Restless, how old is your mother-in-law? And what are her medical conditions?
Contact your mother-in-laws State Medicaid office to see if she would be eligible as each State has their own rules, regulations and programs, and those keep changing depending on the State budgets.
Restless - What are you hoping that Medicaid will provide for MIL?
The 10K she gets now, is that from SS? If so, that is federal $ she receives and the entitlement amount is based on her work history. SS is an income basd entitlement. SS is the safety net for those over 65, so if she is already getting SS there probably isn't going to be another source of federal income for her unless she or her husband qualify for VA. Many advanced elderly (those 90++) have SS checks that are $600/700 a mo as their work history is based on decades ago when wages were much much lower than those who worked more recently.
She should be signed up for Medicare as well (a service based federal entitlement). If she does not have a Medicare gap policy, right now is the open enrollment period to do this. Id look to getting her enrolled in one of the gap policies in her state till she gets accepted by Medicaid. She should have just gotten the Medicare book geared to her state as well as getting all sorts of mailings from various gap policies. Many of them are geared for the healthy younger senior with a car, so help her go through them to see what best fits her needs and affordability. There is a really great article on this site on this.
For those having parents & in laws with limited income, you really just have to go on-line to your state to see what programs to apply to; contact church groups to see what programs they do & get her enrolled (Jewish family services does a lot of programs all over the US which are open to all).
Restless, since you're in Michigan, you're lucky in that the Elder Law of Michigan agency helps older folks become aware of and apply for benefits that could help them.
elderlawofmi.
Contact them, explain the situation and ask for assistance.
She should certainly be on Medicaid and food stamps. These things are not automatic, she has to apply for them. Go to your nearest senior center or the Tri County Office of the Aging site, which is tcoa.org
Contact your mother-in-laws State Medicaid office to see if she would be eligible as each State has their own rules, regulations and programs, and those keep changing depending on the State budgets.
If she is a senior, then contact the county office of aging to see if she could get Meals on Wheels, etc. https://www.agingcare.com/local/Area-Agency-on-Aging
The 10K she gets now, is that from SS?
If so, that is federal $ she receives and the entitlement amount is based on her work history. SS is an income basd entitlement. SS is the safety net for those over 65, so if she is already getting SS there probably isn't going to be another source of federal income for her unless she or her husband qualify for VA. Many advanced elderly (those 90++) have SS checks that are $600/700 a mo as their work history is based on decades ago when wages were much much lower than those who worked more recently.
She should be signed up for Medicare as well (a service based federal entitlement). If she does not have a Medicare gap policy, right now is the open enrollment period to do this. Id look to getting her enrolled in one of the gap policies in her state till she gets accepted by Medicaid. She should have just gotten the Medicare book geared to her state as well as getting all sorts of mailings from various gap policies. Many of them are geared for the healthy younger senior with a car, so help her go through them to see what best fits her needs and affordability. There is a really great article on this site on this.
For those having parents & in laws with limited income, you really just have to go on-line to your state to see what programs to apply to; contact church groups to see what programs they do & get her enrolled (Jewish family services does a lot of programs all over the US which are open to all).
elderlawofmi.
Contact them, explain the situation and ask for assistance.