How To Become Social Services In Nursing Home

Topic:
NURSING HOMES; SOCIAL SERVICES;
Location:
NURSING HOMES;
Telescopic:
Federal laws/regulations; Connecticut laws/regulations;

OLR Research Report


May 24, 2001		2001-R-0501
NURSING HOMES AND SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS

Past: Helga Niesz, Principal Analyst

You asked if state or federal laws or regulations allow a nursing home to gain access to a resident ' s Social Security check. If not, you want to know whether the state becomes involved or whether it is a private outcome betwixt the nursing home and the resident.

SUMMARY

The law does not require nursing dwelling residents to let their Social Security checks to be sent direct to the nursing homes. Both land and federal law give residents (or their conservators or other representatives) the right to manage their own personal funds, and they let nursing homes, with the residents ' authorization, to manage their personal funds for them. People who have wearied their own funds and are receiving Medicaid generally accept to apply all of their Social Security check (except for a $52 a month personal needs assart) and other income to the costs of their nursing home care; Medicaid pays the balance. The police does not specify the actual machinery for how the funds are paid to the dwelling. The nursing dwelling can inquire the resident to take the Social Security payment sent to the dwelling (which appears to be the norm for those receiving Medicaid aid in Connecticut), or the resident or her representative can receive the bank check and pay the dwelling. Once the nursing home receives the Social Security payment, it will either pay the personal needs assart directly to the resident or her representative or, at the resident ' s asking, plant a separate personal funds account that it administers and deposit the $52 in it.

SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS

If an individual is paying for nursing dwelling care privately, neither the country nor the federal authorities plainly becomes involved in the mechanics of how the payments are made. The domicile tin can asking that the Social Security check be forwarded directly to the home, just the resident or his representative or conservator does not have to concord to information technology and tin, instead, pay the unabridged bill direct.

If the resident is single, has assets not exceeding $1,600, and does not accept enough income to pay for the nursing home, she can employ to the Section of Social Services (DSS) for Medicaid. In that instance, DSS informs the applicant that she must first apply her Social Security income (minus a $52 monthly personal needs allowance) and other income to the cost of the nursing home; DSS will pay the residual (DSS Uniform Policy Transmission � 5045.20). Neither the state nor the federal government has any detail requirements nigh how the Social Security check gets to the nursing home. Usually, in this situation the nursing habitation will request that the bank check be sent directly to the facility, only the resident does non have to concord to it. I potential problem with having the resident or her representative handle the check is that if the bank check is big and gets deposited in the resident ' s bank account, it could bring the business relationship in a higher place the $1,600 asset limit. This could make her temporarily ineligible for Medicaid.

If the resident is married and the spouse is all the same living in the customs, the spouse may exist eligible for a minimum monthly needs allowance out of the resident ' south Social Security check or other income. In that example, the check could come up to the resident or the spouse in the community and they would exist responsible for paying the balance to the nursing abode. Or information technology could come to the nursing home and the facility would split up the bank check and send the required amount to the customs spouse. OLR Report 2000-R-0911 discusses Medicaid eligibility and customs spouse allowances.

CONNECTICUT PERSONAL FUNDS Direction LAW

The land ' south nursing home residents ' pecker of rights allows residents to manage their personal financial affairs and requires nursing homes to give them a quarterly accounting of financial transactions made on their behalf (CGS � 19a-550 (b)(7)). The statutes too require nursing homes, on or before a resident ' s access, to requite her or her legally liable relative, guardian, or conservator a written statement explaining (1) her rights regarding personal funds and (two) listing the charges the abode can deduct from those funds. Upon a resident ' south or her representative ' s written consent or asking, a nursing home can manage the resident ' s personal funds, just if a physician has determined her to be mentally incapable and she has no conservator, her consent is not valid unless cosigned by a legally liable relative or guardian. The nursing domicile has to maintain a separate business relationship for each resident or an amass trust account for residents ' funds to prevent commingling them with the facility ' due south ain funds (CGS � 19a-551). Violating these provisions is a class A misdemeanor, bailiwick to a fine of upward to $two,000, imprisonment of up to one yr, or both. Residents or their representatives can also sue in courtroom and the nursing dwelling house can be liable to the injured party for treble amercement (CGS � 19a-553).

FEDERAL PERSONAL FUNDS Direction Law

Federal Health Care Financing Administration regulations state that nursing home residents accept the right to manage their financial affairs and the facility cannot require them to eolith their personal funds with it. But if the resident agrees in writing, the facility can hold, safeguard, manage, and business relationship for the personal funds deposited with information technology. The regulations prohibit commingling funds with the facility ' southward own funds, require certain notices, and limit what the facility can accuse to the account (42 C.F.R. � 483.10(c)).

HN:ro