How to Protect Seniors

the Federal Trade Commission

You can report senior citizen scams to Adult Protective Services as well as your local police. Should you receive a call from someone posing as an IRS agent, or agent from another government agency, report it to that agency as well.

1. Block solicitations. Opt out of commercial mail solicitations.
2. Provide respite for a caregiver. Caregivers who are stressed financially and emotionally can sometimes steal the assets of those they are supposed to be caring for.
3. Set up safeguards at the bank.
4. Arrange for limited account oversight.

Under Penal Code 368 PC, California law defines the crime of elder abuse as physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of a victim who is 65 years of age or older. The offense can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or a felony, and is punishable by up to 4 years of jail or prison.

Seniors are often targeted because they tend to be trusting and polite. They also usually have financial savings, own a home, and have good credit—all of which make them attractive to scammers.

(7) The term “exploitation” refers to the act or process of taking advantage of an elderly person by another person or caregiver whether for monetary, personal or other benefit, gain or profit.

It might never take all of a person’s money. Nursing homes do cost a tremendous amount of money – often over $200 a day – so, eventually, a person may end up paying all of his money to the nursing home, if he lives long enough in the nursing home. In this way, nursing homes are more like hotels than apartments.

When considering how best to protect your assets from nursing home costs, you must think about how Medicaid eligibility could affect your plans.

1. The Role of Medicaid.
2. Gift Money Away.
3. Establish Irrevocable Trusts.
4. Form a Life Estate.

Set up a trust. It is illegal to hide money from the government, but a living trust helps you shelter your money and assets so you don’t have to spend as much, or any, out of pocket. A living trust provides the security you need: you can maintain control over your finances but remove your assets from your name.

The basic rule is that all your monthly income goes to the nursing home, and Medicaid then pays the nursing home the difference between your monthly income, and the amount that the nursing home is allowed under its Medicaid contract. You may need your income to pay off old medical bills.

Nursing homes may offer resident trust funds into which patients can deposit their pension checks, Social Security checks, and other monies. The problem is that unscrupulous nursing home employees can potentially steal from these accounts—and they have.

The law does not require nursing home residents to allow their Social Security checks to be sent directly to the nursing homes. The law does not specify the actual mechanism for how the funds are paid to the home.

Medicare covers up to 100 days of care in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) for each benefit period if all of Medicare’s requirements are met, including your need of daily skilled nursing care with 3 days of prior hospitalization. Medicare pays 100% of the first 20 days of a covered SNF stay.

In answer to the question of how much money can you keep going into a nursing home and still have Medicaid pay for your care, the answer is about $2,000. Gifting your assets to someone else may not protect it and may incur penalties when applying to Medicaid.