Can medicare kick me out of the house.?

Question

I moved back to help my father out when my mother got cancer. Since then, he passed away from cancer himself and my mother is most likely going to a rest home and medicare will have to pay.

Can medicare kick me out of the home now that I'm here?

Answer 1

If the house is part of the estate that is being used to pay the medical bilsl, yes they can make you move and take possession of the property.  

Answer 2

you probably should seek an attourney's addvice on this matter maybe he/she will have an answer on how you can shelter the estate but my exp. w/ medicare is that they will liquidate all assets to subsidise  the debt incurred.

Answer 3

It depends on how the title to the property is written, and whether or not your father had a will.  If the will was probated, or if he died without a will, you should know whether or not the home is "yours", or your mom's.  If your dad left it to you only, then they cannot kick you out.  More likely, however, he left it to your mom in which case it is part of her estate, in which case Medicaid can file a lien against the property and/or order it sold.

You should talk with someone at Social Security to fully understand the difference between Medicare (insurance for the elderly) vs Medicaid (insurance for the poor).  In all likelihood, you mom is receiving Medicare, which will pay for a limited amount of nursing home care.  She won't be eligible for Medicaid until she has very little to no assets and very little income.

I recommend you talk with an estate attorney, or a senior advocacy group, to get some advice.  There is also a good website, benefitscheckup.org, that will help you see if there are other programs that might help your mom stay in her home.

A lot of people try to get their parents to sign the deed over to them to avoid paying the nursing home.  Do not do this!  Medicaid will look back up to five years for transfers of assets and come after you for it if they determine the transfer was to accelerate her elibility for Medicaid.