FTC SCAM ALERT: Some Assisted Living Facilities Duping Residents to Sign Over Stimulus Checks

By  //  May 18, 2020

some facilities trying to take stimulus payments intended for residents on Medicaid

Do you or a loved one live in a nursing home or assisted living facility? Are you (or they) on Medicaid? If you said “yes” to both, please read on and prepare to get mad. (FTC image)

(FTC) – Do you or a loved one live in a nursing home or assisted living facility? Are you, or they, on Medicaid? If you said “yes” to both, please read on and prepare to get mad.

We’ve been hearing that some facilities are trying to take the stimulus payments intended for their residents on Medicaid. Then they’re requiring those people to sign over those funds to the facility.

Why? Well, they’re claiming that, because the person is on Medicaid, the facility gets to keep the stimulus payment.

But here’s the deal: those economic impact payments are, according to the CARES Act, a tax credit. And tax law says that tax credits don’t count as “resources” for federal benefits programs, like Medicaid.

So: when Congress calls these payments “tax credits” in the CARES Act, that means the government can’t seize them.

Which means nursing homes and assisted living facilities can’t take that money from their residents just because they’re on Medicaid. And, if they took it already, get in touch with your state attorney general and ask them to help you get it back.

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.

If you’ve experienced this already, tell your state attorney general’s office first, and then tell the FTC: ftc.gov/complaint

FTC SCAM ALERT: Scammers Online Offer Facemasks and Paper Products but Don’t DeliverRelated Story:
FTC SCAM ALERT: Scammers Online Offer Facemasks and Paper Products but Don’t Deliver