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CaregiverMayK Asked March 2016

What is the salary range an in home family member can get paid?

I was wondering approx.I have been out of work for over a year now and my mom's dementia will be requiring someone to be there full time very soon. I'm trying to weigh out my options as to whether or not I continue to seek full time employment in my field or get paid via Medi-cal as an in home family caregiver and was wondering approx how much can I expect to get paid for this in California.

igloo572 Mar 2016
MayK - there was a couple of folks who posted on this site maybe a couple of years back who were on the IHHS MediCal system. Your mom will have to be on MediCal and they will determine what level of care she needs. Mom gets allotted funding to pay for a caregiver. It is a Medicaid waiver program. You become the caregiver but will need to take some type of basic class on caregiving, CPR, etc which the state provides for. You get paid slightly above minimum wage and it is totally reportable and taxable income paid by the state on mom's behalf to you. I'm remembering it was about $ 10 - 14 hr wage & maybe 20/25 hrs a week average. Each county has an IHHS program. Just google your county and IHHS to start.

i don;t think it can be a full time 40 hr work week paid under IHHS.

If you had a high income before this and could go back to your old income level & type of position, it would be better in the long run for your own income, retirement and SS benefits later on. Personally I think IHHS works for someone who can get their own retirement and the IHHS is just extra $ for them. Like a 63 yr old daughter taking care of a 85 yr old mom.

Also Id suggest for you to try to find out - if mom owns her home - how your getting IHHS payments can effect the ability for you to get the caregiver exemption to Medicaid's estate recovery program of mom's home.

freqflyer Mar 2016
CaregiverMay, here are some things to think about if one is trying to decide whether to quit work to care for an aging parent.... on average if a working person quits work he/she will lose over the years between $285,000 and $325,000 which includes not only loss of salary over those years... it also includes the net worth loss of the health insurance coverage.... loss of money being put into Social Security/Medicare..... loss of other benefits such as matching 401(k).... profit sharing.... workman's comp insurance.... company sponsored life insurance.... vacation pay, sick pay.... tuition assistance, etc. [source: in part Reuters 5/30/12]

Therefore, you would need to check with California's Medi-cal program to see what is available, I assume they would take out payroll taxes. Maybe it would be full-time at minimum wage, or it could be part-time pay at minimum wage. Each State has different programs, if any programs at all.

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GardenArtist Mar 2016
May, have you checked out the suggestions made by posters on your other post on this subject?

(https://www.agingcare.com/questions/options-for-getting-paid-as-caregiver-195472.htm)

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