The FTC says that if nursing homes ask for a resident’s check, the resident should contact the state attorney general and the FTC. Medicaid recipients who receive a stimulus check that puts them above Medicaid’s resource limit will need to spend down the money within a year or risk losing benefits.

Can a nursing home keep stimulus check?

Furthermore, the stimulus check will not count as assets, given the money is spent within 12-months of receiving it. So, within this timeframe, a nursing home Medicaid recipient can have possession of the money and it will not impact one’s Medicaid eligibility.

Will nursing home residents get a second stimulus check?

In December 2020, Congress approved a second round of stimulus checks for individuals making less than $75,000 a year. These checks are being sent to everyone who is eligible. This includes individuals on Medicaid and those living in nursing homes and senior living facilities.

What stops receiving a stimulus check?

Individual taxpayers with AGI of $80,000 or more aren’t eligible. The new stimulus check will begin to phase out after $75,000, per the new “targeted” stimulus plan. If your adjusted gross income, or AGI, is $80,000 or more, you won’t be eligible for a third payment of any amount.

Who is eligible for the first stimulus check?

If you are a US citizen or resident for federal income tax purposes but live in one of the Freely Associated States, you may be eligible for a payment from the IRS. People who live in US territories were eligible for a first stimulus check under the CARES Act.

Do you get a stimulus check if you live in a US territory?

If you’re one of the 4 million people living in a US territory — Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands — you were eligible for a first and second stimulus check, and will be for a third as well. However, the IRS doesn’t distribute the payments to the five territories.

How long does it take to spend a stimulus check?

Furthermore, stimulus checks do not count as assets, given the money is spent within 12-months of receiving it. So, within this timeframe, a nursing home Medicaid recipient can have possession of the money and it will not impact one’s Medicaid eligibility. However, it is imperative that the money, in its entirety, be spent within one year.

Why are stimulus checks problematic for nursing homes?

During the first round of payments we saw that this has the potential to be problematic for many reasons including: when the nursing home is the resident’s representative payee, and when residents have not been informed of the Payment.