Quote:
Originally Posted by thickntired
Wait I stand corrected she gained a SS income check from her late husband. She's a widow so there was not a 10 yr marriage rule. She just got out if the hospital and filed for medicade to cover costs retroactive. But bc she has an inheritance I'm not sure medicade will come thru. She's been back and forth with them and the hospital bill is $45k. She's not indigent though.
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That's kind of what I thought you might be referring to. People have gotten SS income from a late spouse.
I know a man who gave up his own SS, in order to get his late wife's because her's was worth more, due to her making more money than he had made. He got it, even though they had been divorced. He was eligible because the marriage had lasted for over 10 years.
"If you are the divorced spouse of a worker who dies, you could get benefits just the same as a widow or widower, provided that your marriage lasted 10 years or more." From:
Survivors Planner: If You're The Worker's Surviving Divorced Spouse
The lady you are describing may have to "spend down" her inheritance before she can get Medicaid. She may not have to become totally indigent, necessarily. There is a whole body of rules about what you can and can't own. (Like you don't necessarily have to sell your house, depending. But the government reserves the right to go after any property when you're dead. They will get it before your heirs will. I think that is called their "Right of Recovery." They even have some claim on some insurance money that your heirs might get, depending on this and that.)