Can I receive benefits for taking care of my Mom (68)?

Was your father in the military during any war time? If so, your Mom could be eligible for assistance from the VA. It's called "Aid & Attendance."

Without a car how would you get your mother to see the doctor?

The other problem that I see is that your mother is on medicare not medicaid? Would she qualify for medicaid at this point? Then you have the hoops to jump through in moving her from one state to another because the programs do vary some from state to state.

I assume that you are planning on quitting work and being the person whom medicaid pays to care for your mom?

If that is all possible, then I think you need to consider will their be enough money coming in to make up for your not working to take care of your mother in thee 2 bedroom apartment with only your husband working a full time job outside of the house. Then, you also have to consider can you afford to be out of work when it comes to your future social security and your own retirement. How old are you and your husband? I ask this because once someone drops out of the work force, it is harder to get back in the longer it is and the older that you are.

There is a lot to think about from a whole lot of angles.

The answer is yes, a family member can be paid for taking care of someone who needs care. There are two conditions: they must be on medicaid and they must actually be deemed to need the care. The way it works with medicaid recipients in NY is that each medicaid recipient must choose a "medicaid managed care company" (kind of like an HMO). Some of the more common ones are Visiting Nurse Service and Centerlight. The MMC company will send an RN to do an assessment of the person's physcal and mental condition and make a recommendation of how many hours per day or week the person truly needs care. They will then make arrangements for a medicaid-paid home health aide to provide that care. After accepting their aide (who likely comes form an outside agancy), the responsible family member will be able to apply for a program that allows the family to direct care by choosing (and training, and supervising) their own aide. The application process takes 1-2 months. If you are approved for that program, you can choose a family member (though not the "responsible party") to be the aide. You would still be subject to oversight by the MMC company and have to account for the care you provide. In NY, the pay is $10 an hour, $11 on weekends, with a maximum of 13 payable hours per day, even if you are "working" 24.

It is unclear from your post what specific care your mom needs.

The nurse who does the assessment will look at your mom's ability to perform the "activities of daily living": dressing, bathing, eating, ambulating, and toileting. They will also look at whether she is a danger to herself if left alone. This applies to Alzeimer's and dementia.

Good luck to you. It must be terrible to be so far away from your mother. I don't blame you at all for looking for a way to make this work.

aroller, the west coast is a wonderful place, the change of scenery for your Mom would a great. How mobile is your Mom, can she walk where ever she would need to go? How old is she?

My only concern is transportation to get your Mom to all of her doctor appointments... being that she had cancer there will be a lot of appointments with a primary doctor.... a new breast surgeon to oversee her progress... and an Oncologist. The Oncologist would need to be seen every 3 months for required blood test. Been there, done that, wearing the pink t-shirt.

If your Mom isn't at the chapter of her life where she needs nursing home care either at home or in a nursing home, I don't know of any government funds that pay you money. If your Mom is young and/or young at heart, and is mobile, maybe she could look into getting a small part-time job to help with the expenses. I am pushing 70 and still working, and my Boss is 80 with no signs of slowing up.

"I was told that there are programs that would pay a caregiver to take care of a elderly parent." Call your state's department of aging and ask them. I just have never heard of anyone successfully collecting any money.

Will your mother eventually be in need of Medicaid? Could she possibly apply for disability payments? Any payments that she makes to you, should be from a legal lease, so medicaid requirements are fulfilled.

Thank you for the feed back. My husband and I both work and rent a one bedroom apartment. We have lived here for 6 years and would like to get a two bed and bath so my Mother could live with us. We have no car but live walking distance to everything including work. At this time my Mother is living with another family member on the east coast but would rather live with us on the west coast. I feel the change in location and weather would be great for her health. She is a cancer survivor and has been on hormone medication for the past two years, has high blood pressure, arthritis and is suffering from depression. She is collecting social security, but it wouldn't be enough to make up the difference of a 2 and 2 where we live. We walk to work and need to be in this area. I was told that there are programs that would pay a caregiver to take care of a elderly parent. She would only need another 500.00 a month to afford her share of the rent and have funds for expenses. I love my Mother very much and don't get to visit often. My husband and I live a very healthy lifestyle and would like to help my Mother with her diet and exercise.

Does your mother need someone to take care of her? What are her infirmities? Where is she living now?

Can you and your husband afford the high rent district now? What would your additional expenses be Mom moves in?

If your Mom's SS is not enough for her to afford her rent, she is probably eligible for subsidized housing. I have never heard of a subsidy to live outside of that designated housing.

If Mom requires care and she is financially and medically eligible for Medicaid, the Elderly Waiver program (different names in different states) may pay for that care to come into her home. In some states they may pay for family members to provide that care.

Could you tell us more about your mother's needs?

It sounds like she isn't able to pay you, for living there and taking care of her. Are you wanting paid for her care?

You didn't say if you are currently working, but generally it is not a good idea to quit your job, especially if you need to pay into Soc.Sec. and health insurance, for your self.

Go up to the box on the right and enter "getting paid." A lot of people ask your same question.

I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for? Are you looking for extra money that would help your mother to pay you rent to be able to live with you?

Are you going to be able to afford your rent even if your mother does not move in with you or do you need your mom's rent money to make ends meet?

Why dose she need to move in with you? Is she no longer able to live by herself?

Is your husband supportive of this move?