Location: Ohio
My grandfather passed away in a nursing home several years ago. Mom was his guardian and paid his bills from his estate until there was nothing left and Medicaid kicked in. The nursing home that he was in at time of death issued a zero-balance statement a few months after he died. Several months later, they sent a bill of over a thousand dollars. Mom called and told them she was not responsible for paying anything Medicaid owed after he died.
Three years later, she’s still getting bills and phone calls. She has spoken to them on the phone countless times. She is now a terminal patient (and they are aware of that) and doesn’t have long to live. She sought help from her lawyer last year—he promised to send a cease and desist, and she paid $$$ for that with no indication that he did indeed do what he said. She can’t afford to seek his help again—he charges for every phone call and for every “promised” service.
The nursing home is threatening to turn her over to collections. I have done some research on the departments she can file complaints to (longterm care ombudsman, attorney general, state agency over nursing homes), and have emailed that info to her but she’s sick and barely has the energy for doing these things. And I live two states away and don’t know how I can help.
What can I do? What are Mom’s rights?