Not sure how to deal with this letter from Medicaid?
My mom died July 15, 2018. I received a letter from Medicaid stating they are trying to recover the $32,000.00 they paid out on Mom for services. They want to know from her estate (which is me) all about her assets. Which were none obviously because she qualifies for Medicaid. She only had $6,000.00 in life Insurance which I paid for over the years and had to drop a lot because Medicaid said it was to much. She received her SS, which August payment will be returned to Medicare, she owned no homes, no cars, no anything. If she did she wouldn’t qualify for Medicaid.
She had no will, no assets, nothing. So what do they expect? I have on my credit card where I paid for her cremation and she is still in my living room and some of her ashes went back to be buried with her parents. She was poor in material things but rich in love. I loved her more than anything. Please help me to understand what they want. Thank you...it has been a very rough month.
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I am sorry that you are having to experience this SOP. All you can do is contact the State Medicaid Office and ask them what do you need to do to verify that your Mother had no assets. Try not to dwell on it. It is just "one of those items on the checklist" that need to be done when someone dies. {{{HUGS}}}
I'm so sorry about your mom. Did you receive a form to fill out or just a letter? I don't believe we needed to send any documentation besides my mom signing a form saying that he had no valuable assets or possessions. We provided documentation of his finances when he applied for Medicaid and was in the same boat as your mom (no assets -- no house, etc.) He was only on Medicaid for a few months. I think in those kinds of cases (where they already know the person was in poverty) it is a formality, and an opportunity for the govt. to let the "estate" know that they need to first reimburse Medicaid if there is anything left of value. Please try not to worry though it is even harder not to when you are already so sad. Hoping you feel a little better day by day. Hugs.
It does my heart good to read of the love you and your mom shared. What a beautiful, amazing legacy to leave your daughter.
May God grant you grieving mercies. HUGS!
Sometimes a letter with the debt Medicaid paid for the deceased is sent first & then a larger packet with a multi page questionnaire is sent after that within a few days later. Unless your mom died still owning her home OR had her term life insurance policy to have the beneficiary to be her Estate OR died with farm/ranch land OR somehow she inherited $, there will be no “estate”, no $, no assets upon her death. There can be no recovery as nothing to recover from.
To be on Medicaid they cannot have more than 2k in nonexempt assets to start with, so the likelihood is they died with under 2k in assets. The questionnaire is all about your (as her old DPOA or contact person in Medicaid files) providing the information with documentation to show why no a Recovery to be done as it’s not cost efficient to persue a federally required attempted Recovery action against your mom’s estate. All done so that MERP can close out your mom’s file. There will be a ? as to her bank balance on day of death, so you put that in and attach a copy of the bank statement. If bank account was POD to you, then that info is written in the questionnaire. Another will be about her life insurance, the amount and who beneficiary was. As long as the “estate” wasn’t the beneficiary of the insurance, it’s not an asset of her estate. There will be ?s on property, auto, inheritance, which you fill in as zero as she had none of these. Personally I’m of the opinion that you fill it out, attached whatever paperwork and make a xerox of all then mail it and supporting paperwork certified mail with the return registered receipt IF it will get it all closed out. So you stop getting collections letters and phone calls. There will be a tight submission date indicated on the letters, please try to get it in before then.
If your Recovery is actually done by state so done by state employees, it will likely be an initial questionnaire with no response back for months. If it’s the state, put in a line somewhere on the questionnaire, that unless you received a written response of the states concerns on specific assets within 30 days that you consider this matter closed by the mailed submission. Again you mail it certified with the return registered card. The duo from USPO is like $ 8.00 and considered legal.
It is NOT your debt.
It is a debt of your mothers, who is deceased.
Unless there are assets that can be an estate, there is no reason or requirement to open probate or do any other type of probate action - even if you mom had a valid will naming you as Executor.
About MERP, that was put into place by Geo. Bush era law the DRA / Deficit Recovery Act of 2005. DRA also put in to have Medicaid gifting / transfer penalty to be uniformly done by all states. Within DRAs MERP there are federal cost benefit/ cost effective requirements:
- value of the Estate has to be over 10k or
- assets of the deceased are under 3k or
- Medicaid's LTC bill under a set amount. I think this one varies by state (as each state manages thier medicaid uniquely) but it’s low like 5k.
that Medicaid letter I will look over igloo and see where it’s from I think merp is who sent it ,,,it’s so long to read and not a questionnaire..
i,have to work the next 3 days at the hospital and hopefully no letters from Medicaid or Medicare will come ..I’m afraid to go to the mailbox ,,,thank you all for your comments and prayers and hugs. I need all I can get ,,I miss Mom so much I cry myself to sleep ..it’s lonely without her and I always kissed her goodnight .,and good morning...and hugged her even when she was in a bad mood ,,at least she is with my sister who died 5 years ago suddenly of a heart attack ,,,I miss,them both. Anyway thank you all I couldn’t do it without you
You did the right thing with your reply. You do not need to fear anything. As some have said, it's just a formality that Medicaid has to follow up on. This is because Medicaid will pay for care even if a person owns a home, but once the person isn't going to go back to that house, the expectation is that the house will be sold to repay what they received from Medicaid. They will accept your explanation, and all will be well.
It's a painful time for those who miss their loved one, but it's just another step in the finalizing of their financial affairs.
If you're concerned, call Medicaid and they will tell you the same thing. You are NOT responsible to repay that - and if you start, they'll never leave you alone.
Call Medicaid today.
The letter that you received may be a formality, as already stated, but to put your mind at rest if this is not settled soon, please get in touch with a pro bono lawyer or Financial Aid. They are free. But, I am sure this can be sorted out.
I’ve found that pro bono & law school clinics usually limit services to consumer issues (housing, rent to own disputes), child custody issues (as they can bring in CPS), juvenile justice.... stuff that more involves legal letter writing, research & filings at the courthouse (online filing). Not physically going to court. Probate judge expects you and your attorney to present themselves in person.
2 law schools in my city and both require 2Ls & 3Ls to do a set # of hours probono. 1 does it only through nonprofits & centered on juvenile justice. The other also does juvenile justice but has a bi-monthly walk in for consumer issues.
Christine - a ? for you? Is there an actual Miller Trust done?
Or is it that Miller has been brought up by others as a way to deal with excess $ and still qualify for Medicaid?
If it’s the latter, you need to first see IF your state allows for a Miller. Not all do. Then IF your state allows for Miller, most have it that all income is paid into the Miller then the exact maximum allowed for income under Medicaid paid to the person and all the rest of the $ is also paid to the facility. So there’s no $ building up in the Miller.It all gets paid to the NH. It seems there are a few states that have the excess build and stay in the Miller trust account held by participating bank then when they die the $ escheats to the state. State totally in control of it both when alive and after death. States can do this with annuities too.
If she does not have any assets then you have nothing to worry about, the family is NOT responsible to pay her bills.
Sorry to hear about the Medicaid issue - Caregivers have enough stress without these types of headaches.
But, in regard to your issue with Medicaid here's my suggestion
- First off, they are just doing their job and what they want is a response from you - My suggestion - don't ignore their claim.
That being said, based on the information you've listed here it will probably be resolved in your favor. But I would suggest the following: get some legal advice.
Please note: I am not an attorney, but here is a list I
got from a workshop I attended of items you might gather and/or have on hand for future reference - make note whether she did or didn't have these
##SUGGESTED Itemized list of assets
(e.g., bank accounts, contents of safe-deposit boxes, vehicles, real estate), including current value and the individuals listed as owners, account holders and beneficiaries. Copies of all estate planning
documents, including wills, trusts and powers of attorney.
Copies of all real estate deeds.
Copies of recent income tax returns.
Life insurance policies, including their cash values.
Long-term care insurance policies or benefits booklets.
Health insurance policies or benefits booklets.
List of names, addresses and telephone
numbers of those involved in decision making,including family members, domestic partners and caregivers,
as well as financial planners and/or accountants
Prepare to meet with your lawyer
(an Elder law attorney) by gathering
all of the documents related to the assets of the person living with dementia.
##
The information was very helpful to me -Again, I'm not giving legal advice, I'm just sharing information shared with me when I had to go thru similar issues and if your situation is like mine was when my mom passed, away, I had to go back to work as I had tapped out my own retirement savings etc taking care of her so I was definitely not in any position to repay any services she had received from agencies.
So, my suggestion: Don't ignore the letter! - Get your records organized for a response as quickly as
possible.
In terms of getting any legal advice, I would first check with organizations like your local Office On Aging,
The Alzheimers Assoc (if that was her issue) Even local Senior Centers often have a list of referral services for these types of issues. In other words you want to check with as many agencies as possible to get their input to help you with your response. They are experts in these types of issues and can help or refer you to find the right sources of help.
Good Luck and God Bless!
If it goes to court, you have them ready! It is a court form that is easy to complete.
On date mm/dd/year, ( mother's name), is a Pauper ( Owes More than she has)
List of assetts & their value that date.
List of expenses and debts on that date.
Balance is less than. $0.00
Bingo....use this with anyone chasing old debts, debt collector, and Medicaid.
Also, you said you paid premiums on Life Insurance Policy...Ask Elder Law Attorney if you need to produce those payment records
. Does this mean you owned the policy in your state? If so, not an Estate Assett.
Also $1,500 is allowed as an exclusion to cover funeral expenses. You likely paid much more, but that is limit they allow to set aside for funeral costs.
If it goes to court, you have them ready! It is a court form that is easy to complete. Pauper papers, when accepted by the court, mean you, nor your attorney, at least not a probono Attorney, have to pay filing fees...for answer...for appearance...supeona...continuance...they charge for pretty much every piece of paper of form you must or might put in the record, even official form that you appeared in court. Adds up fast!
Last note my father, an attorney, taught me.
Get what you have...papers...list of what you don't have ( value $0)
Put it on a spreadsheet. Person working your case wants it off their desk to. Make their job easier!
Ex:
Bank balance,: $150
Life Insurance: $XXX, less $ ___ to cover funeral expenses..see line __
Car: None. $0
Home: None $0
_ note year sold! Clawback can go 5 years. State date of sale. If under 5 years, Buyers Name, Relationship to Mother.. they are looking to see if sold for less than market rate to a relative)
Pension: Company, $__
Annuities: None
Money Market: None
Stocks & Bonds:
Etc.
Add a page with address and contact information for any changes to Assets in past 5 years.
If anything was cashed out, list how used
- costs to prepare house for sale
- moving costs (to NH)
- Rx, OTC and supplies for Medical Care.
- Utility bills..till house sold.
You get the idea. Hope this helps.
On date mm/dd/year, ( mother's name), is a Pauper ( Owes More than she has)
List of assetts & their value that date.
List of expenses and debts on that date.
Balance is less than. $0.00
Bingo....use this with anyone chasing old debts, debt collector, and Medicaid.
Also, you said you paid premiums on Life Insurance Policy...Ask Elder Law Attorney if you need to produce those payment records
. Does this mean you owned the policy in your state? If so, not an Estate Assett.
Also $1,500 is allowed as an exclusion to cover funeral expenses. You likely paid much more, but that is limit they allow to set aside for funeral costs.