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My mom is hospitalized for pneumonia we just received a call from her facility that we have to pay $300 a day to hold her bed. She is ward of the state and is on long term Medicaid. They said they would take her back but they are at full capacity, if they give her bed up, would my mom just stay at the hospital until another bed becomes available? We have never had to deal with this before, we are in NC

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If she is a ward of the state let them know that, and supply them the number of her court appointed guardian or fiduciary. This isn't your problem. And it isn't your bill. And you should not pay anything to hold a bed. They are simply fishing for money, I do believe, because they can. Refer them to the proper authorities involved in her care.
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Slothlover2019 Nov 2023
Now I’m not sure she is ward of the state because after reading more online it says a judge has to render her incompetent and that never happened. We never went to court, I am her legal POA. She went from the hospital to a SNF. She’s been hospitalized a few times in the past but this is the first time they are saying they will give up her bed because they are at full capacity.
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I would call her Medicaid caseworker and see if this is allowed. She cannot pay the $300 and you are not obligated to pay it. You really may not be allowed to since she is on Medicaid. IMO, Mom has paid for that bed for the month with her SS and any pension and Medicaid has paid their share for the month.
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Slothlover2019 Nov 2023
Basically, the facility said that Medicaid does not pay them for the days that she is in the hospital so since they’re not getting money, they cannot hold the bed for her. I brought up paying the amount each month which is out of her disability minus the $30 and she said that only pays for four days. I guess it’s a facility policy they said that they will take her back but it may be after a few weeks if they don’t have a bed available. Which stinks because all of her stuff is there. I just want to make sure that the hospital will keep her until she has a bed available.
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I would think you would have to pay to hold the bed if it turns out she is not a ward of the state. The hospital will not keep her when they determine she is able to be discharged. Hospitals dismiss patients as quickly as they can justify doing so--sometimes it is too soon. Treatment and health care decisons are often based more on the Business Plan of Medicine in our country than on what might be best or most accommodating to the patient's circumstances.
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She should have a care manager/discharge planner assigned to her at the hospital. They should be following her. She may also have a social worker assigned, or they may be part of the care planning team. Either way, you should share your concerns with her hospital care team, telling them what you're running into, and that she can't be discharged to you because you can't care for her at home, but needs to be discharged to a SNF. They will have to find her a facility to discharge to if your current facility won't hold the bed.
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I think everyone should know what is allowed for each state's nursing homes for Medicaid. Here is some information.

https://ltcombudsman.org/uploads/files/support/BedHoldPolicy_by_State_2019.pdf

Where my BIL is which is the state of Iowa, Medicaid holds the bed for 10 days if they are hospitalized.

I hope this helps. Prayers
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Slothlover2019: Both the hospital and the facility are businesses. As such, money does come into play. When my mother was hospitalized for an ischemic stroke, the NH she had been at while suffering the stroke asked me if I would like to do a bed hold for a fee. However, it became evident that my mother would not recover. She did not.
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You said “she is a ward of the state”. If your mom is a ward of the state of North Carolina, why are they telling you that you have to pay $300 a day in order to hold the bed? Shouldn’t they be telling this to the state since she is a ward of the state? Doesn’t “ward of the state” means that the state has custody of your mom?

Since your mom is a ward of the state, the nursing facility should have notified the state about the bed issue. You should call your mother’s caseworker and let him/her know about the bed issue.
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Slothlover2019:

This is just a follow-up to your question. Who is the representative payee for your mother since she is a ward of the state? The representative payee should be the one to pay the $300 to hold the bed in the nursing facility.
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Talk to case manager/social worker at the hospital. He/She can deal with this issue.
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