Interesting 01. Mom is down to 92 pounds, they keep trying to get her to gain weight. I figure, at $8,000 per month we have nearly 3 years in funds. When the $ get low, she can get some VA help too. K

Start with the VA now as it takes time to gather all of the documents necessary and get on various lists. Is she the veteran or her husband? There may be a veterans home in your area when that time comes. I do not know if spouses are accepted at the homes. Some areas contract with private nursing homes to provide the care where homes are lacking. Cost depends on each state but most are around $2,000 a month. BIL suggested I sign up for Aid and Assistance but there is a income limitation for that. Try and find a book "Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors" mine has "Updated 2014" so probably is the last one available.

>>A suggestion for anyone looking for a nursing home is to look at ones that accept Medicaid patients. >>

Wouldn't work in CA. All the better rated eldercare facilities DO NOT TAKE Medicaid-only patients. You must have sufficient financial resources for at least several years on A/L to be accepted as a resident.

If you run out of funds, some will let you stay and will apply for Medicaid on your behalf. Of the 8 we investigated, 3 would do that. The other 5 made the indigents leave as soon as a bed in a Medicaid-only facility was available.

Medicaid-only facilities here are almost all in the lowest 25% percentile on quality of care.

Senior-only housing complexes are rated differently. Most will not provide any care, limited meal plans but regular housekeeping and check-ins. Anyone needing medical assistance must pay and arrange for outside assistance on their own. The facilities may or may not restrict outside providers to an approved list.

State rankings for full-care facilities (not senior-only housing) are published yearly, available on CA's website. Not the easiest format to read, but easy to find.

I did not say Medicaid only facilities but ones that will accept Medicaid. I agree that there is a vast difference in some areas between the two. I was also posting about Nursing Homes not Assisted Living. Assisted Living is self-pay.

And not all of California is the same. My 92 yr old friend could no longer live alone, and at 6 one morning just before Christmas, she was outside wandering the apartment complex knocking on doors asking what time it was. Her DIL got her admitted to the hospital with the doctor's assistance. They played the system after that. After 3 days, she was transferred to the nicest nursing home in Salinas. The DIL (divorced from the son, who had died 6 years ago) had already done some of the Medicaid paperwork. Income was SS only, about $1600 a month. She was transferred to Medicaid after 20 days. The nursing home has rules that they have to accept so many Medicaid patients, percentage of their population. She is doing well, altho increasingly disoriented, but safe, and she's there to stay.

I was thinking about this last night. When I was looking for a place for my husband I did not find any Medicaid only Nursing Homes in this area. Will have to look on the states listing of NH's to see if there are any in this area. Sushipup you are correct about having to accept a certain number of Medicaid patients in NHs if Medicare will be paying part of the costs. This is primarily after hospital care homes.

Yes, to qualify, one must first spend three days (three midnights, technically) in a hospital. Medicare covers the first 20 days in the nursing home.