How Do You Find A Senior Living Facility When You Will Eventually Need To Apply For Medicaid?

The answer to this question is not an easy one. It is a very difficulty process to find a senior care facility that has state Medicaid beds that will take in mom or dad if they are already out of money. If their savings is gone and there is no retirement fund or house to sell, it is likely that the facility will put you on a wait list (the wait list at one of the places I looked at in DuPage County Illinois was 2 years if you have no money). So imagine you have a parent and they are just about to run out of money except for their Social Security; you will have to get on a wait list and take care of that parent until a spot opens up.

First let me explain what "we have Medicaid beds" means. A facility that excepts Medicaid patients means it is licensed by the state and is subject to periodic safety inspections to make sure they meet federal standards. The facility will receive payment from the state for the number of patients it takes in who are on Medicaid. Most facilities that work with Medicaid have a limited number of certified beds, so a facility might have 200 beds but only 6 are Medicaid certified. That means there is only room for 6 patients on Medicaid. You can see why the wait lists are long.

Many of those beds are taken by residents who moved into the facility many years prior when they still had a substantial amount of money to pay for their services themselves. When the money runs out the facility promises them a transition to a Medicaid bed if they are approved by the state. This ensures they are maximizing their income with people paying for care through private pay and then ultimately Medicare and long term care insurance.

So if you want to find a facility that will be there when a loved one needs Medicaid, you should look at moving them there when they still have a significant amount of money to pay directly for most services. Learning about Medicaid and preparing years in advance is important in order to make sure you will be able to get assistance when the time comes. Most people do not worry about these things until it is right in front of them but by then things have become much more difficult.

If you would like more information on Medicaid feel free to reach out to me or go to my resource links page by clicking on this link and you will find links to state Medicaid information as well as the process of how it works. https://www.seniorlivingsupport.com/links-resources.