A nursing home can take your Social Security check when you are on Medicaid, as they are entitled to all of your monthly income except for a small "personal needs allowance" ($30–$60+ depending on the state). This typically happens once Medicaid begins paying for care, which may be immediate or after assets are exhausted.
You may be able to keep your full SSI payment if your stay at a medical facility is short-term. We define a short-term stay as more than a month but less than 90 days. Tell us if you expect to be there for a short-term stay and you need your monthly payments to keep paying for your home while you're away.
Many things can happen with a loved one's SSI check (or Social Security check), including errors or delays in getting a scheduled check to their bank account. But if it has been redirected to the nursing home rather than the recipient's bank account, the facility is only entitled to keep the patient pay amount.
Seniors might use a handful of resources to help cover the costs of assisted living, but is Social Security one of them? In this guide, you'll learn: That while Social Security benefits can be used for assisted living costs, the average monthly benefit is typically not enough to cover the full expense.
Neither the nursing home nor the government will seize your home to cover expenses while you are living in care. However, if you run out of funds to pay for the care you need, your estate's assets may be taken after your death to cover those costs.
One of them may be whether or not a hospice is entitled to seize your loved one's Social Security check. The answer is a definite no. Patients in hospice care can continue to receive their Social Security checks with no interference from a hospice. This is true even if you fall behind on hospice care payments.
Because the FPLP is used to satisfy tax debts, the IRS may levy your Social Security benefits regardless of the amount. This is different from the 1996 Debt Collection Improvement Act which states that the first $750 of monthly Social Security benefits is off limits to satisfy non-tax debts.
A CDR is a periodic evaluation by the SSA to determine if SSDI or SSI recipients still qualify for disability benefits. How often reviews are conducted is based on the likelihood of your condition improving and potential triggers such as increased earnings, documented recovery, or failure to comply with treatment.
How can you lose your Social Security benefits?
The government and nursing homes are not allowed to directly seize assets. What most of us don't know is what happens to one's monthly Social Security and pension checks once the person uses up all of his or her assets.
The "nursing home 5-year rule," or Medicaid's 5-Year Look-Back Period, is a federal Medicaid law requiring states to check for asset transfers (like gifts or selling for less than fair value) made within five years before applying for nursing home care, triggering a penalty period of ineligibility for benefits if violations are found, ensuring individuals spend their own money first before relying on Medicaid. This penalty is calculated by dividing the value of the transferred assets by the average monthly cost of nursing home care, resulting in a delay in receiving benefits.
If improvement is expected, your first review generally will be 6 to 18 months after the date we determine your disability began. If improvement is possible, but can't be predicted, we'll review your case about every 3 years. If improvement is not expected, we'll review your case every 7 years.
3 ways you can lose your Social Security benefits
The biggest Social Security law change in 2025 is the Social Security Fairness Act (HR 82), signed January 5, 2025, which eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), stopping benefit reductions for many public servants with non-covered pensions. Other key changes for 2025 include a 2.5% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2025 benefits and upcoming announcements for 2026, plus new tax deductions for certain overtime pay under the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act".
The best way to protect your Social Security Benefits from creditors is to keep a separate account, which only receives direct deposits from Social Security.
When you enter a nursing home, your Social Security check usually continues but is applied toward your care costs, with Medicaid covering the rest if you qualify, while you keep a small "personal needs allowance" (around $30-$60/month) and potentially funds for a spouse or to maintain your home (if short-term). The nursing home can't seize your funds but will bill you, and the SSA might appoint the home or a relative as your representative payee to manage payments, with benefits deposited directly to you or the payee, not the facility directly, unless set up that way.
The "hospice 80/20 rule" refers to a Medicare requirement mandating that at least 80% of hospice care must be delivered in the patient's home (residence, assisted living, etc.) for comfort, with the remaining 20% potentially in inpatient facilities for acute pain or respite. A separate, newer 80/20 rule from CMS for Medicaid requires 80% of payments for Home & Community-Based Services (HCBS) to go to direct care worker wages, aiming to improve caregiver pay, though this has sparked industry debate over its impact on access.