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My mom still lives on her own and I am her POA. She doesn't drive, has early stage dementia and lives in a tiny Govt assisted unit.
When we moved her there she had a queen size bed which is very old and we had to leave her old dining room set with the house she sold. At the time we figured she didn't need a dining table because of her lack of room.
Anyway....to make a long story longer, she complains about her bed all the time due to discomfort and that it's just to big. She also wants a table of some sort.
I have no issue with getting her some of these things but wonder if that would cause issues down the line with lookback on medicaid.
Simply put she has less than 60k in the back including her CD's. Is there an issue with spending money on things like that for mom?

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It sounds like a needed and legitimate purchase to me. I am no Medicaid expert, though. Maybe someone who is will answer. I see the bed as practical for the space requirements and a good mattress needed for good health. I would be surprised if Medicaid would penalize for it.
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Dear Tigerlily, In your Mom's govt assisted apt., I assume she is paying rent on a scale based on her income and assets, and is not yet on Medicaid. Read up on those guidelines, but her are some basics: before she can qualify for Medicaid, her assets need to be spent down to about $2000. Further, they will "look-back" into the 5-yr financial history preceding the Medicaid application. In general, any expenditure or transaction in/out of her accounts will be scrutinized. They are especially watchful for transfers of assets and property to others (money given away to reduce her assets so she can qualify). That type of thing will result in penalties of some kind - like a longer waiting period. In the meantime, she can spend her money on whatever she wants or needs for her own benefit - it's her money. So the bed, the DR table, clothing, living expenses, etc. are justifiable personal expenses. As POA, be mindful of justifying major expenses (generally anything over $200 will be questioned). Keep all significant receipts, and keep detailed records of major purchases (remember 'for her benefit'). You will need them if the day ever comes when she needs to apply for Medicaid. BTW, even transferring ownership of life insurance to another person is considered a transfer of assets (i.e. the cash value). As long as that is done 5 years prior to getting on Medicaid, it shouldn't be a problem. I would just consult an elder care lawyer that it is justified if done in a period of her lucidity before the demential gets any worse.
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Other than the fact that ia am her only living child that will take care of mom,I am probably not the perfect candidate. I am not a spend thrift with her money or mine but I am also horrible with receipts! Both her money and mine, i take care of most of her expenses on debit card and i pull out cash for her once a month. Almost all of her daily needs are met out of her regular Social Security check, not out of her savings. Do I have to keep total track of just her regular 950.00 a mth or is it her savings they worry about? I can see why people do not want to be caregivers or POA's. this could be a nightmare! I hat to think that I will one day be hounded for something dumb i didn't even see coming.
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We are in the same boat! Only child, also horrible with receipts, although I do save them. Get a big jar or large ziplock bag, and just throw them in there. Once a month, you can staple the receipts to the monthly bank statements to clarify what/where those debit card transactions were spent for Mom. Then you have your justifications for the 5-yr lookback. It's not the most orderly way to keep records, but it works for me. Between all the receipts and the bank statements, it's also very helpful for me at tax time when I have to prep my own personal info for my accountant. It's time consuming because I did not do my personal bookkeeping on a monthly basis, but it's worth the effort once a year. Then I have documented pages listing various types of expenses, and my accountant can sort it out easily.
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Sorry, Yes you do need to justify where money went from her savings, because it's a finalncial cash asset, CD's etc. My Mom does not have any of that, but I would say keep records of any expenditures/liquidations of those assets.
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try a memory foam matress my mother finds great solace in hers. when we had a bed bug infestation in our home the hospice nurse demanded we burn moms bed. that did not happen, we bought bugproof covers for it, killed the bugs with ditomecious earth altho it took a while and in the nurses defense she was not only wrong but joked about it later. more recently mom has been sitting in a horrid chair cause we had to burn hers over the bugs. heres what finally worked. i put a bar of soap in a tube sock and cracked her over the head with it 4 times and we went chair shopping. im lying but she has a nice electrically adjustable recliner under her now and it sucks so bad that she slept in it last night. mom loves me, im such a belligerant bitch but she knows its for her benefit. boy AC has got siome editing to do on this particular post LOL ..
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My dad did not have medicaid, he had medicare through an HMO. They provided an medical, (adjustable) bed. Maybe your mom can get this, it is very convinient.
A smaller bed adn DR set sound like very reasonable items, I hope you can getr a recliner as well....the electric ones can be pricey, but they are comfortable and useful.
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I hate receipts! I print out the debit card (SS) statement each month and jot down what was purchased if it isn't obvious from the statement. But I'm doing that just for my own recall...we aren't looking at medicaid requirements and if we were, it wouldn't matter in our case since there is no savings whatsoever.

What about one of those new scanners that files receipts on your computer? You could maybe get one of those?

A memory foam mattress is my vote, too. I have one and I swear by it! I used to get horrible back aches just from sleeping but no more since the new mattress!
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Babalon1919: I hate receipts too - that's why I stash them in a drawer or envelope until the monthly bank statement arrives. Regarding Medicaid, it isn't just savings they look at. They will want 60 months (5 years) of checking account statements too. They are not going to rely on your penciled notes as to what the debit card purchases were for, so it is best to just attach the receipts to the statement once a month. It's mainly to identify large expenditures If you ever have to apply for Medicaid, it would be a nightmare trying to re-capture that information without receipts.
I think your idea of the receipt scanner is fabulous just to get rid of the paper. But I think you have sit down and give each document a name, so it's work anyway - electronic vs manual. I wonder if anyone else here has experience with that.
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The scanner is a good idea. A flat bed scanner is cheaper than the one that file the receipts automatically. You will have to make your own computer file to store them. Also if the recepts are on the thermal paper that so many cash registers use today, it is good to scan or at least make a copy as the printing on them fades over time.
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Well I appreciate all the responses and they all make good sense. I have started as of this month putting her receipts in an envelope for the month for her, but I am pretty much screwed before now because I just have not done it. Now they can always look at her bank statements which I have but lets hope mom doesnt' need a look back for a good 5 years! LOL That way I have had enough sense to start doing it right. One last question...if we find mom a good table and chairs at a garage sale I won't be getting a receipt. How do they figure that? And what about the spending money I give mom in cash? She spends money personally in cash that she SELDOM gets a receipt for so how do I account for that? She catches a ride with a neighbor to Walmart etc and I don't even find out about it until who knows when?
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