Is there nothing we can do?

[RichCsigs]

We're about to lose our house. Let me give you the details.

My brother, his two sons and myself all eventually moved back in with my mom for various financial reasons. Over the years my mother's health got worse, to the point where she rarely got out of bed anymore (due to arthritic pain in her hips & knees).
Back in July my mother got sick and had to go to the hospital. When she left the hospital her doctor put her into a short term care facility. During this time, the decision was made to move her to long term care. The problem is paying for it.
We are poor and need government assistance for this, which requires us losing the house first. It's not a problem for me (I have a friend who is going to rent me a room real cheap), but it is for my brother. His eldest child has PDD-NOS and takes part in a special education/job shadow program through the high school. The school has already told my brother that they would let his son finish out the year if he moved out of the city (it's his last anyway) but the city would no longer take care of his transportation. Rent is higher in our current city than in neighboring towns/cities. Also, our city has been filling up the past few years, and 3br places are getting harder to find (suburb type city close to major business cities).

So, what I'm asking is this: Does anyone have any idea how we can pay for my mother's care without losing the house, at least until the end of the current school year? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[jaerdaph]

I really don't have any advice for you, but I will keep your family in my thoughts and prayers. Hopefully Congress will get their butts in gear and get this country some real, afordable health care options soon. People having to end up in situations like this is absolutely shameful.

 

[pawsplay]

IANAL. Some of this pertains to my experiences in Texas, which may be different from your situation. But similar provisions probably exist elsewhere. Also, you're a bit vague about the facility.

On the assumption you mean some kind of nursing home or clinic:

If your mom is that bad off, what you really need is to get her identified as disabled, if you have not already. Then you work with the staff at the facility to get her moved in and have her apply for Medicard/Medicare, the works. Because, unless your situation is special, it is not you who needs financial assistance but your mother.

What usually happens in this situation is that the facility eats a small part of the first month's bills, then they get paid out out of SSI/SSDI/Medicaid/Medicare. The typical arrangement is that they become the payee for the person's Social Security, and they get any other financial resources the person would have acces to, in return for letting them stay as a resident perpetually.

On the assumption you mean some kind of long-term facility that is primarily medical care and not a living arrangement:

Again, trying to get Social Security is the first step and you should at least try to talk with a lawyer, even if it's just a brief, pro bono consultation. The facility should have a social worker who may be able to talk to you about financial assistance. Now, this is where losing the house may have entered the picture, as the facility would probably like to be paid up front and on time. But barring special circumstances, you don't have a legal obligation to financially support your mother. If your mother requires living in the facility for medical reasons, she is probably disabled, and if she is disabled, you should be able to work things out where the facility gets paid.

If she owns the house and a transfer of property is a problem:

If the house is being counted against her expenses for a number of months, as is sometimes the case, and the house is technically hers, one option may be to go ahead and transfer the house to one of you, then go into debt for however long her expenses will not be paid. It is likely going to be painful, but a) it might be cheaper than losing the house depending on circumstances, and b) ultimately it's a temporary problem, albeit not one of short duration. Since the house is on the line anyway, you might as well see if you can use it as collateral for the needed money.

If the problem is that your bother is using her Social Security to keep a roof up:

Then you guys probably have some hard decisions ahead.

 

[frankthedm]

I'm not a charitable person myself, but, I'm confident there are some around. Put a PayPal link in your signature, with a link back to your first post here, might garner some financial support. BUUUUT you better know the laws on how that could interact with your government assistance JIC.

 

[Umbran]

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