Tells you how good of a job you did raising your children.
Oh Mary, after all you've been through, now this.
I don't know very much about Medicaid or how it works. My Dad was ineligible by some small amount based on his SSDI income and his prior year's income. Everyone I spoke with kept asking, have you applied for Medicaid? ...As if it were a good thing. I am glad we did not. I was aware of how they do that with people who need to go to a skilled nursing facility and have no other way to pay for it. Medicare and other insurers will only pay for like the first 120 days, I think. It surprises me that they would still put a lien on you even though he did not go there and this is only for his medical bills. I would have thought they just paid them outright, like they do with maternity care, etc.
I made sure my Dad got his employer paid insurance continued through the 4 months under FMLA, then we did COBRA for one month and it was over half of his SSDI income, so then we got him on an ACA plan. They will also funnel you through Medicaid first if they can. He wasn't eligible for Medicaid, but did get a weighty subsidy which made the ACA plan affordable, it was like $340/month. And they lowered the deductible and out of pocket maximum as well. It came out way better than any traditional insurance plan would have paid. We were able to pay his remaining medical costs out of pocket after that.
Although I am thankful it provided a safety net that helped my Dad, what good does the ACA even do if it would not help you guys as well!?! Medicaid should not be allowed to rob you of everything you've worked hard for your whole life just because your DH was hit with a devastating illness. It is not right at all, and those income levels where they draw the line make no sense to me.
Did they give you any forewarning that they intended to take your house for payment? How on earth will it go if you yourself should need skilled nursing care later in life? There would be nothing left for them to milk. I am upset that they would do this to you.
Today I am dealing with trying to get a hold of CPS regarding my nephew and niece. They have given me the runaround and my nerves are shot. I have no good opinion of them either.
I asked different times about my house and they said as long as he did not go in a nursing home, which is true if he was under 55 years of age, so just misinformation and we would still have done it even knowing the house would be taken and I would not have a problem if this was paid for by DH but he only worked and put 10 years in this house, so my problem is the rest of my life I pay for his bill, which he was my husband. Maybe all this gave him 2 years extra of life. Sometimes I wonder if he had not had some of these treatments if he would still be alive. He had insurance with his job but when he could not work then he lost the insurance. He was able to get disability but was a long process of barely any income for 5 or 6 months and no insurance for me and DD. He started getting Medicaid for medical. DS was covered by Medicaid too. I did not qualify or DD for Medicaid. I am not sure what we could have changed. DS and I decided we might as well stay here for now and better than renting. We have a home with freedom and not some little apartment with a landlord. We will just see what happens as time goes on. They will not take the house as long as I live, so if I needed skilled nursing I could get it and they would take the house. The house years down the road may be worth more than DH's debt and if I died and did not go to skilled nursing then DS could still profit from the house, but who knows, the house could be worse less. I am just going to plant my seeds in next day or so. DS said we just forget it and live. I got a letter for jury duty the other day. The way it was worded made me so mad. I called and asked them what it meant. I thought I had to be there on a Monday or else they were coming for me. The man said we have to word it like that to have teeth. i still am mad over that. Not even mad over the house, just kind of sad about that. A debt is a debt. That and my job cutting all our line rate, plus today would have been DH's birthday, my mother would have been 103 on the 7th, my first Valentine's Day without DH and on the 18th would have been our 26th anniversary and to top it all off, next week we will have lows in the single digits again.
My heart aches for you Gardening with Rabbits 
. 
They always say do nothing life changing for a year after a death in your family. You must remember that Medicaid is free health care. Without it your husband would have not been treated. I reread your letter and the end was very telling where you said "Someone told me." You are being asked to pay for some of his care after you are gone. If rent is higher than your mortgage then why leave your home? Talk to officials with medicaid or whoever the agency is. I still think a specialized lawyer will help you the most.
I asked different times about my house and they said as long as he did not go in a nursing home, which is true if he was under 55 years of age, so just misinformation and we would still have done it even knowing the house would be taken and I would not have a problem if this was paid for by DH but he only worked and put 10 years in this house, so my problem is the rest of my life I pay for his bill, which he was my husband. Maybe all this gave him 2 years extra of life. Sometimes I wonder if he had not had some of these treatments if he would still be alive. He had insurance with his job but when he could not work then he lost the insurance. He was able to get disability but was a long process of barely any income for 5 or 6 months and no insurance for me and DD. He started getting Medicaid for medical. DS was covered by Medicaid too. I did not qualify or DD for Medicaid. I am not sure what we could have changed. DS and I decided we might as well stay here for now and better than renting. We have a home with freedom and not some little apartment with a landlord. We will just see what happens as time goes on. They will not take the house as long as I live, so if I needed skilled nursing I could get it and they would take the house. The house years down the road may be worth more than DH's debt and if I died and did not go to skilled nursing then DS could still profit from the house, but who knows, the house could be worse less. I am just going to plant my seeds in next day or so. DS said we just forget it and live. I got a letter for jury duty the other day. The way it was worded made me so mad. I called and asked them what it meant. I thought I had to be there on a Monday or else they were coming for me. The man said we have to word it like that to have teeth. i still am mad over that. Not even mad over the house, just kind of sad about that. A debt is a debt. That and my job cutting all our line rate, plus today would have been DH's birthday, my mother would have been 103 on the 7th, my first Valentine's Day without DH and on the 18th would have been our 26th anniversary and to top it all off, next week we will have lows in the single digits again.
