Some Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities Are Snatching Residents’ Pandemic Relief Checks, FTC Warns

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning residents of long-term care facilities and their families that some facilities may unlawfully require residents who are on Medicaid to sign over their $1,200 pandemic relief checks.

“This is not just a horror story making the rounds. These are actual reports that our friends in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office have been getting—and handling. Other states have seen the same,” writes Lois Greisman, the FTC’s Elder Justice Coordinator, in a May 15 alert.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act included one-time payments of up to $1,200 to millions of eligible individuals, based on their income. Ordinarily, nursing home and assisted living residents receiving Medicaid benefits must give all their income to the facility, minus a small “personal needs allowance.” However, the economic impact payments that are part of the CARES Act are a tax credit. According to tax law, tax credits don’t count as “resources” for federal benefit programs like Medicaid. The money belongs to the resident, not the facility.

The FTC says that if a loved one lives in a nursing facility and you’re not sure what happened to their payment, talk with them soon.  If the facility took the payment already, get in touch with your state attorney general and ask them to help you get it back, and then tell the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

For the FTCs alert to consumers, click here.

For the agency’s companion alert to businesses, titled “Nursing homes and assisted living facilities: Hands off residents’ stimulus checks,” click here.

For a fact sheet from the National Center on Law & Elder Rights (NCLER) titled “Nursing Home Residents, Medicaid, and Stimulus Checks: What You Need to Know,” click here.

For an NCLER fact sheet for those receiving Medicaid in assisted living facilities or in the community, click here.