do a five year look back, including looking at bank statements. If she’s moved or transferred large sums of money, or fooled with property deeds-such as adding someone’s name to the deed, it will complicate getting her approved for LTC Medicaid.

My parents went to one in Sulphur, Stonebridge. It was great and the people were wonderful.

Assisted living is fully private pay and will never accept Medicaid. Basically about 3-5k or more per month and much nicer but doesn’t provide “assistance” despite being called assisted living, only a safe place to live and meals. Anything extra you pay for, such as dressing, assist to bathroom, getting dressed, etc. More well off people live here who do not require much physical assistance.

Nursing homes are mostly for physically disabled. As our social worker says, physical needs need to outweigh mental need to qualify here. It’s easier to be placed after you’ve been hospitalized and that’s where case managers can help. I work with them at the hospital with placements like this. You can look up nursing home “Star ratings” with the state probably through DHH website to determine which have best “ratings” but that changes year to year.
If you have a “skilled” need to go into a nursing home such as PT, insurance will cover 20 days. Then after that you pay about 6000+/month until you spend down and qualify for Medicaid. You can keep your house or car but any social security check goes to the nursing home. Also any additional property owned would have to be sold. They look back 5 years that’s why others have said, transfer assets before that time, if she only has 30k to her name she prob would easily qualify for Medicaid. Social workers can guide you through this process. She also should have the right to choose which one she wants to go into. Most people have families tour the facility before they decide.

5 years ago when my mother was alive, part time senior care was $3,500-$4,000/month. $30K savings to pay a full time facility won't last long.