Any Medicaid experts here?

[Rain Man]

Okay, this is an awkward question, but I'll pose it.

I have an older relative who's got a long history of making bad financial decisions. He's a senior citizen and has basically backed himself into a financial corner. He's making payments on two properties that aren't producing any income for him (and which have very low market value), and he owns another property that's apparently got a lien on it for some significant amount relative to the property's value. I have the impression that each of these properties would sell for less than he owes on them, or are breakeven at best.

So he's basically spending all of his income on these loan payments, and he's not buying things like medicines that he needs. His house is falling down around him because he can't do basic repairs, and he's eating junk food every day because it's cheap. Again, he constantly makes bad financial decisions.

I've suggested that he look into Medicaid to get some help. He alternately claims that he's not eligible because of all of the real estate that he owns, and then also says that he won't apply because they'll "take all of his stuff".

I don't know much about this topic since I've never looked into it. Can someone answer these questions for me?

1. If he owns real estate, but it's worth less than he owes (or if it's got a lien on it), does it count as assets in terms of Medicaid eligibility? It's not really an asset for him in net value, and in fact it's a big liability because he's making payments on properties that are not worth the cost. But does Medicaid consider the debt when determining eligiblity, or just the raw asset?

Obviously, the smart move would be to dump them for whatever value he can get, but again ... he constantly makes bad financial decisions so he refuses to do the smart thing.

2. He claims that Medicaid will "take his stuff". I'm looking up information, and it appears that you have to sign your assets over if you want long-term care (and that's a reasonable thing in my opinion). It appears that basic Medicaid coverage doesn't require signing over your assets, though. Is that correct? It's only for long-term care or assisted living? And does 'signing over your assets' include your home? I know that your home doesn't count as an asset when determining eligibility.

3. If you need long-term care and sign over your assets, does that somehow negate the debts on those assets? Would he still owe payments on the remaining mortgages and the lien on the third property? Or would that go away somehow when they received the assets?

Thanks in advance. If you respond knowledgeably, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.