First, I am aware that there are Big Doings in Invicta, with which I will need to be closely involved. More on that in the appropriate threads. This is just me ranting.
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate real life? Being an adult sucks. As some of you know, I have been trying to buy my grandmother's house after she moved to a nursing home. This is more complicated than I ever would have imagined, not least because Medicaid does not make anything easy. The short version is this:
In order for Medicaid to pay for a senior's nursing home care, that senior cannot possess any assets worth more than about $2,000. That includes their home, if they own one. (There are various exceptions for spouses, dependent children, caregivers, etc.) That means the house has to be sold at some point. Usually Medicaid places a lien against it, and may issue an order to sell if it becomes clear that the senior is never going to return home. In some cases it does not need to be sold until after the senior dies.
This is where we are now with my grandmother's house. I have been living in it and maintaining it since she went into the nursing home. Medicaid has sent us a statement indicating that they intend to place a lien against it, but there has been no order to sell.
Our attorney told us, back when all this started in December, that in cases like ours statute allows a family member to purchase a family member's house for 2/3 the assessed value. This was good news, as 2/3 is just about what I can afford. This is the way we proceeded.
In the meantime, there were still two months of my grandmother's nursing home stay that were not covered by Medicaid, and for this time period the nursing home considers her to have been "private pay" (this despite the fact that we expressly told them that she had no money when they first admitted her, but that is a separate story), and the bill amounts to about $23,500. The nursing home is now suing us (and by "us" I mean my grandmother, but my mother has power of attorney and manages her estate) for this money, listing the house as an asset. They are looking to place a lien against it as well. My mother and I have to go to court tomorrow afternoon.
Which brings us back to me buying the house. Remember that thing about a family member being able to buy the house for 2/3 the value and still satisfy Medicaid? Yeah, no one else has ever heard of that. It appears to be a figment of our lawyer's imagination. Even another elder lawyer with whom we consulted had never heard of it. Still, when I questioned her more directly our lawyer assured me it is done, and that she needs to negotiate with Medicaid. So now it's not clear whether I can buy the house. If Medicaid insists on the full assessed value I won't be able to afford it. And no one can give us a straight answer.
Our lawyer said she has never heard of a nursing home placing a lien against someone's house. They know they are going to get paid when the house is sold (outstanding nursing home bills get paid before Medicaid). Both lawyers, who have had dealings with this nursing home, expressly stated that they are well known to be assholes. We knew that already.
This is why I hate real life.