Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes are Not Entitled to your Stimulus Check

Under the recent CARES Act, economic impact payments (also called “stimulus checks”) have been given to individuals and married couples to help cover unexpected costs during the recent shutdowns due to COVID-19. These checks are considered a tax credit, which means they are not counted as part of your resources for federal benefit programs, like Medicaid, and they cannot be taken by the government.  

Some nursing homes and assisted living facilities are claiming that if a patient is on Medicaid, then that patient must give their stimulus checks to the facility to help cover their costs. This is not true. The facility is not entitled to a patient’s stimulus check just because they are on Medicaid.  

If you have a loved one in a nursing facility, talk with them about their right to keep their stimulus check.  If the nursing home or assisted living facility took your stimulus check, contact your state attorney general to help you get your stimulus check back. You can also contact the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman at (877) 236-0013, or locate your local long-term care ombudsman at https://www.tn.gov/aging/our-programs/long-term-care-ombudsman/district-long-term-care-ombudsman.html.  Additionally, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1.