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State: Colorado. My father has terminal cancer and has been in the hospital for a few weeks.  He has recovered somewhat. We are trying to get him admitted to the long term care facility near the hospital. He was convinced that he must apply for Medicaid before entering the LTC. He has limited bank but owns a lot in town and a small ranch. I've read some of the comments on here and I believe he was coerced into signing the MERP, so is he committed to the Medicaid program now? I read somewhere that Medicare would pay for limited nursing home care immediately after a hospital stay. He has been improving, though he is terminal.  And why wouldn't the LTC facility accept a lien on one of the properties while we get it ready and sell it?

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Your Dad's money and assets are for his care unless someone else can pay for it. Medicare will pay for rehab for a limited amount of time. He is probably waiting for Medicaid to pay for care as pending. It does not happen that fast. So, my thought is that Medicaid will lien the properties since he is terminal and will not get better. Yes, I am in Colorado but rules on payment are pretty much the same throughout the country. Would you want to pay for my mom's care if she had assets to pay for herself?
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I'd bet his qualifying for medicaid is going to be complicated. He has a home & a ranch, right? That's going to be a total sticky as they are allowed to have a (one) home as an non exempt asset. But "working" farms or ranches can also be a nonexempt asset. Issue is just how to document "working". If the place in town is strictly considered a "Sunday house", it probably won't be exempt asset so will keep him from Medicaid eligibility.

Really he & you need expertise on doing anything medicaid. I'd call around to find a NAELA atty & ask clearly IF they deal with ranch issues.

? does ranch have any mineral rights / royalties? If this is a big spread there could be some O&G lurking underneath. You may not be aware of as it hasn't been in payout status since ages ago so long forgotten by dad. If so, dont fret as O&G can be dealt with for medicaid. My moms TX medicaid had a section on this within both the application & renewal. I'd image CO, OK, LA do too. Also the size of the ranch should not matter. I know of friends parents who had 10 section ranch & not an issue for medicaid & excluded from estate recovery too. Working farms & ranches should be excluded from any MERP, so ask the atty how things will need to be done to set up ranch transfer after dad dies.

Good luck & stay organized as there's going to be oodles of details.
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Also I'd suggest you ask NH to see if dad was admitted under orders for post hospitalization rehab. If so, usually mediCARE will pay for the first 21daysof rehab and then at 80% IF he is progressing. For families, this 21 days (or longer) gives them the window to figure out elders finances, house situation, etc.

His being terminal might mean it's not a "rehab" admit. So maybe that why the rush by facility to get a Medicaid application done for him? If you as DPOA have concerns that he was coerced, or did not know what he was doing, you can get the application shelved. You or dads new elder law atty can send a certfied letter to do this. Btw atty will enjoy doing this. I think the NH staff who got your dad - who was stressed & under medications - to sign anything was acting way way out of bounds & in thier own interest & not your dads. They know nothing of his assets or financial situation to even know if Medicaid is an option.
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