How much social security can my mother keep living at home, once she is approved for Medicaid Waiver.

I think the information you were given may not be correct. I practice in Florida and first off, please know that the rules surrounding the Medicaid waiver programs are specific to each state.

In Florida, the waiver program that sounds most similar to the program your mother is on is called the Medicaid Diversion program. Under this program, Medicaid will pay a provider to provide weekly home care services to the Medicaid recipient. The true issue that I believe you need to look into is how many assets and also how much income your mother can receive and still qualify for the program.

In Florida, in 2009, a Medicaid recipient is limited to $2,000 worth of countable assets and must receive less than $2,022 in gross income each month in order to be financially eligible for this program. When I am assisting a client with Medicaid Diversion Waiver - as long as they receive less than $2,022 in income and have less tan $2,000 in countable assets they may qualify.

In Florida, the amount of money a Medicaid recipient must pay to a nursing facility is called the patient responsibility. This is typically their income less $35 dollars, but may be reduced if there is a spouse living at home. For clients on the Medicaid Diversion Waiver program, they do not have a patient responsibility because they are not in a facility, therefore, they are able to retain ALL of their income each month as long as they are below the income limit of $2,022 to remain financially eligible.

It seems to me that either the income limit for New York is much much lower than Florida (which I highly doubt), or you were given incorrect information.