In Response to SSD And Care Home Payment : Lots of details missing The lawyer had to be appointed by someone to make these decisions.  Either she had given the lawyer a Power of Attorney at some prior point or the lawyer could have been appointed by a Court to act on her behalf if she was declared to not be able to do so - called a Guardianship or Conservator .  The person appointed or acting in this behalf has a fidicuary responsibility to act in her best interest and can be held accountable for any wrong doing, if that be the case. Most Skilled Nursing Facilities are no long ran by "the State" but you may mean one that accepts Medicaid since it seems that she might have been placed here for rehab or recouperation.  Since she no longer had health insurance, was too young to be on Medicare, I will assume that Medicaid was the payer of last resort.  Placement of Medicaid receipients is limited to those facilities that accept it. Well, that was good! Again, this is something that she will have to take up with the lawyer who was looking after her affairs by whatever authority.  However, you have to understand that if she did not have enough money (emergency fund) or have some type of short or long term disability to pick up and cover her expenses - health insurance premium, apartment rental, car payments, etc. then this tend to happen.  Well, that 's also good - perhaps the lawyer put the claim in for her while he was acting on her behalf.  So she will get the initial back SSDI allotment and then a monthly amount as long as she is deemed disabled.  If she reamins on SSDI for (2) years, she will be able to apply for Medicare. That sounds about right.  Each state has their own Medicaid eligibility income/asset rules and yes, Medicaid can be the payer for care in an interium period but if the receipient of the care has income that begins or recovered assets, they do have the right to recover all or part as the situation may be. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Resources:  Medicaid Estate Recovery I believe this is going to be determined by the State Medicaid program where she is going to reside in a Community Residential Care Home or facility.  It sounds to me that she has a couple or more problems. 1.  It sounds like Medicaid want to be reimbursed for some of the care which they have paid for while (maybe in the hospital) and definitely while in the nursing home.    So some of this SSDI back payment may get taken for that - all of this is by Social Security number at the state and federal level so sooner or later, they will deduct the amount - probably even before it gets to her. 2.  No, SSDI if in an account all it's on and not mixed with other money cannot be garnished by private debt collections - totally different for a state or the federal government seeking reimbursement for funds that are owed to them.  They actually don't have to garnish - they just take it before it gets to you.  So, in that case, the terms are up to them not her.  I do believe they are limited in how much they can take on a monthly basis.  She should check with SSA on this and perhaps her state Medicaid program. 3.  If she wants to do it on her own and has assummed the legal ability to do it on her own (since it appears that might have been removed from her by the lawyer), she can.  The care that she would be getting within the community residential home could be given to her in her own home as long as the medical community & medicaid agree that (a)  this sort of help would be adequate for her needs (b)  they agree that she is able to do it by herself.  She could also apply for other forms of help - food stamps to help her. (c)  would the care be covered under the State Medicaid program if done outside a Community Home care facility. 4.  However, a word of caution, that SSDI amount is gonna have to go a long ways in support even with other forms of possible help.  She is probably still without health insurance and will have to wait that 24 months for Medicare - and in the interium she may still have to rely on Medicaid for certain medical services or medicine.  Rent, utilities, food, transportation cost, incidentals, clothes, etc.  are not cheap. That's all I got - that's my 2 cents.
Posted by GailL1

As for the other problem, she should call her state Medicaid office and ask because I beleive that it is the state that is trying to collect their money for what they paid (or some of it) for her Medicaid while she was ill.
Posted by GailL1